Hibu Study: SMBs Lagging in Online Ventures

The ubiquity of the Internet seems harder to question with every passing day. We take to the Internet to work, to play, to think and learn, and well beyond. But a new report from Hibu—a company specializing in local directory and advertising services—suggests that small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are lagging the field when it comes to being online. The numbers that Hibu's study brought forth, meanwhile, may be some of the most startling such numbers seen in some time.

The Hibu study in question was based on responses given by 1,800 businesses in both the United States and the United Kingdom, conducted across November and December 2013. The numbers brought back, meanwhile, showed a clear disconnect between businesses and online presence. Perhaps the centerpiece of the survey was the revelation that fully 45 percent of businesses in both the U.S and the U.K didn't have a website. At all. Anywhere. That alone has to hit like a punch in the head, but it only gets more distressing to discover that, among those 55 percent who did have websites, only six percent could say that the site in question was mobile-optimized.

There may, however, be a reason for some of this. When Hibu started looking at the income numbers, it was clear there wasn't a lot of business being done online for many SMBs. Only 7.5 percent of income for U.S-based SMBs was found to be e-commerce related. The U.K's SMBs, meanwhile, saw just under 20 percent of total sales from online vectors. Though there was a clear lag in how much business was being done online, there was also little doubt that companies were missing out. U.S firms believed that around $60,000 in revenue was lost annually by not having a mobile-optimized online presence. Meanwhile, the U.K firms believed there was a loss of 23,793 pounds sterling (around $39,768 U.S at the time of this writing) under the same circumstances.

But even with these big losses on the table, there wasn't a lot of plan to move in that direction and recover that lost potential. Just 12 percent of U.S SMBs that didn't have a mobile-optimized site were planning to do so in the next 12 to 18 months, and only 13 percent of U.K businesses could say likewise. This is attributed to a state of inertia, an idea that the companies know what should be done, but no clear understanding of how to go about it.

On a certain level, this should be expected. Many SMBs out there fall into categories where a website—especially a mobile-optimized website—might seem unnecessary. Restaurants, for example, won't be doing much trade online, at least not until delivery drones make hot food from most anywhere in a 30 mile radius or more a distinct possibility. Factories often sell products on a B2B basis, and don't need mobile service. Some local shops aren't really equipped for the added burden of doing business online, but even here, a website is still valuable. Consider its value in promotion; users can find a restaurant, for example, and read its menu in advance, helping to make the decision of whether or not to go to that one for dinner. Even as just an advertising tool, a website is still quite useful.

But that use can't be put into play without the site existing. A website is more than just a sales channel. Embracing that possibility is a great step toward long-term success for an SMB, and so too with mobile.