WITH more people than ever shopping online, one online business marketing guru is urging customers to go past the first page of Google to find what they’re after.
For many small businesses, even those that have recently started selling online, successful marketing proves challenging, often meaning those sellers are relegated to the sixth or seventh page of a Google search, rather than being front and centre.
That struggle has led in turn to a rise in online marketplaces and collectives that take away some of those challenges for small businesses.
Online shopping marketplace and small business directory Spend With Us – Buy From a Bush Business Marketplace was created after last summer’s bushfires as a way to support and promote small businesses throughout rural and regional Australia.
Co-founder Jenn Donovan said although most businesses now had some kind of online presence, many small business owners were not as adept in the online space as they were in more traditional retail settings.
“People think once they have a website, people are going to come, they think they’re going to be found,” she said.
“They don’t realise the investment it’s going to take to get traffic there and everything that goes on behind the scenes.
“It’s a bit like having a bricks-and-mortar store and opening the door every day and just expecting everyone to find you.
“You have to do marketing, you have to make sure that people know you’re out there.”
Spend With Us was designed as a way to support small regional businesses that had been hit by drought, fires and now COVID-19 and might otherwise find it hard to compete.
“It gives (businesses) somewhere they can sell their goods without having to be an SEO expert or a Facebook expert or anything like that,” Ms Donovan said.
According to Ms Donovan, online sales are sustaining many regional businesses as they weather a tough economic time.
She said the community support made a huge difference to struggling businesses.
“Rural and regional small businesses feel like they’ve been hit with a prolonged drought and then they’ve been hit with bushfires and now COVID … some of them have suffered flooding earlier in the year.
“They must think the world’s piling on them.
“I really noticed some trends of people wanting to support handmade and Australian-made products, but really support small businesses.”
But pre-existing businesses aren’t the only ones needing extra support with the online market.
As COVID-19 restrictions meant more people were home at a loose end, many turned to their hobbies to make a little extra money, while isolation also meant more people shopping online.
“There was a bit of an explosion of people going online with their websites in February and March, and I think it’s kind of changed our habits,” Ms Donovan said.
“I’ve had several conversations with people who didn’t have a business prior to this. They had a bit of a hobby and their friends and family might buy from them, but all of a sudden they’ve realised other people actually would like to buy this.
“They’ve kind of created a business through online platforms, which is seriously cool.”
As Victoria heads into another stint of restrictions, Ms Donovan urged consumers to consider buying regional when shopping from their couch, to support those businesses through a tough time.
“It’s just so important to support our rural and regional businesses,” she said.
“I have this awful fear that if they start shutting down, we’ll have ghost towns all around Australia.
“We want to keep our shops open so we can keep attracting those tourists.”
