According to new research, UK based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are missing out on thousands of pounds each month due to a lack of online presence.
A report by website maker Wix found that SMEs could be missing out on as much as £35,000 per month by failing to follow even basic online steps.
Surprisingly 40 per cent of British businesses still have no online presence, whilst one in three of those that do have a website, are still not fully digital.
The study which looked at more than 500 key figures from UK SMEs found that businesses that are completely digital (using digital tools like invoicing and payments, customer service, chat, and automation) saw their revenues increase by an average of £35,000 a month.
The rise was largely due to digital tools being able to save time and resources, freeing workers up to complete more profitable tasks.
Despite this, many firms still choose to keep certain tasks offline, including customer service, administration, bookkeeping, payments and invoices, and marketing services, despite the wide variety of software available online.
Just under a fifth of SME owners claim that being able to maintain the latest technology was their biggest concern when considering increasing their online presence.
Matt Rosenberg, Director at Wix said: “For an SME owner, moving your business online for marketing and management is good for exposure, productivity and efficiency, and the results will be evident on the business’ bottom line.
“SMEs in the UK would be of benefit to strive for peak efficiency and bringing their business operations fully online would do just that. The great news is that it’s easier than ever, even for small businesses and entrepreneurs, to migrate their businesses to function fully online in a cost-effective manner.”
