75% of Australian SMEs are yet to optimise social networking marketing strategies. This included things like reading/writing blogs and participating in social media networking.

86% of SMEs do not do email marketing. Done correctly, email marketing is a great tool for driving new business to your website, and bringing back existing customers.

30% don't regularily update their company website. Users are more likely to return to a website that is constantly adding new content.

"These survey results show that Australia's SMEs are yet to fully embrace the power of the web in driving sales and growth of their business," said Paul Turner, Chief Executive Officer, Acxiom Australia and New Zealand. "With most SMEs strongly relying on word of mouth for customer acquisition, it's a natural progression for SMEs to adopt social media to engage with current and potential customers."

These survey results show that Australia's SMEs are yet to fully embrace the power of the web in driving sales and growth of their business

"We believe there is strong interest in the ability of the web to boost your sales, but the reality is that most small-to-medium sized businesses are busy trying to keep their operations running smoothly," said Turner. "However the social networking space is booming and companies need to optimise their web presence and interactive offerings in order to connect more immediately with their customers. The good news is that there is significant growth ahead in the digital marketing world for SMEs as new web software and social tools make it easier to engage with their customers online."

Today's technology provides us with a rich environment to interact with our customers. Could your business be doing a better job of using web technologies to communicate with customers? We're passionate about this and will use our blog to share some ideas on the subject. I hope you find the information useful and feel free to leave a comment.