Mark Cleaver

While small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) are turning to social media to help grow their brands, many are reluctant to invest in technology generally, according to the latest SME survey from small business finance specialist Bibby Financial Services.

Conducted by CoreData in February, the Bibby Financial Services Small Business Barometer revealed Facebook is the most popular social media tool for SMEs – with more than two in five respondents (43%) using it for their business.  Other common social media channels include LinkedIn (23%), Twitter (19%) and Google+ (16%).

Moreover, 22% of SMEs expect sales growth to come from social media, highlighting its potential to boost revenues.

The survey also revealed close to two in five (38%) small businesses believe websites are the most valuable type of technology. Other technology mediums seen as advantageous include social media (35%), high-speed broadband (31%) and smart phones (31%).

However, despite the perceived benefits of technology, the majority of SMEs do not currently have plans for increasing their technology investment. Fewer than one in three respondents (31%) expect to increase or significantly increase their investment on technology in the next year. A small proportion (5%) intend to reduce their technology spend while a further 12% are unsure.

Mark Cleaver, Managing Director, Australia and New Zealand, said: “Technology can equalise the playing field between big and small business. Whether this involves spending more on faster computers, social media or on software that makes a business’ operations more efficient, technology investment is crucial for keeping up with competitors and the needs of customers.

“Despite this, our survey revealed three in 10 SMEs (29%) don’t believe that technology will offer any advantage over bigger businesses. Moreover, two in five SMEs (40%) don’t currently use mainstream social media tools to promote their business.

“SMEs need to use all the tools that they have available to build their businesses and brands in a highly competitive landscape. Social media is an effective and low-cost marketing tool that can help SMEs keep up with the efforts of bigger businesses,” Mr Cleaver said.

The survey found that more than 62% or three in five small businesses have a website. Of these, 45% use it mainly to share information and promote their brand. Close to three in 10 SMEs (28%) use their websites to funnel potential clients to call, email or visit in person in order to make a sale.  Just one in four SMEs (27%) take it one step further and use their websites to sell products and services.

“E-commerce is becoming more important in the economy. SMEs can score goals against big business by making sure they have online transaction facilities to sell products or services rather than relying on physical transactions,” Mr Cleaver said.

In terms of social media usage, the survey found Facebook is most popular with respondents who have businesses in the accommodation and food services industries, with 77% using it for their businesses. It is also popular with those from arts and recreational services (70%) and the retail trade sector (56%).

The industries where businesses are least likely to utilise any social media are household and personal services (73%), construction (62%), and agriculture forestry and fishing (60%).

The Bibby Barometer SME survey is conducted bi-annually on over 850 small and medium sized businesses, Australia-wide, on business sentiment towards economic conditions, cash flow management, financing and key business challenges. Each year, SMEs are asked about their hopes for the Federal Budget.

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Tal takes out the 2013 CoreData Life Insurance Company of the Year Award.

Australia’s leading specialist life insurer TAL has won the 2013 CoreData Life Insurance Company of the Year Award.

This is the second successive year TAL has won this prestigious award following an extensive research exercise by CoreData, which surveyed financial planners and advisers from around the country.

The Life Company of the Year Award goes to the company which scores the highest satisfaction across 11 assessment categories. TAL scored first, second or third in nine of the 11 categories.

The six categories TAL won “gold” in were new business submissions, new business underwriting, post-sale administration and call centres, communications, business development and support, and education and support.

TAL scored “silver” in commissions and earned “bronze” in overall end-to-end new business processing, and image and reputation.

TAL was also awarded the 2013 CoreData Secondary Risk Provider of the Year Award, moving up from second place in that category last year.

TAL Retail Life CEO Brett Clark said: “To win this award two years running is a great honour and reflects on the hard work and dedication of the entire TAL team who are singularly focussed on delivering the best adviser and customer experience they possibly can.

“While 2013 has been a challenging year for the industry, as we look forward a fundamental strong and aligned partnership between life insurers and advisers will ensure customers continue to be able to obtain valuable life insurance protection,” Mr Clark said.

“There are many pleasing feedback areas in the CoreData report, and as a pioneer in online services for advisers, TAL is honoured to win the online innovation category for the third year running.”

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Increase in dealers opting to operate under their own licence.

My Dealer Services Pty Ltd (MDS) Chairman Don Wiggins has announced that the specialist support service provider for advisers seeking their own Australia Financial Services Licence (AFSL) is experiencing a significant increase in demand by practice owners opting to operate under their own licence.

Commenting on the escalated activity being addressed by MDS, Don Wiggins said there were many and diverse factors influencing advisers and certainly greater flexibility, independence and dealer group dissatisfaction featured prominently – and in doing so, reflecting many of the results in CoreData’s recent research.

“The CoreData findings that 23.3% of advises expect to switch licensees in the next 12 months with 14.3% intending to take out their own AFSL is being borne out right now and the industry can expect this trend to continue into the foreseeable future”, said Wiggins.

Over the past four years, MDS has assisted in obtaining more than 50 AFSL’s for advisers with the most dramatic increase in activity recorded in the last six months. MDS boasts a senior management team of experienced financial services professionals with extensive and personal industry sector insight. This ‘hands on’ expertise is reflected in the organisation’s 100% success rate to support advisers AFSL endeavours.

Don Wiggins continued, “The MDS marketplace offering has been developed as a means of providing specialist services to assist and support advisers to acquire their own AFSL in a practical cost effective manner. In addition, MDS assists licensees in their compliance obligations, training and adherence to ongoing regulatory requirements”.

“Another reason for the MDS’s success is the flexibility of its services that can be personalised to the individual needs of advisers and an impressive track record and industry reputation, has helped the company grow to the point today where it oversees everything for the entire back office to compliance needs only, for in excess of 20 AFSL holders”.

MDS expects that once FoFA is bedded down; and the realisation that it is manageable could provide the motivation for advisers to part from with their often rigid licensees, and provide advice under an AFSL that is more appropriate to the needs of their clients. Especially if advisers outsource the ‘back office’ to a reliable and experienced business which in turn will allow them to put most of their efforts into servicing clients and not on the licence management.

“The convenience of controlling one’s own destiny, but leaving the back office to others at a cost usually far less than one that is currently required to be paid to the traditional dealer, is a compelling argument to take out one’s own AFSL”, concluded Don Wiggins.

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