Small Business Week focuses on digital maturity

THUNDER BAY – Companies that are digitally mature generally have a better bottom line.

That’s the message being delivered over the course of the next seven days and beyond, as companies in Thunder Bay celebrate the annual Small Business Week.

The goal, said BDC’s Michael Nitz, is to create awareness of the importance of embracing technology wholeheartedly, something only about 20 per cent of companies in Canada and across the city have effectively done.

Nitz said the remaining 80 per cent have work to do to get to the advanced level, but pointed out it’s been proven getting there can have a major impact on a company’s economic fortunes and long-term health.

“One thing we’ve found in polling these folks is the majority of them are conservative when it comes to their digital maturity. Next week is all about enhancing their digital maturity, talking to them about leveraging technology to offer better products or services to their clients, communicating with their employees and just ultimately catching up to the rest of the businesses,” Nitz said.

According to a BDC’s 2017 Small Business Week survey, aside from social media, digital technology adoption is a rarity in many small businesses. Only 20 per cent of companies with 20 or fewer employees use an e-commerce platform, a number that is expected to hit 48 per cent by 2020.

“Canada’s small and medium enterprises have to digitize now,” said Michael Denham, president and CEO of BDC.

Nitz BDC has a short survey that business owners can take to assess their digital maturity, how much technology they have, how much they’re actually using it and how quickly they are to innovate.

“It’s making sure not only do you have a website and social media presence, but how are you encouraging your staff to reach out to customers, how are they marketing their business, how are they communicating to their employees, how are they maybe ordering their supplies?” Nitz said.