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Thryv Shortlisted for the SaaS Awards for Second Year

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 22:53:05 GMT

Thryv Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:THRY), the provider of Thryv® software, the end-to-end customer experience platform built for growing small businesses, is proud to announce it has been shortlisted for the second year in a row for the SaaS Awards, an international award recognising innovation in software solutions.

Thryv is shortlisted for the category: Best SaaS Product for Customer Services / CRM, along with 15 other finalists. The award is given to the SaaS product that best allows businesses to support their customers. Entries must illustrate customer service and CRM that supports the end-to-end user journey with evidence of success in client testimonials.

In a recent testimonial, Thryv user Karen Brockington, owner of The Brockington Firm LLC, a financial services firm in Owings Mills, Md., discusses how Thryv helps her grow her business, improve customer communication and deliver a professional appearance.

“As the company began to grow, I needed more of a compact way to be able to interact with my clients,” Brockington said. “Thryv has helped me solve those issues by combining a great system for me to communicate not just with my clients, but also with the outside world. It has allowed me to be able send communications all at once to all of my clients. … Thryv has allowed me to be able to do business well and to let people know we are professional and that we care about what we do.”

James Williams, Head of Operations for the SaaS Awards, said, “Just as SaaS technologies have been vital in pivoting organizational functions to respond to global crises, they will be essential as we look forward to returning to normal levels of productivity. The shortlisted candidates announced today, have made it through that first round. They represent truly innovative thinkers in the SaaS industry, whether they’re freshly-funded disruptors or established names. Our judges have some incredibly difficult decisions to make before announcing the final winners in each category of the software awards at the end of August.”

Final SaaS Awards winners will be announced on August 31, 2021.

“This recognition from the SaaS Awards is a true testament to how our software solution is helping Thryv users create exceptional customer experiences for their clients,” said Ryan Cantor, Thryv’s VP of Product and Marketing. “Our CRM is at the center of all user activity, including a verticalized structure with industry-specific functionality, a customer-facing portal and integration with communication, payments and all other customer-centric activity.”

Thryv was also recently named to the 2021 Capterra Shortlist for Marketing Automation Software, as a Top Performer, which are the services that receive the highest scores in both popularity and user ratings.

Capterra, a Gartner partner, creates its Shortlist by evaluating exclusive data and trusted reviews from verified users. To view verified user reviews, visit Thryv’s Capterra profile.

Thryv provides a multitude of functionality in its platform, such as estimates, invoicing, payment requests and reminders, and payment processing with ThryvPay, Google My Business integration, a verticalized CRM tailored to various industries, email and SMS text marketing automation, online appointment scheduling, social media and online review management and more.

For more information, visit Thryv.com.

About Thryv Holdings, Inc.

The company owns the easy-to-use Thryv® end-to-end customer experience software built for small business that helps over 40,000 SaaS clients with the daily demands of running a business. With Thryv, they can get the job, manage the job and get credit. Thryv’s award-winning platform provides modernized business functions, allowing small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to reach more customers, stay organized, get paid faster and generate reviews. These include building a digital customer database, automated marketing through email and text, updating business listings across the internet, scheduling online appointments, sending notifications and reminders, managing ratings and reviews, generating estimates and invoices and processing payments.

Thryv supports franchise operators and multi-location business owners with Hub by Thryv™, a software console that enables business managers to oversee their operations using the Thryv software.

Thryv also connects local businesses to consumer services through our search, display and social media management products, our print directories featuring The Real Yellow Pages® tagline, and our local search portals, which operate under the DexKnows.com®, Superpages.com® and Yellowpages.com URLs and reach some 35 million monthly visitors. For more information about the company, visit thryv.com.

Thryv delivers business services to more than 400,000 SMBs globally that enable them to compete and win in today’s economy.

Thryv acquired Sensis, Australia’s leading digital, marketing and directory services provider, which helps Australians connect and engage through its leading platforms, digital consumer businesses (Yellow™, White Pages™, TrueLocal™ and Whereis™), search engine marketing and optimization services, website products, social, data and mapping solutions, and through its digital agency Found™. Sensis is also Australia’s largest print directory publisher including the Yellow Pages™ and White Pages™.

Headquartered in Melbourne, Sensis has a sales presence in all states and territories across Australia.

Sensis & RMIT update

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Mon, 28 Jun 2021 20:32:12 GMT

For the second year running, Sensis is proud to have partnered with RMIT University to leverage Sensis/Glow data to inform the creation of various social media projects. The studio explores both the benefits and implications of contemporary digital media platforms. Each project included a variation of video, written and visual content to formulate nuanced and informative social media campaigns across a range of issues.

The students utilised Sensis data, alongside student-driven research to form the basis of their projects and inform their strategy moving forward in terms of reaching their target audience and ensuring their message was informed and driven by research.

Take a look at the completed projects here: http://www.mediafactory.org.au/2021-making-sense-of-social-media/

Thryv Named G2 Leader in 14 Categories for Spring 2021

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 23:56:12 GMT

Thryv Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:THRY), the provider of Thryv® software, the end-to-end customer experience platform built for growing small business, has been named a leader in multiple categories in the newly released G2 Spring 2021 Reports. G2 is an online tech marketplace where technology users can discover and review technology and make informed decisions when purchasing software.

Thryv earned 14 G2 Leader awards, breaking last quarter’s record for most honors in a single quarter. The Leader distinction is G2’s highest level award, followed by the High Performers, Contenders, and Niche player levels. Thryv was named a Leader for Small Business for the sixth quarter in a row, and an overall Leader among competitors across all categories.

For the Spring quarter, G2 named Thryv the No. 3 payment gateway choice among small businesses, narrowly behind No. 2 Apple Pay. PayPal leads the category.

“This is remarkable progress for Thryv and our payment processing service, ThryvPay, which we launched in late 2020,” said Ryan Cantor, Thryv’s VP of Product and Marketing. “We designed ThryvPay specifically for service-based businesses, and it’s clearly resonating that they needed a payments option tailored for them. We are delighted to see how ThryvPay and all of the other flexible payment features inside Thryv are meeting the needs of small business owners nationwide.”

In addition to payments, Thryv provides a multitude of functionality in its platform, such as a newly enhanced and verticalized CRM, marketing automation, online scheduling, relationship management and more. Leading in these categories within G2 has once again earned Thryv’s place as a Momentum Leader for the third quarter in a row.

Thryv added two new G2 Leader categories this quarter: Easiest to Use for Small Business and Best Support for Small Business. Reviewers repeatedly mentioned how these two areas set Thryv apart.

“Thryv has catapulted my business to a wider audience. It's made on-the-go invoicing and receiving payments a snap, and the entire team has been absolutely delightful to work with,” said verified Thryv user and G2 reviewer, Gina Surrette, who owns GMS Inspection Services. “They walk me through the things I don't understand and help set me up for success across the board.

“I truly can't say enough about every person I have interacted with so far!”

Additional G2 Spring Report 2021 Leadership Awards for Thryv include:

• Thryv was named a Leader for Overall Best Support for the second quarter in a row, and Best Support for Small Business for the first time.

• G2 named Thryv Overall Best Estimated ROI for a second quarter in a row.

• Thryv had the Highest User Adoption for Small Business for the third quarter in a row.

• Thryv was a Leader in Overall Highest User Adoption for the second time.

• Thryv Small Business users were Most Likely to Recommend Thryv for the third quarter in a row.

• Thryv’s users Overall were Most Likely to Recommend.

• For the fourth straight quarter, users said Thryv had the Easiest Set-up among Small Businesses and Overall.

• Also for the fourth quarter in a row, Small Business users recognized that Thryv had the Easiest to Administer Software.

• And new this quarter, Small Business users said Thryv is the Easiest to Use.

“Because the G2 awards are solely determined by the reviews, sentiment and commentary from verified users, we consider these to be our highest honors of the year,” Cantor says. “We realize small business owners are busy and not always familiar with using software. This is why we provide free, unlimited support to get them up-to-speed quickly, so they can optimize the software and successfully manage their business. This is a game changer for Thryv and throughout the industry. And clearly, it shows.”

About Thryv Holdings, Inc.

Thryv Holdings, Inc. owns the easy-to-use Thryv® end-to-end customer experience software built for growing small to medium sized businesses (SMBs) that helps over 40,000 SaaS clients with the daily demands of running a business. With Thryv®, SMBs can get the job, manage the job and get credit. Thryv’s award-winning platform provides modernized business functions, allowing SMBs to reach more customers, stay organized, get paid faster and generate reviews. These functions include building a digital customer database, automated marketing through email and text, updating business listings across the internet, scheduling online appointments, sending notifications and reminders, managing ratings and reviews, generating estimates and invoices, and processing payments.

Thryv supports franchise operators and multi-location business owners with Hub by Thryv™, a software console that enables businesses managers to oversee their operations using the Thryv® software.

Thryv delivers business services to more than 400,000 SMBs worldwide that enable these SMBs to compete and win in today’s economy.

On March 1, 2021, Thryv announced it closed the acquisition of Sensis, Australia’s leading digital, marketing and directory services provider, which helps Australians connect and engage through its leading platforms, digital consumer businesses (Yellow, White Pages, True Local and Whereis), search engine marketing and optimization services, website products, social, data and mapping solutions, and through its digital agency Found. Sensis is also Australia’s largest print directory publisher including the Yellow and White Pages.

Headquartered in Melbourne, Sensis has a sales presence in all states and territories across Australia.

Leading Small Business Software Provider Thryv Holdings, Inc. Announces Closing of the Acquisition of Australia’s Sensis from Platinum Equity and Telstra

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 00:12:57 GMT

Leading Small Business Software Provider Thryv Holdings, Inc. Announces Closing of the Acquisition of Australia’s Sensis from Platinum Equity and Telstra

● Thryv® to enter the Australian small and medium businesses (SMB) sector through acquisition of leading digital marketing and directory services provider Sensis

● Acquisition brings over 100,000 Sensis customers

● Focus on helping Australian small businesses adopt cloud-based software solution to better compete in a post-pandemic economy.

DALLAS, March 1, 2021 –Thryv Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:THRY), the provider of Thryv® software, the end-to-end client experience platform for growing small businesses, today announced it has closed the acquisition of Sensis, Australia’s leading digital, marketing and directory services provider from Platinum Equity and Telstra Corporation Limited (ASX: TLS).

“This is a transformational acquisition for Thryv, and one that will help Australian small businesses (SMBs) better compete in a digital economy,” said Thryv CEO and President Joe Walsh. “COVID-19 has radically reshaped the perspective of small businesses around the globe. Solutions that ensure SMBs have the tools they need to generate confidence and convenience for their customers have gone from a ‘nice to have’ to a ‘must have’ in this post-pandemic world.

“The acquisition of Sensis follows our strategy of expanding internationally where small businesses are ready to modernize their operations in order to serve their customers faster and more efficiently – from anywhere, including mobile devices.”

Thryv’s flagship SaaS product, Thryv®, enables small businesses to easily accept appointments, build digital customer lists, email and text customers, send reminders and notifications, deliver estimates and invoices, accept contactless payments, and generate online ratings and reviews. Sensis CEO John Allan, who will lead Thryv’s Australian operations and report to Walsh, said the acquisition made sense from a customer—and organizational—alignment perspective.

“Our organizations share a similar heritage through our profitable Yellow and White Pages brands, which we will continue to develop,” Allan said. “Both organizations aim to be the primary partner of SMBs by helping them establish, grow and run their day-to-day business activities from their mobile phone.

“In recent years, we’ve seen many Australian businesses forced to invest more in IT platforms than actual employees. Thryv ends that fractured, costly, and complex approach.

“We also look forward to our continued partnership with Telstra, which will include continuing to provide them with the services they need to meet their regulatory obligations,” Allan said.

Platinum Equity Managing Director Adam Cooper said, “Thryv is the ideal home for Sensis and this sale culminates a six-year transformation process that leveraged every aspect of our global M&A and operational tool kit. I’m grateful for the partnership we forged with John Allan, the Sensis leadership team and Telstra during our ownership. The company embraced the business transformation necessary to succeed in a rapidly evolving market and today Sensis is a nimble, multi-channel marketing business and an outstanding opportunity for Thryv’s international expansion. We have great respect for the Australian market and will continue to seek opportunities to invest in the region.”

Walsh added that Thryv works with more than 300,000 small businesses throughout the United States.

“While I’m sure there will be some differences in the Australian market,” said Walsh, “small business owners in both countries are no-doubt facing similar challenges—both are struggling to compete with national chains and increasingly-large and monopolistic tech titans who seek to dominate online.

“By introducing the Thryv software to the Australian market, we’re confident we can make an impact on Australian SMBs, the five million people they employ, and the consumers who rely on their small business success.”

Transaction details

To acquire Sensis Holdings, Thryv Holdings, Inc. paid approximately $200 million in cash. In connection with the acquisition, Thryv entered into a new term loan facility for $700 million and refinanced its existing $175 million revolving credit facility. The term loan facility was used, in part, to finance the acquisition, to pay off existing debt under the revolving credit facility and to pay fees and expenses related to the acquisition and related financing.

Sensis wins Community Response Award at The Microsoft Advertising Partner Awards

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Fri, 26 Feb 2021 04:41:40 GMT

Recognition of the way Company supported customers during Covid-19

In recognition of the incredible work done throughout the challenging year that was 2020, Sensis has been announced as a winner of the Community Response Award at the Microsoft Advertising Partner Awards for Asia Pacific.

The Community Response Award is a newly introduced category that recognises partner organisations that have provided innovative support or services to the community amidst the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking to Sensis’ work throughout the pandemic, Chief Operations Officer Anna Clive, said ‘When Covid-19 first hit, supporting our staff and customers was our number one priority. We wanted to ensure we could support our clients in trading through the pandemic, so they could continue their businesses for many years to come’.

The theme of this year’s awards ceremony, “Forward Together”, reflects the importance of partnership and moving forward in a positive and growth-oriented way. The nominations received by Sensis reflect the dedication and commitment to excellence we display as an organisation.

‘In total Sensis had almost 5,000 Australian small to medium businesses reach out to us for support and I am really proud that as an organisation we stood behind these businesses and helped them through an extremely uncertain time’ Anna added.

Sensis and Yellow receiving the coveted Channel Partner of the Year Award at the 2019 awards and also being nominated again in 2020 is a testament to the excellent partnership Sensis has continued to maintain with Microsoft Advertising.

“Microsoft Advertising is delighted to show our appreciation, and acknowledge Sensis deserved win with the Community Response Award. The calibre of nominations this year was the best we have ever seen, and this makes our winners achievements all the more significant,” added Katherine Eills, Global Partner and Awards Lead, Microsoft Advertising.

The Microsoft Advertising Partner Awards celebrate Microsoft’s Elite and Select partners for the incredible work they’ve done in 2020 across a number of categories in the Americas, EMEA and APAC.

ACT and SA to take longer to recover from Covid-19, says Sensis survey

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 22:49:44 GMT

Businesses in the ACT and South Australia are going to take longer to recover from the knock-on effects of the coronavirus, according to January’s Sensis Business Index.

One in four business owners (25%) in the ACT said it would take them more than a year to recover to pre-Covid levels and 24% in South Australia.

At the other end of the scale, just 14% of business owners in Tasmania said the same and 15% in Queensland. Overall, 18% of business owners said it would take more than a year to get back to normal.

To emphasise the two-paced economy 15% of business owners overall said they were well ahead despite Covid, with Tasmania leading the way with 19% of businesses.

The survey is of 1,000 business owners/managers across all states and across 10 business sectors. It was conducted by data insights platform Glow in the last week of January. 22% of the businesses survey had 50 employees or more and 53% of businesses had been operating for more than 10 years.

Sensis CEO John Allan said there were promising signs of recovery with 26% of business owners saying they were back to normal. “Again, Tasmania topped the charts with 39% saying they were back to normal compared to just 15% in the ACT,” he said.

“Some sectors are also going to take considerable time to recover. The Wholesale sector (28%) had the largest percentage of owners saying it would take more than a year to recover followed by Transport at 26% and Communications, Property and Business Services at 24%.

“At the other end of the scale Finance/Insurance was at just 8% and Health and Community Services at 9%.”

Mr Allan said the Transport sector was a little confusing with 26% saying it would take more than a year to recover, but 24% were already well ahead and 26% back to normal.”

Profitability over the next 3 months

When asked about their profitability over the next three months 37% of business owners expected an increase in profitability compared to 33% in November.

The Manufacturing was the most positive with 45% saying they expected to be more profitable with Communications, Property and Business Services at 44% and Wholesale at 40%. Conversely, 25% of Wholesale business owners expected a decrease in profitability to lead all sectors.

Are you more or less confident than three months ago

Business confidence is also slowly on the rise. In November 36% of business owners said they were more confident than three months earlier, rising to 37% in December and 40% in the latest survey.

Tasmania led all states at 47% followed by Victoria at 44% and NSW at 42%.

The Finance sector was easily ahead at 66% followed by Manufacturing at 48% and Communications, Property and Business Services at 44%.

Business prospects over the next six months

The number of business owners more confident about their business prospects over the next six months has increased to 63% - up from 58% in both December and November.

Unfortunately, 9% of Victorian business owners were extremely worried about the next six months.

The Finance sector was the most positive at 80% either extremely positive or fairly positive – well ahead of the Health sector at 75% and Communications, Property and Business Services at 68%.

Small business owners getting increasingly jittery about the loss of JobKeeper, according to Sensis survey

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 22:41:37 GMT

Small businesses around the country are increasingly realising what the impact is likely to be on their livelihood when the Federal Government’s JobKeeper stops in just seven weeks.

The January Sensis Business Index is showing increasing distress about the loss of the lifeline that saved hundreds of thousands of businesses from going under due to the Covid-19 lockdowns.

The survey is of 1,000 small business owners/managers across all states and across 10 business sectors. It was conducted by data insights platform Glow in the last week of January. 22% of the businesses surveyed had 50 employees or more and 53% of businesses had been operating for more than 10 years.

The survey showed that over the past three months, those owners saying the loss of JobKeeper will have a major impact on their business has grown from 29% in November, to 31% in December and now 39% in January.

A further 51% of business owners said it will have a moderate impact with just 10% saying it will make no difference.

“We can see over just three months that the attitude of business owners has changed,” said Sensis CEO John Allan. “Despite a growing chorus of voices asking the Federal Government to keep JobKeeper in place for certain industries it doesn’t look like the Government will change its mind and that will put a lot of these businesses under pressure to survive”.

Mr Allan said the survey showed businesses in Western Australia had a major change with the December figure of 12% saying the loss of JobKeeper would have a major impact jumping to an astonishing 56% in January.

“Since taking the survey in January, where 56% of small-medium businesses felt the loss of JobKeeper would have a major impact, Perth has gone into a five-day lockdown and new restrictions have been introduced in Victoria. This is likely to exacerbate the loss of business confidence in both states and dent the performance of the local economy. Whilst WA’s impact is risen considerably there has also been a jump in NSW moving from 33% in December to 45% in the same period.”

In November, 18% of business owners said the loss of JobKeeper would make no difference. That is now down to 10% overall and in Western Australia and the ACT it is just 4%.

Looking at specific industries, of the 10 surveyed only two sectors saw a decrease:

• The Construction sector went from 27% of businesses in December to 25% in January

• The Hospitality sector, surprisingly, dropped quite considerably from 37% in December to 21% in January

Conversely, there were some big jumps:

• 60% of Transport owners said the loss of JobKeeper would have a major impact up from just 25% in November and 35% in December

• Finance and Insurance has nearly doubled from 30% in November to 59% in January

• Health and Community Services from 24% in December to 36% in January

• Manufacturing from 21% to 35%.

Mr Allan said the biggest surprise was in the Retail sector which had gone from 42% in December and crept up to 43% in January.

Mr Allan said he believed many businesses will turn to the JobMaker program which offers payments to businesses that increase their headcounts. “There is $200 per week available for employees aged 16 to 29 and up to $100 a week for employees aged 30 to 35. It adds up to $10,400 or $5,200 annually which will be a significant amount for some businesses.” Small business can begin claiming this week.

29% of business owners have seen productivity increase with staff working from home

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 22:38:54 GMT

But 40% want their workforce to return to the office full-time

Fewer than one in five Australian business owners say that productivity has been reduced with employees working from home, according to the January Sensis Business Index.

The index showed just 18% of owners saw reduced productivity with 29% seeing an increase in productivity and 53% saying working from home had no impact.

The Finance and Insurance sector saw the biggest uplift with 52% of owners saying productivity increased and 36% within the Health and Community Services sector also experienced productivity gains.

The sector mostly affected was Transport which saw a 30% reduction in productivity followed by Construction at 29% and Wholesale at 25%.

The sector where productivity was unaffected the most was Communications, Property and Business Services at 65% followed by Hospitality at 62%.

Sensis CEO John Allan said the results showed that the vast majority of workers could be trusted to perform their jobs at home.

“The fact that nearly one in three businesses (29%) saw an actual increase in productivity will make it hard for employers to force their employees back into the office full time.”

The survey also looked at owners’ attitude to workers going back into the office with a split between working from home and working from the office the most popular at 48%. “For those wanting to work just from home it will be difficult,” said Mr Allan. “Just 13% of owners were agreeable to this option. 40% were also keen to have their employees return to the office full-time. That was a figure much higher than we had anticipated as in December that figure was jut 19%.”

The state that most wanted their workers to return to the office full-time was Tasmania at 57%.

The state least demanding their staff come back to the office full time was Queensland at 35%. Nearly one in five (18%) of South Australian business owners were comfortable with their workforce working from home full time.

Looking at sectors:

• The Health sector at 57% was highest in returning to work full time followed by Manufacturing at 51% and Hospitality at 48%

• Surprisingly, only 29% of retail owners wanted staff to return full time to the office

• Transport was the happiest with a hybrid model approach at 61% followed by Retail at 55% and Wholesale at 54%

• Construction/Building was most comfortable with a 100% work from home week at 21% followed by Communications, Property and Business Services at 19% and both Retail and Wholesale at 16%.

Hospitality sector fighting its way back, says Sensis survey

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 22:36:01 GMT

With state border walls slowly coming down, 60% of business owners in the Hospitality sector are confident about the next six months.

According to the January Sensis Business Index, the 60% is well up from 49% when asked the same question in December.

Conversely, nearly one in five (19%) said they were still extremely worried or fairly worried about the next six months, although that figure is down on the 28% from December.

Sensis CEO John Allan said “whilst 42% of Hospitality business owners reported a decrease in profitability over the past quarter, that was well down on the 63% in December and 68% in November”.

“In December just 5% of business owners reported an increase in profit in the previous three months. In January that figure has jumped to 24%. They aren’t out of the woods but these signs are very encouraging and hopefully the borders remain open.”

The increased optimism was also reflected in 16% of the Hospitality sector reporting they were now well ahead of pre-Covid trading. I 22% reported they were back to pre-Covid levels (up from 20% in November) and 20% reported it would take them 12 months to recover (down from 23% in November).

“JobKeeper has been vital in keeping businesses afloat but those saying the loss of JobKeeper was going to have a major impact on their business has dropped in just one month from 37% to 21% in January,” Mr Allan said.

“The 21% figure compares to 39% of all businesses surveyed which shows they are definitely on the way back.”

Retail sector slowly coming out of slump, says Sensis survey

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 22:35:03 GMT

The Retail sector is showing strong signs of recovery with one in four business owners saying they had increased profitability over the past quarter.

According to the January Sensis Business Index, 25% saw an increase up from 17% in December. Those reporting a decrease in sales dropped from 49% in December to 34% in January.

Sensis CEO John Allan said “37% of retail owners expected an increase in profitability over the next three months, up from 29% in December”.

“There was also a slight increase - from 56% in December to 60% in January – of businesses saying they were extremely confident or fairly confident about the next six months.”

When asked how long it would take their business to be back to pre-Covid levels there was a broad mixture of responses.

17% said they were well ahead of pre-Covid levels, 17% back to normal, 18% would take another three months, 16% another six months, 14% a year and 16% more than a year.

Whilst 39% of business owners overall said the loss of JobKeeper would have a major impact on their business, Retail was at 43%. Additionally, 48% said it would have a moderate impact with just 9% saying it would make no difference.

Sensis podcast to continue company’s ongoing support of Aussie businesses

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Tue, 26 Jan 2021 03:00:30 GMT

Sensis has begun its own podcast to provide ongoing tips and advice in keeping with its mantra of assisting Australian businesses at all stages of their development.

Called Grow Australia, the podcast will provide a raft of tips and advice from a range of industry experts across cyber security, HR, finance, mental health and even what impact pets in the workplace can have on your workforce.

The podcast is hosted by media and communications strategist Kristy McSweeney. “When I was asked to host the podcast I jumped at the chance. Having worked with a wide cross section of businesses – large and small – and seen some of the struggles they have had to overcome, I think this podcast will fill be extremely beneficial,” she said.

Sensis CEO John Allan said the podcast is a natural extension of the assistance it provides to thousands of Australian businesses through Yellow and White Pages.

“We have been connecting Aussie businesses for 140 years and have a wealth of knowledge to share. It makes perfect sense for us considering the number of businesses and organisations we deal with on a daily basis to help them promote what they do,” he said.

The first episode is a fascinating look at the effects of pets in the workplace through the experiences of Anna O’Dea, the CEO and Founder of marketing and advertising recruitment firm Agency Iceberg, and Dr Louise Schaper, the CEO of the Australasian Institute of Digital Health.

O’Dea has up to four dogs at a time in her office in South Yarra and believes it has an overwhelmingly positive affect on her hard-working staff. “With so many pets being bought during Covid - and getting used to the attention from those working from home - many will want not want to abandon their pets but want to take their pets with them to work when offices begin to return to normal,” O’Dea said.

When looking for new office premises, Dr Schaper told a commercial real estate agent that banning pets was a deal breaker and her dog was even written into the lease agreement.

The podcast is available on Spotify, iTunes, Google Podcasts and Apple Podcasts.

Credits:

Producer: Kate Johnson

Production: Darcy Milne from Pro Podcast Production

PR: Sumit Media

Nearly one-third of Aussie businesses say loss of JobKeeper will have a major impact

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 23:51:26 GMT

Nearly one-third of all businesses say the loss of JobKeeper will have a major impact on their business.

The monthly Sensis Business Index, undertaken just before Christmas, showed 31% of all businesses are very worried when the Government turns off the payment on March 31.

A further 53% said the withdrawal will have a moderate impact with jut 15% saying it will make no difference.

You can tell that businesses are really worried about what the future holds for them come April 1. This survey shows it won’t be pretty.

The survey showed that the sector going to be affected the most is retailers. 42% of Retail businesses said the loss of JobKeeper would have a major impact on their business. The 42% showed a significant increase on the 33% in November.

Surprisingly, the Finance and Insurance sector was not far behind with 41% saying the loss would have a major impact – up from 30% in November.

The survey is of 1,000 small and medium business owners/managers across all states and across 10 business sectors. 22% of the businesses surveyed had 50 employees or more and 59% of businesses had been operating for more than 10 years.

Of the 10 industry sectors surveyed, seven had increased their concern from November. We expected Retail to be the sector significantly affected but to have Finance not far behind is surprising.

There had been a major turnaround in the Wholesale and Manufacturing sectors in just a month. In November 42% of Wholesale businesses said the loss of JobKeeper would have a major impact. Now it is down to just 19%, by far the lowest of any sector. Similarly, Manufacturing went from 40% in November to 21% in December.”

When it came to the loss of JobKeeper having no impact, Transport headed the list at 29% followed by Manufacturing and Communications, Property and Business Services at 24%.

Other interesting findings saw that the Hospitality sector had also become more pessimistic with 37% of businesses saying the loss of JobKeeper would have a major impact compared to 22% in November.

When it came to the states it was a real mixed bag.

The percentage of businesses in Victoria worried about the loss of JobKeeper went down from 35% in November to 28% this month. However, they were the only ones more optimistic along with Western Australia which went from 27% of businesses worried in November to just 12% in December.

All other states were more pessimistic about the loss of JobKeeper with South Australia and NSW increasing significantly in just a month. NSW went from 23% to 33% and South Australia from 27% to now 44% of businesses believing the loss of JobKeeper would have a major impact on their business. Queensland, Tasmania and the ACT were pretty much unchanged.

Report available here - https://www.sensis.com.au/about/sensis-business-index

Retailers getting more worried about the loss of JobKeeper in March, says Sensis survey

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Wed, 16 Dec 2020 22:46:55 GMT

The loss of JobKeeper at the end of March next year will have the biggest impact on the retail sector with pessimism rising, according to the December Sensis Business Index.

The survey of 1,000 businesses of up to 200 employees was conducted between 1st and 8th of December by data insights platform Glow.

The survey showed that 42% of Retail businesses said the loss of JobKeeper would have a major impact on their business. The 42% was up from 33% in November.

Surprisingly, the Finance and Insurance sector was not far behind with 41% saying the loss would have a major impact – up from 30% in November.

Overall 31% of businesses said the loss of JobKeeper would have a major impact, 53% a moderate impact and for 15% no difference.

The Sensis survey is of 1,00 small and medium business owners/managers across all states and across 10 business sectors. 22% of the businesses surveyed had 50 employees or more and 59% of businesses had been operating for more than 10 years.

Sensis CEO John Allan of the 10 industry sectors surveyed seven had increased their concern from November. “We probably expected Retail to be the sector significantly affected but to have Finance not far behind surprised us,” he said.

“The run in to Christmas and consumer spending over the summer months are going to be critical for retailers across the country.

“There had been a major turnaround in the Wholesale and Manufacturing sectors in just a month. In November 42% of Wholesale businesses said the loss of JobKeeper would have a major impact. Now it is down to just 19%, by far the lowest of any sector. Similarly, Manufacturing went from 40% in November to 21% in December.”

When it came to the loss of JobKeeper having no impact, Transport headed the list at 29% followed by Manufacturing and Communications, Property and Business Services at 24%.

Other interesting findings saw that the Hospitality sector had also become more pessimistic with 37% of businesses saying the loss of JobKeeper would have a major impact compared to 22% in November.

When it came to the states it was a real mixed bag.

Business confidence has doubled in fourth months, says Sensis survey

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 02:03:54 GMT

Business confidence about the future of the national economy has doubled since September, according to the December Sensis Business Index.

In September when asked about what the economy would be like in 12 months just 19% said it would be better. That sentiment has risen considerably since, reaching 23% in October, 32% in November and now sits at 38% - double the September figure.

Those businesses believing the economy will be worse in a year has almost halved, going from a whopping 56% in September to just 30% in the December Index.

Sensis CEO John Allan said the results show that business has confidence that the economy is going to turn around.

“The confidence is across the board – every state and territory – and the changes are considerable. In Tasmania, for example, 54% of businesses in September said the national economy would be worse in 12 months. Now that figure is down to just 23%.

“And when you look at the Tasmanian economy itself just 16% believe the economy will be worse in 12 months. In September that figure was 46%.

“To see where business think we are heading is really sobering taking into account the lockdowns and sacrifices businesses have had to make. This really is great news coming into Christmas.”

Broken down by states those businesses saying the economy will be worse in 12 months were:

• In Victoria from 62% in September to 34% in December a decrease of 28 percentage points

• In NSW more than halving from 52% to just 23%, a decrease of 29 percentage points

• In Queensland from 51% to 33%, a decrease of 18 percentage points

• In South Australia from 60% to 31%, a decrease of 29 percentage points

• In Tasmania from 54% to 23%, a decrease of 31 percentage points

• In Western Australia from 50% to 31%, a decrease of 19 percentage points

• In the ACT from 66% to 39%, a decrease of 27 percentage points

Those answering that the economy will be better in 12 months has also improved markedly – from just 19% in September to 38% in December. Broken down by states it was:

• In Victoria from 26% to 36%

• In NSW from 25% to 42%

• In Queensland from 15% to 36%

• In South Australia from 23% to 44%

• In Tasmania from 13% to 35%

• In Western Australia from 16% to 31%

• In the ACT from 20% to 30%

And what do the states think of their own economy?

• In Victoria 34% of businesses in December say the economy will be worse, down from 59% in September. 33% said the economy will be better from 35% in September, the only decrease of any state.

• In NSW 22% say the economy will be worse, down from 49% in September. 44% say the economy will be better, a big reversal and double the 22% in September.

• In Queensland 34% say the economy will be worse, down from 41% in September. 31% say the economy will be better, up from 21% in September.

• In South Australia 30% say the economy will be worse, down from 45% in September. 43% say the economy will be better, up from 36% in September.

• In Tasmania just 16% believe the economy will be worse, way down from 46% in September. 38% say the economy will be better, more than three times better than the 12% in September.

• In Western Australia 17% believe the economy will be worse, down from 27% in September. 35% say the economy will be better, up from 28% in September

• In the ACT 27% believe the economy will be worse, down from 40% in September. 36% believe the economy will be better, up from 23% in September.

Release Ends

About the December Sensis Business Index

The Sensis Business Index is Australia’s longest running survey of its kind having been established in 1995. The December 2020 SBI involved 1,005 business owners/managers.

24% have 1 to 2 employees, 25% have 9 to 16 employees, 29% have 10 to 49 employees with 22% having 50 employees or more.

8% have been in business for 1 to 2 years, 16% 3 to 5 years, 18% 6 to 19 years and 59% of businesses had been operating for more than 10 years.

9% of respondents were aged 30 or under, 20% aged 31-40, 24% aged 41 to 50, 23% 51 to 60 and 25% 60 and over. 53% were male and 47% female. It was conducted by data insights platform Glow.

Ten industries were covered:

• Wholesale

• Health & Community Services

• Cultural and Recreational Services

• Manufacturing

• Transport/Storage

• Communications, Property and Business Services

• Construction/Building

• Retail trade

• Accommodation/Cafes/Restaurants

• Finance and Insurance

For full access to the survey data, please email will.clarke@sensis.com.au or call 0488 34 54 64.

Report available here - https://www.sensis.com.au/about/sensis-business-index

Sensis, whilst being well known for its White Pages and Yellow Pages, has been transitioning to digital platforms and marketing under the leadership of CEO John Allan for the past 6 years. Whilst Sensis still publishes print directories, which are particularly strong in regional markets, it’s the move into digital platforms and marketing services that are the growth engine of the Company. Connect, which helps enterprise, mid-market and SMBs manage their content across over 30 digital publishers was introduced two years ago is now the leading SaaS platform for over 10,000 Australian businesses. Sensis also boasts a significant digital marketing services capability and in 2019 was Microsoft Advertising Asia Pacific Channel Partner of the Year and winner of the Growing Businesses Online category at the Google Premier Partner Awards and was Microsoft Advertising Global Partner of the Year for 2020. Find out more at sensis.com.au

Sensis team takes wins RU OK? Golf Day

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Thu, 03 Dec 2020 03:30:50 GMT

Sensis and TomKat win by a stroke

On a rather grey Sydney day, John McMahon and Terry Kennedy and Rick and Tom from Yellow customer TomKat Roofing made up Team Sensis for the annual golf tournament that raises awareness and funds for RU OK?

Team Sensis started the day at the back of the field after John managed to break his driver teeing off the first tee! The day's competition was extremely tight but after a couple of nail biting final holes, Team Sensis took out first prize by just one shot with a very competitive 59.

Congratulation to John and TK, and to

Rick Lucey General Manager and Tom Stephens Managing Director of TomKat Roofing.

One in three businesses believe loss of JobKeeper will have a major impact, says Sensis survey

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Wed, 25 Nov 2020 22:41:02 GMT

Although it is still more than four months away, nearly one in three small businesses (29%) say that when the Federal Government’s JobKeeper program finishes at the end of March it will have a major impact on their business.

According to the November Sensis Business Index, the impact will be felt greater in metropolitan areas with 35% saying it will have a major impact compared with just 14% in regional areas.

Sensis CEO John Allan said the biggest impact will be felt in Victoria and Queensland. “35% of small businesses in those two states said the loss of JobKeeper would have a major impact. We were expecting Victorian businesses to take a hit but were surprised that Queenslanders also expect to be badly affected,” he said.

The Sensis survey is of 500 business owners/managers across all states and across 10 business sectors. It was conducted by data insights platform Glow in the first weeks of November. 25% of the businesses survey had 50 employees or more and 59% of businesses had been operating for more than 10 years.

“The sector expecting the biggest impact at the loss of JobKeeper is the Wholesale sector – so those businesses that keep Australia’s small businesses supplied. 42% said it would have a major impact, followed by Manufacturing at 40% and Retail at 32%.”

The Hospitality sector again showed its resilience with just 22% saying it would have a major impact. Construction believes it will be least impacted at just 12%.

53% of all businesses said the loss of JobKeeper would have a moderate effect with nearly one in five (18%) saying it will make no difference. 27% of Queensland businesses said it would have no impact followed by Tasmania and the ACT at 25%. 22% of businesses in Hospitality and 11% in Retail said it would make no difference.

An estimated 3.5 million Australians have been paid JobKeeper, equivalent to one in four workers.

Sales under Covid-19

Since the pandemic started 13% of Victorian businesses have lost more than 80% of their sales. 26% have lost 50% or more. Overall, 15% of businesses reported having lost 50% or more in sales.

However, for 20% of businesses there has been no change to sales with 29% increasing sales by 10% or more – again showing how two-paced the economy is.

How long take your business to recover to pre Covid-19 levels?

Already nearly one-third of Australian businesses (30%) say their business is back to its pre Covid-19 levels with a further 12% reporting that they are well ahead.

“Of course not all are doing well,” said Mr Allan. “14% surveyed said it will take them three months to return to pre Covid-19 levels, 15% will take six months, 14% will take 12 months and 14% more than a year.

“Regional businesses are doing slightly better than their city counterparts with 15% of regional businesses saying they were well ahead compared to 11% in metropolitan areas.”

The Tasmanian economy is doing well with 21% of businesses on the Apple Isle saying they are well ahead from pre Covid-19 with Western Australia and Queensland at 15%. As expected, Victoria was at just 7% and NSW at 11%.

Victoria also lagged in the back to pre Covid levels with just 21% of businesses in that position – the lowest of any state. The ACT was doing the best at 41% followed by South Australia at 36%, Queensland at 35% and Western Australia at 31%.

The 14% of businesses that say it will be more than a year to get back to pre Covid-19 levels saw the figure rise to 16% in Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania, 15% in Western Australia, 14% in Victoria, 10% in NSW and 5% in the ACT.

18% of Manufacturing businesses said they were well ahead of pre Covid-19 levels, with Wholesale at 17% and Retail and Transport both at 16%.

52% of Health and Community businesses are back to pre Covid-19 levels, with 44% in Finance and Insurance and 33% in Construction. Surprisingly, 20% of Hospitality businesses said they were back to pre Covid levels but 23% said they would not get to those levels for more than a year. Cultural and Recreational was also at 23% with Retail, Transport and manufacturing all at 16%.

What business thinks about federal and state government policies for SMEs

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Wed, 25 Nov 2020 22:40:18 GMT

Small businesses in Western Australia are most critical of Federal Government policies with 17% saying they were not supportive of small business – the highest discontent of any state.

According to the November Sensis Business Index, 13% of small businesses overall believed the Morrison Government policies were working against them. 22% said they were having no impact and 53% said the policies were supportive.

When it came to their own government only 8% said the Western Australian policies of Premier Mark McGowan worked against small business with 49% supportive and 25% saying they had no impact.

Sensis CEO John Allan said that with small business making up 97% of all businesses in the country it is important that both federal and state government policies were supportive.

“Obviously it is hard to please all businesses, but during the pandemic SMBs were looking for leadership from both levels of government’” he said.

“Interestingly businesses were more critical of the Federal Government and in the main were more supportive of their state government.”

The survey is of 500 business owners/managers across all states and across 10 business sectors. It was conducted by data insights platform Glow in the first weeks of November. 25% of the businesses survey had 50 employees or more and 59% of businesses had been operating for more than 10 years.

15% of Victorian businesses believe the Federal Government policies are not supportive of small business. Just 48% say they are supportive and 26% said they had no impact. When it came to its own government, 20% said Andrews Government policies worked against small business with 47% supportive and 23% saying no impact.

68% of ACT businesses said the Federal Government policies were supportive of small business – a figure higher than any other state. However, when it came to judging the ACT Government’s performance business went the other way with a state high 27% saying the policies worked against small business.

59% of Queensland businesses said the Federal Government’s policies were supportive with just 9% saying they worked against small businesses and 19% saying no impact. When it came to its own state, 21% said Premier Anastacia Palaszczuk policies worked against small business, 40% said they were supportive and 25% said it had no impact.

Tasmanian businesses were very supportive of Premier Peter Gutwein’s Government policies with just 2% saying his policies worked against small business. 63% said the policies were supportive. No other state had such high support with South Australia next at 52%. From a Federal Government perspective, just 5% of Tasmanians said policies worked against small business with 58% saying they were supportive.

South Australians were pretty even across the board whether on a State or Federal level. 15% said the Federal Government worked against them and 14% said Premier Steve Marshall’s Government worked against them. 53% said the Federal Government was supportive and 52% said the Marshall Government was supportive.

NSW figures were also pretty much aligned whether it was state or national. 12% said the Morrison Government policies worked against small business and 14% said Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s Government did the same. 52% said the Federal Government was supportive and 49% said the NSW Government was supportive of small business.

23% of businesses still shed jobs over the past 90 days, says Sensis survey

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Wed, 25 Nov 2020 22:39:36 GMT

With the country’s unemployment rate hovering just below 7%, Australian small businesses have shed a considerable number of staff over the past three months.

According to the November Sensis Business index, 23% of small businesses surveyed said they had reduced their full-time workforce over the past three months. The good news that is slightly down on the 27% on the previous month.

Just one in 20 (5%) of businesses increased their workforce, down from 7% the previous month. Importantly 55% of all businesses said their workforce has stayed the same over the past three months, slightly up on the 52% last month.

Sensis CEO John Allan said the effects of the extended lockdown in Melbourne were recorded in the survey with 43% of Victorian businesses reporting a reduction in full-time staff up from 39% last month.

“That was well ahead of any other state, with NSW next at 28%. 45% stayed the same up a little from the 42% last month, with 4% increasing, up from 3%,” he said.

The news was better for part-time employees in Victoria with the percentage of businesses reducing staff going down from 28% to 22% with 41% staying the same compared to 34% the previous month. And 8% increased their part-time staff, up from 6%.

The biggest increase in Victoria was the increase in casual staff – more than doubling from 5% to 12%. The number of businesses reducing part-timers was down from 32% to 25%. However, only 22% of businesses stayed the same compared to 29% the previous month.

“It is not only about full-time workers. The number of part-time workers overall losing their job virtually mirrored the previous month with 17% reducing their part-time staff, 44% staying the same and 6% increased.

“The reduction overall in casual workforce has come down four percentage points from 22% to 18%. 9% increased their casual workforce up from 7% with 31% no change, similar to the 32% last month.”

State by State breakdown

NSW: There was disappointing news in NSW with the number of businesses reducing full-time staff going from 22% up to 28% and only 3% of businesses increased their staff down from 13% the previous month. Importantly 62% stayed the same, up from 57% last month.

Part-timers also took a hit with only 7% increasing compared to 14% the previous month. 18% reduced their part-timers compared to 16% the previous month. Those staying the same increased from 37% to 44%.

Queensland: Queensland showed some good signs with a reduction in full time staff down from 28% to 20% and a bit lift in no change at 44% up from 37%. There was also an uplift in casual staff. The number of decreases was down from 24% to 16% and a more than doubling of the increased casuals from 4% to 9%.

South Australia: The biggest change for South Australia was a significant reduction in the shedding of full-time staff – down to 16% from 24%. The increase was similar this month – 4% compared to 5% last month. The number staying the same was down from 55% to 49%.

There were big changes in part-time staff – all good news. The reduction was just 8%, down from 17%, 48% stayed the same compared to 38% last month and the number increasing part-time staff went to 7% from 5%.

There was also a reduction in the number of casuals decreased – from 15% to 10%.

Tasmania: There was a slight reduction in Tasmania with 12% reducing full-time employees compared to 16% the previous month. This was the lowest of any state. Increase was slightly down to 7% from 9% and 60% stayed the same compared to 63%.

Part-time employees were similar to the previous month with 14% reducing their workforce, 49% staying the same and 7% increasing.

Casual staff suffered the most with a 21% reduction compared to 14% the previous month and the increase going from 7% to 5%. The good news was 42% stayed the same up from 37%.

Western Australia: There was a doubling in the increase of full-time employees from 4% to 8% and a slight reduction in full-time employees being jettisoned going from 20% to 17%.

There was also a significant increase in the number of part-time employees nearly doubling from 4% to 7%, although just 46% staying the same compared to 56% last month.

Casual employees were pretty much the same with 20% reducing, 32% staying the same and 6% increasing.

ACT: ACT showed the biggest decrease in the number of employees being reduced going from 23% to 14% (only behind Tasmania’s 12%). 64% stayed the same up from 54%, although only 5% increased, compared to 8% last month.

It was all good news for part-time employees with just 9% reducing compared to a previous 12%, 59% stayed the same well up on 42% last month and 5% increased, compared to 0% last month.

There was also a massive decrease in the reduction from casual staff going from 27% to just 9%. There was also a massive increase in casual staff going for 4% to 14%.

Sector by sector breakdown

Retail: Retail has stopped some of the bleeding and stabilising across full-time, part-time and casual employees. The reduction in full-time employees is still 23% but down on the 27% the previous month, 59% stayed the same up from 54% and there was a 5% of businesses increasing full-time employees compared to 4% last month.

There was a slight increase in part-time employees being shed – up to 23% from 20% - but 45% stayed the same, up from 40% and there was a 5% increase in employees, up from 4%.

Wholesale: Not so good news for the Wholesale sector with 28% of businesses saying they decreased their workforce compared to 26% last month. The number staying the same reduced significantly from 66% to 53%. 5% increased their full-time workforce compared to 3% last month.

Part-time employees in this sector were the biggest loser with 28% of businesses reducing their part-time employees compared to 16% last month. It was a similar story with casuals, with 15% of businesses reducing their casual workforce compared to 8% the previous month.

Cultural and Recreational: The number of full-time job losses slowed from 27% to 15% but there was zero increase. Part-time job losses also slowed going from 27% to 13% with a significant increase in businesses hiring part-time employees going from 3% to 10%. There was also an 8% increase in casuals compared to 3% the previous month.

Construction and Property: Job losses slowed in the construction sector across the board – 20% this month compared to 31% the previous month, part-timers from 18% to 13% and casuals from 24% to 13%.

There was a drastic drop in the businesses saying they increased their full-time workforce, going from 16% to 4%.

Transport: Nearly one in three (28%) transport businesses said they reduced their workforce over the past three months, well up from 15% the previous month. Those increasing their full-time workforce also decreased significantly, from 9% to just 3%.

The number of part-time employees also reduced more than the previous month going from 15% to 19% and casuals went from 18% to 28%.

On the good news side there was an increase in the employment of part-timers from 6% to 13% and casuals from 3% to 6%.

Communications, Property and Business Services: 24% of businesses in this category said they have reduced their workforce over the past three months compared to 17% the previous month. Fortunately, there was an increase in the number of businesses employing full-timers going from 6% from 2% last month.

Manufacturing: 25% of businesses said they had reduced their full-time workforce, slightly less than the previous month of 28%. 11% of businesses said they had increased their workforce compared to 3% the previous month.

There were decreases in the number of part-time and casual staff going from 9% to just 5%.

Finance and Insurance: 62% of finance businesses saw no change in full-time employment numbers but 21% said they had reduced their full-time workforce. Just 5% said they had increased their full-time workforce. The sector saw the least reduction in part-timers, down jut 8%, and casuals, down just 10%.

Health and Community Services: Just 14% of businesses reduced their full-time workforce, just 8% of part-timers and 16% of casuals. 12% of businesses said they increased their part-time workforce and 10% employed more casuals.

Hospitality: The hospitality sector still had 38% of businesses saying they reduced their full-time employees. This was the highest of any sector but down on the 47% the previous month. No business reported increasing full-timer numbers, 5% increased part-timers and 8% increased casuals. 25% reported decreasing their part-timers and 30% decreased their casuals.

37% of businesses still believe the economy will be worse in a year, says Sensis survey

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Wed, 25 Nov 2020 22:38:46 GMT

Nearly four in 10 Australian small businesses (37%) are predicting the Australian economy will be worse in a year than it is today, according to the November Sensis Business Index.

Whilst the figure is high it is down from 56% two months ago and 47% a month ago.

Sensis CEO John Allan said the pandemic was leaving a lasting effect on small businesses. “Many feel a bit battered particularly in sectors such as Hospitality and Retail and many believe it is going to take some time to get the economy back on track.

“The number of businesses believing the economy will be better is up to 32% - a far cry from 23% last month and 19% the month before that.”

Victorians are either at one end of the scale or the other. 44% said the economy would be worse (the highest of any state) and 38% said it would be better (the equal highest of any state along with Queensland). Just 18% of Victorian businesses said it would be the same.

Attitudes have also changed dramatically in Tasmania with 28% saying it will be worse, down from 52% the previous month and 35% said it would be better, up nearly double from 19% last month. The ACT was also more positive with 41% saying it would be worse, down from 64% the previous month, and 23% said it would be better, up from 16%.

Only Western Australia bucked the trend in the economy getting better, going from 26% down to 20%.

When it came to industry sectors, Hospitality at 55% and Cultural and Recreational at 54%

were the only sectors to see an increase from the previous month in the number of businesses believing the economy would be worse in a year. Many other sectors are still high in believing the economy will be worse including 42% in Retail, 40% in Health and 35% in Communication, Property and Business Services.

Transport was the leader in seeing the economy get better with 53% believing so – well up on 18% last month. Finance was at 41% (up from 21%) and Communication, Property and Business Services at 37% (up from 31%).

What will state economies be like in a year?

The economic outlook of Victorians on the state economy has changed dramatically in the past month with 42% saying it will be worse (down from 53%) and 38% say it will be better (up from 23%). The 38% was the highest of any state.

Western Australia was the only state to go backwards on the economy getting worse – going from 22% last month to 30% this month.

One in five hospitality businesses already back to pre Covid-19 levels, says Sensis survey

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Wed, 25 Nov 2020 22:38:04 GMT

20% of hospitality small businesses say they are already back to pre Covid-19 levels, according to the November Sensis Business Index.

But to show the sector is still difficult for many, 23% said they would not get back to pre Covid-19 levels for more than a year.

Sensis CEO John Allan said the pandemic affected the sector like no other. “We can see through the survey that the sector is still suffering with 38% of businesses saying they had reduced their full-time employees over the past three months. This is the highest of any sector with the average across all industry being 23%.

“No doubt these businesses – now that restrictions are easing – will be looking to make up for lost ground and before JobKeeper stops at the end of March.”

Interestingly, 29% of all businesses in the survey said the loss of JobKeeper would have a major impact on their business, but the figure was just 22% in the hospitality sector. An additional 22% in hospitality said the loss of JobKeeper would have no impact on their business.

Other interesting findings from the survey were:

• 63% of hospitality businesses reported a decrease in profitability over the past three months against an overall average of 39% for all businesses

• Just 1 in 20 (5%) of businesses reported an increase in profitability over the past three months

• 70% reported a decrease in revenue over the past three months against an overall average of 40% for all businesses

• 37% of hospitality businesses were more confident than three months ago but 40% were less confident – the most of any sector

• Looking at the next six months, 28% of hospitality businesses said they were either Fairly or Extremely Worried – the most pessimistic of any sector. 49% said they were either Fairly or Extremely Confident about the next six months

• 44% of hospitality businesses have lost 50% or more in sales since pre Covid-19

28% of small manufacturing businesses reporting a return to profitability, says Sensis survey

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Wed, 25 Nov 2020 22:37:25 GMT

The Manufacturing sector looks like it is on the way back to recovery with 28% of small manufacturing businesses reporting an increase in profitability over the past three months.

According to the November Sensis Business Index that 28% compared to just 16% across all sectors.

The survey also showed 11% of manufacturing businesses had increased their full-time staff compared to just 5% across all business sectors. Additionally, 15% had increased casual employees compared to 9% across all other sectors. 30% reported that their business had returned to pre Covid-19 levels.

Sensis CEO John Allan said the biggest finding of the survey was the difference in the sector between those doing well and those still struggling.

“We saw it throughout the survey whether it was about the workforce, the economy or JobKeeper; there are considerable differences. For example, when asked about the next three months, 21% (compared to 16% of all business) of manufacturing businesses said they would increase their workforce but then 23% said they would decrease their workforce.

“There was also some optimism around profitability for the sector over the next three months with 43% (compared to 33% of all businesses) expecting an increase, although 23% were expecting a decrease.”

Other findings included:

• 32% said the national economy would be better in 12 months, with 34% saying it would be worse

• 18% said they were well ahead of pre Covid-19 levels but 16% said they would not recover for more than 12 months

• When asked what they were thinking about the next six months, 16% were Extremely Confident, 38% Fairly Confident, 23% said No Difference, 16% were Fairly Confident and 7% Extremely Confident.

The sector was also worried about the loss of JobKeeper at the end of March.

“33% of the sector said they were getting JobKeeper which is slightly higher than the 30% of all businesses. And while 29% of all businesses said losing JobKeeper in March would have a major impact on them, the manufacturing sector was much higher at 40%,” Mr Allan said. “And to complete the haves and have nots, 30% said the loss of JobKeeper would have no impact.”

The Sensis survey is of 500 business owners/managers across all states and across 10 business sectors. It was conducted in the first weeks of November. 25% of the businesses survey had 50 employees or more and 59% of businesses had been operating for more than 10 years.

Retail on the way back, says Sensis survey

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Wed, 25 Nov 2020 22:36:41 GMT

With the lifting of restrictions, the retail sector is heading in the right direction with 22% of businesses reporting an increase in profitability over the past three months.

According to the November Sensis Business Index the 22% in retail was higher than the 16% of all small businesses that reported an increase in profitability.

The retail sector has stopped some of the bleeding and stabilising across full-time, part-time and casual employees. The reduction in full-time employees is still 23% but down on the 27% the previous month, 59% stayed the same up from 54% and there was a 5% of businesses increasing full-time employees compared to 4% last month.

There was a slight increase in part-time employees being shed – up to 23% from 20% - but 45% stayed the same, up from 40% and there was a 5% increase in employees, up from 4%.

Sensis CEO John Allan said the survey showed retail had recovered quicker than many other sectors. “16% reported that they were well ahead of where they are before the pandemic compared to all 12% of all sectors. An additional 23% said they were already back to pre Covid-19 levels.”

30% of businesses in the retail sector said they were getting JobKeeper with 33% saying that when it ceases at the end of March it will have a major impact on their business. 56% said it would have a moderate impact and 11% said it would make no difference.

Other interesting findings from the Sensis survey were:

• 31% of retail businesses had reported an increase in revenue

• 29% expect to increase their profitability over the next three months with 21% expecting a decrease in profitability and 48% expecting no change

• 14% expect to increase their workforce over the next three months with 69% expecting no change and 14% expecting to decrease their workforce

• 34% are more confident than they were three months ago, 24% are less confident and for 42% no change

• 14% are extremely confident about the next six months, 42% fairly confident, 16% no difference, 22% fairly worried and 6% extremely worried

• 30% believe the national economy will be better in a year, 42% believe it will be worse and 28% believe it will be the same

Yellow announces sponsorship of the North Tamworth Bears Junior Rugby League Club for 2021

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Thu, 05 Nov 2020 00:10:04 GMT

In its ongoing support of local sporting organisations, Yellow (formerly Yellow Pages) will be one of the major sponsors of the North Tamworth Bears Junior Rugby League Club for 2021.

The Bears are a Tamworth Club with a strong history of fielding teams from Under 6 through to Under 16s

and strong links and established pathways with senior club The North Tamworth Bears providing opportunities for players to move into senior Rugby League.

John Allan, the CEO of Sensis (which owns Yellow), met many of the players and club president Nicholas Hodgson at a function at the Bears home ground today.

“Yellow is proud to be partnering with the Bears. Junior sport is the backbone of regional communities, and after such a tough 2020 season, I am sure the Bears players are keen to get back on the field in 2021,” he said.

“We love the fact that the club is so family orientated with an ethos all about participation and fair play. Rugby League is a great pathway to build strong community links through healthy competition and above all through children having fun.

“Along with providing funds direct to the Club, Yellow will also be providing additional support to conduct a training session with NRL players at the beginning of the 2021 season and to help fund the club’s new jerseys for the 2021 season.

Mr Hodgson said the Club is excited to have Yellow commit to the Club for the 2021 season.

“We realise Yellow has connected people to businesses for many years in and around Tamworth, and this new partnership will help us continue to connect with families and the community to allow growth in participation.

“After a challenging year, with a restricted season, the support of Yellow with funds to go towards next season’s uniforms and to assist the club in continuing to make it affordable for families and players to be involved. The Club is also excited to have a special pre-season training session with an NRL talent involved for the juniors to look up to.

“We are thankful for Yellow’s support as they get themselves heavily involved with our community after what has been a tougher year for some businesses.”

Small Businesses becoming more positive about the economic outlook, says Sensis survey

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 22:48:46 GMT

In just a month there has been a significant improvement in the economic outlook from Australian small businesses, according to the October Sensis Business Index.

Today 22% of Sydney businesses are Extremely Confident about the next six months. Just a month ago the figure was 12%. And even in locked down Melbourne there has been a similar jump in optimism – up from a lowly 9% to a more positive 16%.

Confidence was also up in Brisbane – now 15% compared to 7% - and Adelaide up from 11% to 17%.

These figures were confirmed with those businesses Extremely Worried about the next six months dropping from 10% overall to 6%. Melbourne has gone from 19% of businesses being extremely worried to just 7% and Sydney from 11% to now just 5%.

Not so good news in Perth with those businesses extremely confident about the future down from 16% to 12% and Hobart down a massive 12 percentage points from 21% to just 9%.

Of the 10 industry sectors surveyed, seven showed improved optimism in regard to being extremely confident about the next six months but three sectors were less optimistic - Retail, Manufacturing and Wholesale.

The Culture and Recreation sector had the biggest turnaround with 19% of businesses in that sector saying they were Extremely Confident about the future. Just a month ago the figure was 5%.

The Communications sector was up more than double from 8% to 19%, Finance and Insurance up from 10% to 19% and Transport up from 6% to 12%.

Sensis CEO John Allan said that across the board there has definitely been an increase in optimism. “Overall the sentiment has changed significantly for the good in a very short period of time,” he said. “The retail, manufacturing and retail industries continue to suffer from low confidence levels when other industries saw a significant improvement on last month”.

The survey is of 500 business owners/managers across all states and across 10 business segments. It was conducted by data insights platform Glow in the first week of October. 27% of the businesses survey had 50 employees or more and 55% of businesses had been operating for more than 10 years.

Sentiment towards the national economy

Overall sentiment on the national economy has improved. Last month 56% of businesses said they believed the national economy would be worse in a year. That has dropped to 47%, although that is still a high number. 23% of businesses say the economy will be better in 12 months up from 19% last month.

“There are some optimistic signs out there,” Mr Allan said. “Every state had a drop in the number of businesses that thought the national economy would be worse in 12 months. Adelaide was down from 60% to 48%, Melbourne down from 62% to 51% and Perth down from 50% to 39%.

“Despite this easing, the number of businesses that expect the national economy to be worse were still high; headed by Canberra with 64% of businesses believing the economy will be worse in 12 months.”

An indication of the two-speed economy saw fewer businesses in Melbourne and Sydney saying the national economy will be better in 12 months. Melbourne was down from 26% to 20% and Sydney down from 25% to 19%.

Six sectors saw an improvement in the economy in the past month whilst four didn’t. The Health sector had the biggest uplift with 25% of businesses in that sector believing the national economy will be better in 12 months – that is more than double the 11% last month.

The Transport sector was double – up from 9% to 18% - and Communications nearly double from 16% to 31%.

On the other side, Retail was down slightly from 19% to 18%, Finance and Insurance down from 26% to 21%, Hospitality down from 30% to 29% and Culture and Recreation the biggest hit – down more than double from 29% last month to 14% this month.

State economies

When it came to the State economies, the biggest shift was in Melbourne with just 23% of businesses believing the Victorian economy will be better in 12 months. Last month the figure was a promising 35%. Also on the negative side were Adelaide down from 36% to 26% and Canberra down slightly from 17% to 16%.

The most confident states were Perth up from 28% to a healthy 39%, Hobart up from 12% to 19%, Sydney up from 22% to 27% and Brisbane up from 21% to 24%.

Border impacts

“There has been a lot of political talk about the closure of borders but just one in five (19%) of businesses said the closures were having a major impact on their business,” Mr Allan said. “40% said the border closures were having somewhat of an impact and 41% said it was having no impact at all.”

Regional areas were less affected with 47% saying the closed border had no impact compared to 38% in metropolitan areas.

The border closures were having the biggest effect on Melbourne businesses with nearly one in three (29%) saying it is having a major impact. They were closely followed by Canberra at 28%. In comparison, it was a major issue for only 13% of businesses in Sydney and Brisbane and just 9% in Hobart.

As expected, the border closures are affecting the Hospitality sector the hardest with 59% saying it was having a major effect. That was more than double the next highest sector – Transport at 26%. Retail was at 20% saying the border closures were having a major effect.

The importance of JobKeeper

More than half the businesses surveyed in Adelaide (53%) said they would not have survived without JobKeeper. The figure was 50% in Canberra, 47% in Melbourne, 40% in Perth, 35% in Brisbane, nearly one in three businesses (29%) in Sydney and 17% in Hobart.

71% of Health and Community Services businesses say they would not have survived without JobKeeper followed by 52% in Retail, 47% in Hospitality and 45% in Construction.

51% of businesses say JobKeeper will be critical in the coming months but there were some big differences in the capital cities. 70% of Melbourne businesses said it would be critical but just 29% in Sydney.

56% of Retail businesses say it will be critical and 53% in Hospitality.

Release Ends

About the October Sensis Business Index

The Sensis Business Index is Australia’s longest running survey of its kind having been established in 1995. The October 2020 SBI involved 505 business owners/managers.

• 21% had 1 to 2 employees with 27% having 50 employees or more.

• 55% of businesses had been operating for more than 10 years.

• 10% of respondents were aged 30 or under, 26% aged 31-40, 24% aged 41 to 50, 19% 51 to 60 and 20% 60 and over. 53% were male and 47% female. It was conducted by data insights platform Glow.

Ten industries were covered:

• Wholesale

• Health & Community Services

• Cultural and Recreational Services

• Manufacturing

• Transport/Storage

• Communications, Property and Business Services

• Construction/Building

• Retail trade

• Accommodation/Cafes/Restaurants

• Finance and Insurance

For full access to the survey data, please email will.clarke@sensis.com.au or call 0488 34 54 64.

Report available here - https://www.sensis.com.au/about/sensis-business-index

Despite lockdown Victorian businesses more positive about state’s economy, says Sensis survey

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Tue, 22 Sep 2020 00:27:12 GMT

Melbourne businesses are twice as optimistic as they were a month ago when it comes to what they think the Victorian and Federal Government economies will look like in 12 months.

According to the September Sensis Business Index, 35% of Melbourne businesses believe the Victorian economy will be better in a year compared with 17% when they were asked the same question last month.

And on a national economic perspective, 26% of Melbourne businesses said the economy will be better in 12 months compared to 14% last month.

Sensis CEO John Allan said he was surprised at the optimism. “Melburnians have been in lockdown for more than 80 days which is longer than the 77 days in Wuhan. But despite that they still have belief in both the Victorian and Federal economies bouncing back.”

Mr Allan said that the optimism on the national economy had changed little in a month but every state was more positive except Hobart.

The economy – one year on, what does it look like?

56% of Australian businesses say the national economy will be worse in a year than what it currently is. Canberra businesses were the most pessimistic at 66% followed by Melbourne at 62% and Adelaide at 60%. Perth was the most positive at 50%.

To highlight the two-speed economy in Melbourne 62% said the economy would be worse in 12 months but 26% (the most of any state) said it would be better. That compared to a national average of 19%.

This was further reflected when businesses were asked about their state’s economy over the next 12 months.

59% of Melbourne businesses said under the Andrews Government the Victorian economy would be worse in a year but 35% saying it would be better.

Sydney businesses were not as pessimistic as Melbourne with 49% saying it will be worse with 22% saying it would be better. Perth was the least pessimistic with just 27% saying the WA economy would be worse against the national average of 45%.

Industry wise, 71% of health-related businesses said the economy would be worse – by far the highest figure. Hospitality and Retail were both at 53%.

The Hospitality sector was expecting to jump back with 30% saying the economy in one year would be better – the highest of any sector.

44% of businesses would not have survived without JobKeeper

The impact of Federal Government’s JobKeeper scheme should not be under-estimated with 44% of Australian businesses saying they would not have survived without it.

The research, undertaken by data insights platform Glow of 500 businesses nationwide shows:

• 65% of Hospitality businesses would not have survived

• 62% of Melbourne businesses would not have survived

• 56% of Canberra businesses would not have survived

• 54% of Construction businesses would not have survived

Mr said the research showed each state was affected differently and it also depended on what sector a business was in.

“Overall it was 44% but when looking at it from a state perspective it was way more important in Melbourne at 62% compared to Hobart for example which was nearly half of that at 33%,” Mr Allan said.

“When you look at it from an industry perspective Hospitality was at 65% Retail at 42% but only 30% in Construction.

“A lot of industry experts were saying that perhaps JobKeeper should have been tiered. As you can see some sectors are less affected and a business down 30% is probably going to survive but a business like those in the travel sector who are down 100% probably won’t and the closures show that.”

The survey also asked businesses about how important JobKeeper will be over the coming months with 47% of businesses saying it was critical.

“The biggest difference was comparing Melbourne to Sydney with a massive 78% of Melbourne businesses saying it was critical but just 31% in Sydney. That is a vastly different outlook,” Mr Allan said.

“Looking at it from an industry perspective JobKeeper moving forward is most critical for Culture and Recreation at 63%, Transport at 62%, Hospitality at 59% and Retail at 42%.”

Border closures

The survey also looked at the impact on businesses of the border closures. 40% of businesses said border closures were having no effect on their business, 40% said somewhat and 20% said it as having a major impact.

Adelaide was least impact with 53% (the highest) saying no impact and 11% (the lowest) saying a major impact. Contrast that with 28% of Melbourne businesses saying it had a major impact with 24% saying it had no impact. Sydney businesses were also being affected with 26% (just behind Melbourne) saying the border closures were having a major impact.

Finance

Getting finance approved in the past month has been a massive issue in Melbourne with the survey reporting that 36% of Melbourne businesses had been turned down. It was not much better in Adelaide with 33% turned down. In Sydney it was just 17%.

“It is also appears to be taking longer to get finance approved with it being a major issue in Canberra with 40% of businesses still waiting on approval compared to the national average of 13%.,” Mr Allan said.

“The survey also showed that 30% of businesses said they would access their savings if the needed money over the next three months, with 18% using a credit card, 12% an overdraft and 27% a bank loan.”

34% of businesses said it had been more difficult to get finance compared to pre Covid-19, with 13% saying it was easier.

55% of businesses said cash flow was worse under Covid, with 12% saying it was better and 32% no change. 92% of Hospitality businesses said cash flow was worse. 31% said they had not paid bills on time.

79% of businesses said they had paid invoices on time during Covid with 21% (more than one in five) saying they hadn’t.

Confidence levels over the next six months

Hobart businesses are the most confident when it comes to the next six months with 21% Extremely Confident (nearly double the average of 11%) with just 4% Extremely Worried (compared to the average of 10%).

The majority of businesses (37%) fell into the Fairly Confident category, with Melbourne, as expected, way down on just 28%.

20% of businesses are Fairly Worried about the next six months and 10% Extremely Worried. Melbourne businesses over indexed with 26% Fairly Worried and a massive 19% Extremely Worried – almost double the national average.

There were some wild variations when it came to industries with, for example, 23% of Wholesale businesses Extremely Confident about the next six months compared to just 5% in the Culture and Recreation Sector and 6% in Transport.

The Hospitality sector is not expecting a bright six months. 39% are Fairly Worried (against the national average of 20%) and 14% Extremely Worried (against a 10% national average). 13% of Retail businesses said they were Extremely Worried.

Overall just over 6% of businesses said they expected to close their business. Perth (11%) was the most pessimistic followed by Adelaide at 10.6%. Perhaps surprisingly Melburnians had one of the lowest rates – 4.6%.

When it came to industry sectors, 10% of Manufacturing businesses said they would close, with 9% in Health and 9% in Retail. Hospitality was still resilient at 2.8%.

Victorian business divided over Andrews Government’s lockdown extension

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Mon, 14 Sep 2020 00:09:01 GMT

Victorian small businesses are divided when asked about how the State Government has handled the Covid-19 response.

The survey, conducted over the past three days by data insights platform Glow on behalf of Sensis and involving 400 small to medium business owners, found 22% said the Government’s handling was very bad and 20% said it was very good. More than one in four (29%) said its performance was Good, 15% neither good or bad and 14% said it was bad.

Some sectors were more critical with 39% of those in the Culture and Recreation sector saying the handling was Very Bad, 36% in the Property and Services sector, 32% in Finance and 30% in Transport. Retail (11%) and Hospitality (14%) were the least critical.

Sensis CEO John Allan said he was surprised by the responses considering the vitriol from some industry groups which followed Premier Dan Andrews’ plan to extend the Stage 4 lockdown for at least another two weeks.

“There was definitely less anger from businesses than we saw from some industry groups and even when asked whether Stage 4 restrictions should have been lifted on September 13 as scheduled, 52.2% said Yes and 47.8% said No. Again, that was pretty surprising,” Mr Allan said.

“There were varying opinions across the sectors with Property and Services at 68%, Finance at 68%, Manufacturing at 63% and Construction at 61% saying Yes the restrictions should have been lifted.

“Surprisingly in the Retail sector more businesses (56%) said the restrictions should not have been lifted and 46% in Hospitality.

“Through Yellow we manage the marketing of over tens of thousands of small businesses. We conducted the research to find out what Victorians were really thinking. I think this shows they are very resilient and are willing to push through. This is something we are also seeing from our customers.

“Having said that we also asked about how difficult it will be for their business to survive given the new roadmap and more than one in four (26%) said it would be Extremely Difficult and 46% said it would be Fairly Difficult and nearly one-third (28%) said it would have no impact.

“There was a big difference between Metropolitan Melbourne and Regional Victoria with 43% of businesses in Regional Victoria saying no impact compared to 25% in Metropolitan Melbourne.”

There were some worrying signs with 18% of businesses saying they did not think they would have a business in 12 months. Some sectors were more pessimistic with 28% of Construction businesses saying they wouldn’t be around in 12 months, 25% in hospitality and 23% of those in Finance. Those most optimistic were Health at 4% and Property and Services at 5%. Nearly one in four (19%) in Retail believe they won’t have a business in 12 months.

When asked how long once restrictions are lifted will it take their business to be profitable, 3% said they would never recover, 62% said between one and six months, 18% 12 months and 16% more than a year.

Nearly one in four (19%) of Melbourne Metropolitan businesses said it would take more than a year to return to profitability compared to just 4% of Regional Victorian businesses. The Construction sector says it will recover quickest with 26% saying it would take just one month compared to 11% in Hospitality. 11% of those in the Culture and Recreation sector said they would never recover.

When asked about their main focus once lockdown is over, their focus was on winning new customers (23% of businesses) and persuading previous customers to return (20%).

There was also a focus on staff with 17% saying their biggest issue would be getting staff back to work and 17% said balancing working from home and in the office.

Release Ends

About the survey

• Conducted by Glow research from Monday, September 7 to Wednesday September 9 2020.

• 83% of businesses were in greater metropolitan Melbourne and 17% in regional Victoria.

• Businesses fell into 10 categories with retail the greatest number of respondents with 21%.

• 32% of businesses survey had more than 100 employees and 14% were sole traders.

• 33% had been in business more than 10 years, 29% between 5 and 10 years and 24% from 2 years to 5 years.

More than one in four Aussie businesses being knocked back for finance, says Sensis survey

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Mon, 17 Aug 2020 22:13:41 GMT

More than one in four businesses (26%) have been knocked back in trying to get finance over the past three months, according to the August Sensis Business Index.

The figure was worse in the bush with 37% of those applying in our Regional towns being knocked back compared to 25% in our cities. The number of businesses applying for finance has dropped to 13% (16% in March 2020, 17% in December 2019).

Overall 13% of businesses surveyed sought finance assistance with 22% in Melbourne applying, 21% in Sydney and 17% in Canberra.

Breaking the findings down by industry sector, the worst affected was the Transport/Storage sector with 60% of businesses knocked back with just 20% approved.

• 56% of businesses in the Cultural and Recreational Services sector were unsuccessful and just 22% successful (22% are still waiting for a decision).

• 45% of business in the Health and Community Services were knocked back

• 15% of businesses in Construction/Property were knocked back with 77% successful.

• 9% of businesses in the Communications, Property and Business Services sector were knocked back with 73% successful

Nearly four out of 10 businesses (36%) said they believed it was more difficult to get finance since the start of Covid-19 with 51% saying it was about the same and 12% saying it was easier.

Regional businesses said it was 40% more difficult and 35% in our major capital cities.

Brisbane topped the scales at both the easier to get finance (15%) and more difficult (40%). Most cities were similar when it came to finance being more difficult with Perth at 38%, Melbourne 37%, Hobart 33%, Sydney 32%, Canberra 30% and Adelaide 29%.

Looking at the figures by industry, 42% of Accommodation/Cafes/Restaurants businesses said finance was more difficult to get followed by 41% in Transport/Storage, 40% in Cultural and Behavioural and Other Services, 38% in Retail, 37% in Construction/Property, 35% in Communications, Property and Business Services, 33% in manufacturing, 31% in Wholesale and 28% in Health and Community Services.

Conversely, 17% of Health and Community Services said it was easier to get finance followed by 16% in Wholesale.

There also seems to be a delay in decisions from financial institutions, with overall 14% still awaiting a decision.

From a financial perspective

Tarek Omar, from financial services firm Royce Stone Capital, said securing bank funding is harder for businesses that are impacted by Covid-19 as they will no longer be able to demonstrate debt serviceability due to declined revenues.

“Unfortunately you have a situation where at a time when businesses critically need capital, they are unable to get it through traditional sources of funding.”

He said Regional businesses, especially those in agriculture that used to export overseas to Asian markets and/or were supplying domestic hospitality businesses, have been severely impacted. “This could explain why more regional businesses were being declined by financiers from the survey,” he said.

“Right now the banks are taking a very conservative approach to funding businesses and property asset prices. The market doesn't know when things will go back to normal, especially for businesses in hospitality.

“Cash flow based businesses such as those in hospitality don't have any line of sight when their pre Covid-19 revenues will return to what was previously normal.

“Virus economics combined with government intervention, presents very different challenges compared to when market forces work naturally. Having an understanding of government policy regardless of one's political beliefs moving forward is key to understanding how things will unravel and how best to navigate the landscape.

“Business owners need to be resilient, to look at new ways of operating and above all plan for how they will grow post Covid-19.”

Brisbane businesses more confident about the future than any other capital city, says Sensis survey

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Mon, 17 Aug 2020 22:12:27 GMT

Brisbane businesses are more confident about the next 12 months than any other capital city, according to the August Sensis Business Index released today.

Nearly half of Brisbane businesses (49%) said they were either Extremely Confident or Fairly Confident about their business prospects over the next 12 months. That compared to Hobart at 44%, Sydney at 43% Canberra at 41%, Perth at 40%, Melbourne at 39% and Adelaide at 35%.

Sensis CEO John Allan said 17% of Brisbane businesses said COVID-19 had had no impact compared to a national average of 15%.

“They haven’t escaped unscathed but with nearly one in five not being impacted by COVID is a great result and offers great opportunity,” he said.

“Not all are in the same boat, however. 7% of Brisbane businesses said they would close over the next 12 months compared to a national average of 8%. Melbourne was the most pessimistic with 13% saying they will close while Perth was at 12%.”

Other interesting Brisbane findings were:

• 61% of Brisbane businesses said the economy would be worse in 12 months. That was against a national average of 64%. Canberra (73%), Hobart (67%) and Melbourne (66%) were more pessimistic that Brisbane.

• When asked about the Queensland economy, the figure dropped to 56% saying the economy would be worse in 12 months.

• 21% of Brisbane businesses said Covid-19 had had a severe impact on their operations compared to a national average of 27%.

• 79% of businesses said Covid-19 had had either a slight or significant impact on sales compared to a national average of 75%.

• 20% had laid off staff compared to a national average of 18%.

12% of Perth businesses believe they will close over the next 12 months, says Sensis survey

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Mon, 17 Aug 2020 22:11:40 GMT

Whilst 20% of Perth small businesses have not been affected by COVID-19, 12% of Perth small and medium sized businesses believe they will close their doors over the next 12 months – well ahead of the national average of 8%.

The grim outlook was revealed in the August Sensis Business Index released today.

The 12% figure was the second highest figure of any capital city, and only behind Melbourne small businesses at 13%.

Sensis CEO John Allan said the one in five Perth small businesses (20%) that were unaffected by COVID-19 was below the national average of 15% so it wasn’t all doom and gloom.

“20% of Perth businesses said COVID-19 had had a severe impact on their business, again below the national average of 27%,” he said.

Other interesting Perth findings were:

• 60% of Perth businesses believe the economy will be worse in 12 months slightly lower than the national average of 64%. Only Sydney at 58% was more optimistic.

• 12% of Perth businesses are Extremely Worried about the next 12 months – the equal most pessimistic along with Canberra businesses. The national average was 10%.

• Although 43% of Perth businesses said the West Australian economy would be worse in 12 months, that was well below the national average of 57%.

• 8% of Perth businesses Extremely Confident of their business prospects over the next 12 months, 32% were Fairly Confident, 28% neither confident or worried and 19% were Fairly Worried.

• 81% of Perth businesses said Covid-19 had either a Slight or Significant impact on their business.

• 5% of Perth businesses said their sales had been impacted by 50% or more well below the national average of 16%.

• Fewer Perth businesses (37%) applied for JobKeeper. That was lower than every other capital city and below the 40% national average.

• 31% of Perth businesses were either Fairly Worried or Extremely Worried about the next 12 months just below the national average of 33%. 40% of Perth businesses were either Extremely Confident or Fairly Confident of their business prospects, again slightly below the national average of 42%.

Fewer Adelaide businesses affected by Covid-19 but those affected hit hard, says Sensis survey

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Mon, 17 Aug 2020 22:11:38 GMT

The number of Adelaide businesses to lay off staff is well below the national average but those businesses that did lay off staff were severely affected, according to the August Sensis Business Index released today.

The research revealed 17% of Adelaide businesses laid off staff due to Covid-19, well below the national average of 25%. This put Adelaide just behind Hobart which laid off 12% of staff. 34% of Melbourne businesses laid off staff – the worst in the country.

Sensis CEO John Allan said whilst fewer businesses were affected those Adelaide businesses that were hit by Covid-19 were hit hard.

“8% of Adelaide businesses reported an 80% or more impact on their sales – the highest in the country. And 69% of Adelaide businesses laid off between 11 and 25 employees. This was well ahead of the next highest in this category with Perth at 42%,” he said.

Unfortunately, 6% of Adelaide businesses said they expected to close their doors over the next 12 months. This was against a national average of 8% with Melbourne businesses the most pessimistic with 13% saying they will close their doors.

Other interesting Adelaide findings were:

• 79% of Adelaide businesses said Covid-19 had had either a slight or significant impact on their operations slightly higher than the national average of 75%.

• 12% of Adelaide businesses said Covid-19 had had no impact on them slightly less than the national average of 15%.

• 22% of Adelaide businesses said Covid-19 had had a severe impact on their business less than the national average of 27%.

• Adelaide businesses rated the national economy worse than the South Australian economy – 66% to 59%.

• 48% of Adelaide businesses applied for JobKeeper higher than the national average of 40%.

And Adelaide businesses don’t have a bright outlook for the next 12 months. 35% are either Extremely Confident or Fairly Confident. That was below the national average of 42%. Brisbane businesses were the most confident at 49%, followed by Hobart at 44%, Sydney 43% and Canberra at 41%.

Hobart businesses more confident about the Tasmanian economy than national economy, according to the Sensis Business Index

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Mon, 17 Aug 2020 22:09:03 GMT

Hobart businesses are more optimistic about the future of the Tasmanian economy than that of the national economy, according to the August Sensis Business Index released today.

When asked about the state’s economy, 50% of Hobart businesses said it would be worse in 12 months. That was behind Perth at 43% but ahead of Sydney and Brisbane at 56%, Adelaide 59%, Canberra at 63% and Melbourne at 65%.

When it came to the national economy 67% of Hobart businesses – compared to a national average of 64% - said the nation’s economy would be worse in 12 months.

The only capital city with a worse outlook was Canberra at 73%. The other capitals were Melbourne and Adelaide at 66%, Brisbane 61%, Perth at 60% and Sydney the most optimistic at 58%.

Sensis CEO John Allan said Hobartians had weathered the COVID-19 storm better than most.

“One in five (20%) of Hobart businesses said COVID-19 had had no impact on their business against a national average of 15%. Perth had the same figure as Hobart with Melbourne businesses saying just 6% were unaffected,” he said.

“Just one in four (25%) of Hobart businesses reported applying for JobKeeper against a national average of 40%.

“Importantly, when asked if they would close over the next 12 months, not one Hobart businesses said yes. That compared to 5% in Canberra, 6% in Adelaide, 7% in Sydney and Brisbane, 12% in Perth and 13% in Melbourne. Let’s hope that is the case for Hobart businesses.”

Other positives for Hobart were:

• 25% of Hobart businesses said Covid-19 had had a severe impact against a national average of 27%. Melbourne was the highest at 39%.

• 16% of Hobart businesses laid off employees due to COVID-19 against a national average of 18%

• 26% of Hobart businesses reported a slight drop in sales compared to the national average of 31% and 23% reported a significant impact on sales compared to the national average of 44%.

• Hobart businesses reported the lowest percentage (12%) in laying off staff during Covid-19 compared to the national average of 25%.

• 30% of Hobart businesses are either Fairly Worried or Extremely Worried about their business prospects over the next 12 months. That was the same as Sydney and Brisbane but well behind 39% in Canberra and 38% in Melbourne.

• 44% of Hobart businesses were either Extremely Confident or Fairly Confident about the next 12 months which put them ahead of Canberra (41%), Sydney (43%), Perth (40%), Adelaide (35%), Melbourne (39%) with Brisbane businesses the most confident at 49%.

A tale of two cities – 54% of Melbourne businesses say profitability will decrease over the next three months but only 27% in Sydney

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Mon, 17 Aug 2020 21:28:12 GMT

August Sensis Business Index reveals the damage Covid-19 is doing

More than half of the businesses in Melbourne surveyed in the August Sensis Business Index say they will see a decrease in profitability over the next three months.

The survey was conducted just as Melbourne went into Lockdown 2.0 and it showed with 54% of businesses saying their profitability will decrease. Compare that to Sydney which had just 27% of businesses believe their profitability will decrease over the same period.

In fact, nearly one in three Sydney businesses (29%) said they expected to increase their income compared to just 18% of Melbourne businesses.

Across the 1,000 businesses surveyed, 34% expected to see a decrease, 40% no change and 22% an increase.

At 29% Sydney businesses were the most optimistic about increasing their profitability followed by Canberra at 27%, Adelaide 25%, Hobart, Brisbane and Perth all at 20% and Melbourne at 18%.

The survey was conducted across 10 business categories. The most optimistic were the Wholesale and Manufacturing sectors with 31% believing they would be more profitable over the next three months. The least optimistic were the Transport/Storage and Cultural and Recreational Services both at 13%.

Sensis CEO John Allan

Sensis CEO John Allan said the survey showed just how hard some industries had been affected. “There are some sectors that were less affected, but the hospitality and accommodation sectors were virtually shut overnight,” he said. “And that continues to be the case in Victoria.

“Of all the businesses we surveyed nearly half (49%) of those in hospitality and accommodation said Covid-19 had had a severe impact on their business. That was easily the highest figure of the 10 sectors we surveyed. To put that number in perspective, the Construction sector figure was 22%, Health and Community Services at 19% and Wholesale at 15%.

“When looking at their sales figures impacted by Covid-19, 60% of the hospitality and accommodation sector said sales had reduced significantly. In comparison, the Health and Community Services sector was at 24%.

“The sector also laid off the most staff – 35% - with Transport the next highest at 26%.”

Mr Allan said what had not helped the hospitality and accommodation sector was that it had been difficult to get finance. “43% said it was more difficult to get finance. That was well ahead of any other sector with the industry average at 36%. One in three (33%) said they were knocked back for finance compared to the industry average of 26%.”

And for the next 12 months

Melbourne and Canberra businesses are the most worried about their business prospects in the next 12 months.

39% of Canberra businesses are either Fairly Worried or Extremely Worried whilst it is 38% in Melbourne. Perth (12%) and Canberra (12%) were the most Extremely Worried. Brisbane was the most optimistic with 49% of businesses either Extremely Confident or Fairly Confident for the next 12 months. Brisbane was followed by Hobart (44%) and Sydney (43%).

Cultural and Recreational and Other Services was the most worried of all sectors with 46% saying they were Fairly Worried or Extremely Worried about the next 12 months. Accommodation/Cafes/Restaurants was next at 38% and Retail at 35%.

The Construction and Building sector was the most confident with 47% either Extremely or Fairly Confident of the next 12 months ahead of Transport/Storage (46%), and Wholesale and Finance and Insurance both at 45%.

13% of Melbourne businesses surveyed said they will close their doors sometime in the next 12 months. This was just ahead of Perth with 12% followed by Brisbane and Sydney at 7%. Metropolitan businesses are nearly twice as likely to close over the next year with 5% of Regional businesses saying they will close compared to 9% in Metropolitan areas.

Transport/Storage believes it will be the hardest hit sector with 13% of businesses saying they will close over the next year followed by Cultural and Recreational and Other Services at 12%. Interestingly only 6% of Accommodation/Cafes/Restaurants intended to close.

One of the most disturbing findings was that 56% of Melbourne businesses said they had seen a significant reduction in sales against a national average of 44%. Just 39% of Sydney businesses and 23% of Hobart businesses said they had been significantly impacted.

JobKeeper for SMBs

One surprising fact from the survey was that SMBs who applied for and received JobKeeper were more likely to have laid off staff than those who didn’t apply or applied but didn’t receive JobKeeper. 40% of SMBs applied for JobKeeper of which 90% were successful.

Category Laid off staff during COVID

Received Jobkeeper 41.4%

Applied for but didn’t get 37.2%

Didn’t apply for JobKeeper 14.5%

Views on the economy

The national economy was viewed as performing worse than the individual state economies.

On a national level, 64% of businesses believe the economy will be worse in 12 months with 23% believe it will be the same and 13% believe it will be better.

When asked the same question about their state’s economy, businesses were slightly more positive with 57% saying it would be worse, 27% the same and 16% better

On a national level, Canberra businesses were the most pessimistic with just 7% saying the economy will be better, 20% the same and 73% worse. 66% of Melburnians believe it will be worse and 58% of Sydneysiders.

On a state level, Hobart businesses were the most positive at 22% followed by Sydney at 19%, Melbourne and Perth at 17%, Brisbane at 15%, Adelaide at 12% and Canberra at 7%.

Melburnians were the least optimistic with 65% saying the state economy would be worse, Canberra at 63%, Adelaide 59%, Brisbane and Sydney 56%, Hobart 50% and Perth 43%.

On a national level, the Cultural and Recreational and Other Services sector was the most pessimistic with 74% saying the economy would be in worse shape in 12 months. The most optimistic sector was Transport/Storage but that was still at 56%.

The bush faring better than city businesses, says latest Sensis survey

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Mon, 17 Aug 2020 21:26:26 GMT

Whilst the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic has had a massive impact across the country, our regional businesses are faring better than their city counterparts.

The August Sensis Business Index released today shows that over the past three months

21% of Regional businesses reported that Covid-19 has had no impact on their business compared to 12% of Metropolitan businesses.

Additionally, 29% of businesses in our capital cities reduced their workforce compared to 20% in Regional Australia. 42% of Regional businesses said there had been no change in their workforce compared with 36% in our cities.

Other findings included:

• 27% of both Metropolitan and Regional businesses said Covid-19 had had a severe impact on their business. 9% of both said it had had a positive impact.

• 26% of Regional businesses have had sales slightly reduced due to Covid-19 compared to 34% of Metropolitan businesses. But sales for 48% of Regional businesses and 43% of Metropolitan businesses have had a significant drop.

• 20% of Regional businesses have laid off staff during the virus compared to 17% of Metropolitan businesses.

• 66% of Regional businesses laid off up to 50 employees – less impact than their Metropolitan counterparts at 77%.

• 34% of Regional businesses applied for JobKeeper compared to 43% in Metropolitan businesses.

Sensis Chief Executive Officer John Allan said virtually no businesses had been unaffected by COVID-19 but the resilience of those in Regional areas had shone through.

“What is even more remarkable is that 20% of Regional businesses reported that their sales had reduced by 50% or more since COVID started. That was a bigger impact than in Metropolitan areas with 14% of businesses reducing sales by 50% or more,” he said.

“The Regional businesses are also more upbeat when it comes to the next three months with only 14% of Regional businesses expected to decrease their workforce compared with 24% of Metropolitan businesses.”

Finance

The only area that Metropolitan businesses were ahead of their Regional cousins was in securing finance. 37% of Regional businesses were knocked back when trying to secure finance compared to 25% in Metropolitan areas. 62% of Metropolitan businesses were successful compared with 42% of Regional businesses.

Metropolitan businesses were nearly three times likely to access finance than their Regional colleagues – 17% to 6%.

Looking ahead

Regional and Metropolitan businesses have a very similar view of the next 12 months with 43% of Regional businesses either Extremely Confident or Fairly Confident with Metropolitan businesses at 42%.

Regional businesses were also more optimistic about the future with just 5% saying they are likely to close their doors over the next 12 months. That compares to almost double that of Metropolitan businesses at 9%.

Australian Social Media Habits

Wed, 22 Jul 2020 06:15:46 GMT

Australian Social Media Habits
Katina Michael
Professor, School for the Future of Innovation in Society, Arizona State University
Professor, School of Computing and IT, University of Wollongong

Every night we go to sleep pretty much with the same age-old routine. We clean up the dishes after dinner, try to unwind a little with the family, finish off the last bits and pieces of our work, brush our teeth, tuck our kids into bed and count our blessings (or misfortunes) one way or another. But what has changed for over one third of women is that we look at our social media feeds before we shut eye as the very last activity of the day; men do too, but only about a fifth of them.

In the morning, overwhelmingly, more than half of the adult population wake up and check their social media feed as the very first activity of the day! Yes, that’s even before going to the bathroom. But if you are one of those 16% of adults who can multitask, it would be unsurprising to learn that you could access social media sites while on the toilet! Although some argue our lives have become so busy with all the messaging, that it’s the perfect time to check on social media updates. Not!

For those who have a love-hate relationship with social media, defining “waking up” or “going to sleep” might be a little more complex. Research shows that about 30% of women access the Internet more than 30 times a day, that’s about twice per waking hour on average. And depending on the session time duration, some women may be online perpetually. For the record, men are not that far behind. Even over 65s are big users with about a quarter accessing the internet more than 20 times a day.

About 13% of women say they feel anxious when they haven’t been able to check their social media accounts compared to just 5% of men. This number is believed to be much higher for some age groups pertaining to platforms like Facebook as some international studies have shown. Women seem to be more likely to compare one another online, check out pictures of one another’s perfect holiday escape, the perfect dress, handbag or haircut, the perfect dinner meal prepared, the perfect social gathering, the perfect house, the best body after a gym session, the best altruistic deeds and more. The temptation to check one’s social media account is so great, that nearly 30% of women have admitted to using social media while eating a meal with family or friends, double that of men.

Yet, what is so alluring about our connectedness to others, that instantaneous dopamine hit we receive when we check to see if anyone might have responded to our post? About one third of the population admit that social media has had a negative impact on their sleep. But it’s not just about sleep patterns, social media is “always on”. People are aware that it can have a negative impact on their productivity- and it’s not just at work, it’s at home as well with common chores like doing the laundry or attending to dinnertime. We’ve all seen individuals suspended in time in shopping aisles as they attend to an urgent message, giggling to themselves or even angry. We ourselves might be one of those people. The positive thing about all of this change is that about half of us are acutely aware of our actions and the negative impact that our social media habits may be having on our privacy, even though we have a difficult time in addressing changes to our own behaviours.

These statistics have all come from a survey of 2000 Australians by Glow research and it’s become evident that social media is now a meshed socio-cyber-physical fabric in our society and an integral part of our everyday lives and the way we do business.

I just got off the phone with a prospective student whose attention was piqued after a targeted ad about a new Masters degree I am chairing hit his Twitter feed. One colleague I know is using Instagram stories to try and engage her accounting students to more attractive learning opportunities to reinforce knowledge delivered via traditional educational platforms. And one local apparel company I know is offering free giveaways for committed followers who post pictures of themselves wearing the apparel on the company social media pages.

Social media grants intimate vectors of connectivity that are referred to as touchpoints, enabling for greater personalisation across market segments. Its power is in attracting individuals who see a part of their own self-image in a brand, a visualisation, in a moment.

Marketers would previously have to depend on opinion leaders in groups, solely on word of mouth, and a great deal of surveying. People are now divulging on social media without being prompted, are sharing things they would never tell a telemarketer on the phone, and can be observed interacting with products and services demonstrating experience. In short, this kind of data is invaluable for marketers. They can see things about their target market and new market opportunities that were previously hidden or invisible. Our opinions have taken form in word, in picture, and more recently in multimedia apps like TikTok.

So what else has this survey shown? That women are the heaviest users of social media, and are only outpaced by men using social media in the workplace. About 40% of women say they spend far too long on social media, while 60% of men say their usage is just about right. In comparing figures between 2019 and 2020, social media usage is up by a whopping 31% in Australian adults, which shows the value of social media to people as a means of communication. This figure is set to be even higher in 2021 due to COVID-19 self isolation requirements. We might even go so far as saying, thank goodness for social media apps during these times, despite that many people have still felt lonely.

One thing for certain, whether on public transport, in the car, or at a restaurant or bar, the typical data profile of female users is significantly different from traditional communications. And when it comes to who has access to social media at home, the number is near saturation. Only 6% of Australian adults do not have some type of social media presence. Two thirds of women retreat to their bedroom to access social media sites as compared to 44% of men. And nearly three quarters of women use social media whilst watching TV compared to just 55% of men, enticing multichannel feedback loops.

Social media might well be positioned as a marketing dream come true but it raises a great number of issues about how much we can “know our customer” and how much we might be able to “influence their decision” to browse or buy. One thing for certain, it’s not going away. And as consumers we have to become that little bit more savvy when we link ourselves to popular brands, what we share online, what information we believe, and how to cope with the occasional feeling of enslavement when it comes to being tied to online content.

Why the behaviour of women on social media has changed more so than men during COVID-19

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Mon, 20 Jul 2020 23:55:50 GMT

Yellow surveys Australians six months apart to see what Covid-19 has done to their habits

What Australians are searching for on social media to buy has changed dramatically over the past six months off the back of Covid-19. And women’s behaviour has changed more than men.

The research was conducted by Yellow in January and replicated in July through Glow research.

The biggest hit areas are holidays, entertainment, music, movies, appliances, computers and games. Looking to buy clothes remained stable as did furniture, cosmetics, trades and accountants.

The only category that had a significant increase was the search for hairdressers up from 35% to 38% for women and up from 18% to 24% for men.

Of the products and services hardest hit, it was women whose behaviour changed the most:

•   Entertainment: women searching for entertainment options dropped 18% from 63% to 45%; men just 5% from 52% to 47%
•   Music: women dropped 15% from 47% to 32% but men dropped just 3% from 53% to 50%
•   Movies: women went from 60% to 48% whilst men actually increased from 52% to 56%
•   Clothing: searches were up 3% for women 69% to 72% but down for men from 38% to 32%
•   Appliances: women went from 51% to 39% a drop of 12% and men went from 55% to 46% a drop of 9%
•   Games: women dropped by more than half 29% down to 14% but men remained the same at 34%
The three categories to show similar behaviour were in researching for holidays with men down from 65% to 43% and women down from 65% to 46%; hospitality down 41% to 28% for men and 60% to 46% for women; and health services down from 31% to 24% for men and down 31% to 26% for women.

Hayley Jovanovic, Chief Marketing Officer at Sensis, said one of the more surprising findings was that despite people working from home and home schooling their children there had been a significant drop in the searches for computers even though retailers were reporting dramatic spikes in sales.

“Men searching went from 41% to 28% and women 22% to just 7%. We think consumers simply went straight to a retailer and purchased without doing much research beforehand,” she said.

Catching up with family and friends
The research also showed the biggest drop in using social media was to catch up with family and friends – men down 16% and women 14%.

Getting news through social media was up 6% for men and 4% for women and 21% of men and 25% of women got Covid-19 updates via social media.

For some reason there was a spike in men following celebrities – nearly doubling from 8% to 15%. Less travel and going out led to an 8% drop in women sharing photos or videos through social media, although for men that dropped by just 3%

Since Covid-19, 44% of men and 47% of women say that they have increased the time spent on social media sites. Just 7% of men and 4% of women said they had decreased their time.

TikTok the big winner
TikTok has been the biggest winner of all the social media platforms, particularly for men. Usage has gone up three-fold from just 4% to 12%. It has also increased significantly for women going from 9% to 15%.

Men’s usage has also increased for Instagram (up 9% from 33% to 42%), LinkedIn (up 7% from 24% to 31%) and up 5% on Twitter (rom 22% to 27%).

Usage of Pinterest, Facebook, Snapchat, YouTube and Twitter saw very little change.

Dating Apps
Men have used locked to increase their activity across all dating platforms - up from 2.6% to 3.9% on Bumble, from 1.8% to 2.4% on Hinge and from 4.6% to 6.3% on Tinder. Women on the other hand down from 2.9% on Bumble to 1.4%, down on Hinge from 2.3% to 2% and steady on Tinder from 4.2% to 4.3%

Release Ends

Get the results here

Editors note: On Monday, July 27 Yellow will release the 2020 Yellow Social Media Report. The report is the largest and longest running of its kind in Australia. It looks at the behaviour and habits of Australians across social media.

Affected by the bushfires?

Tue, 07 Jan 2020 06:09:07 GMT

As bushfires continue to burn across many parts of Australia, we know that a large number of our customers may be impacted personally or they are part of a local community that has been directly impacted.

Sensis together with our Brands Yellow, White Pages, True Local, Found Digital and Sensis Data Solutions are here to provide assistance and support in the coming days, weeks and months of recovery and rebuild.

Should your business be advertising with Sensis and has been impacted by the bushfires then we’re here to help. We have a long tradition of supporting Australian businesses through good times and bad and want to see your business get back on its feet as quickly as possible.

Please make contact on the numbers below to discuss assistance available to Sensis customers impacted by bushfires. (If you are a customer of multiple Sensis businesses, you’ll only need to make one call and we’ll assist you across all our brands)

Yellow – 13 23 78, available 8am – 6pm Monday - Friday.

White Pages – 1800 093 360, available 9am – 6pm Monday - Friday.

True Local – 1800 029 010, available 9am – 6pm Monday - Friday.

Yellow’s Deepa Singh wins 2019 Microsoft Advertising APAC Executive of the Year Award

Thu, 05 Dec 2019 03:08:11 GMT

At the 2019 Microsoft Advertising Regional Partner Awards, Yellow’s Deepa Singh received the Executive of the Year Award in recognition of her championing of search to drive growth and engagement to achieve the ultimate in search excellence.

The Regional Partner Awards took place in Munich, Germany (4 December 2019), to celebrate the innovation, passion and recent work of the highly valued partners that play a significant role in driving the advertising industry. Microsoft Advertising has recognised the emergence of a new and critical skillset within advertising agencies in deploying strategies to leverage the intelligence that search offers marketers to succeed across the digital marketing mix.

“To be awarded and recognised as the best across the entire APAC region by a global organisation like Microsoft Advertising is a huge honour and a testament to our commitment to excellence in Search Engine Marketing,” said Deepa Singh, General Manager Operations and Partner Management at Yellow.

“I am absolutely thrilled to have been honoured with an award, as well as to be continuing our fruitful collaboration with Microsoft. This is amazing recognition for our hard working team at Yellow”.

“Performance advertising continues to be a dominant force across the industry and modern marketers are pushing the limits of what’s possible. Microsoft Advertising empowers them with a platform that harnesses the power of AI to drive deeper and more meaningful engagements at scale, as well as to better understand the evolving consumer decision journey,” said Tor Thompson, EMEA Regional Director, Microsoft Advertising.

“Microsoft Advertising is delighted to show our appreciation and to acknowledge the highly accomplished skills and passion from Deepa with the Executive of the Year award. Our partners are critical to driving scale in our business and those who lead in this space, in their partnership with Microsoft, are second to none and embody the spirit of collaboration, joint ideation and integration,” added Sean O’Connor, Marketing Director for Europe.

Commenting on what the Award means for Yellow and its customers, Singh said Microsoft Advertising commended Yellow for its strong partnership, collaboration, and results driven performance in Search Engine Marketing.

“This global recognition showcases to our advertisers’ Yellow’s commitment to excellence in Search Engine Marketing,” said Singh. “When customers choose Yellow for their Search Engine Marketing needs, they can be assured that the people responsible for designing and managing their search campaigns are accredited by Microsoft Advertising, and have the Search knowledge and expertise to drive effective strategies, best practices and recommendations that can deliver exceptional performance and value to businesses”.

MEDIA RELEASE

Turning bytes into bites

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Mon, 02 Dec 2019 02:38:31 GMT

This is a subtitle for your new post

This month, we’ve helped turn bytes into bites. More than 1,200kg of unused technology was recently collected from our Melbourne office by PonyUp for Good. By weight, 90% of this tech has been reused and the remainder has been recycled with up to 98% diversion from landfill, ensuring the materials contained in them will go back into making new products.

The most exciting number however is 5,832 – the re-marketing of this equipment has generated enough to donate over 5,000 meals to SecondBite which helps change the lives of Australians on the front line of food poverty.

Australian small business owners struggle in silence with stress and anxiety

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Thu, 10 Oct 2019 00:46:00 GMT

• One in five Australian small business operators feel the brunt of work anxiety on their personal relationships
• Managing business cashflow and debt is the most common trigger of stress among small business owners

9 October 2019 – Almost half of Australian small business owners feel stressed or anxious about work every day, yet most don’t seek help, according to a recent survey by Yellow.

Yellow surveyed 100 small business customers across the country from a wide range of sectors and found 40% of respondents are stressed about work, but an alarming 72% do not seek any help. This was most prevalent among small business operators aged 51 or above.

The survey investigated the impact of running a small business on the mental wellness of SMB owners, and how they cope with it.

Three quarters of the survey respondents have been running their business for more than 10 years, a tell-tale sign that managing work-related stress does not come any easier for seasoned SMB operators.

Managing business finances (32%), juggling multiple responsibilities (26%) and no work-life balance (16%) were cited as the top stressors. Half of those surveyed say they work more than nine hours per day – significantly higher than the daily average of 7.6 working hours.

One in five say not only their productivity takes a hit as a result of their work anxiety, but they also feel the brunt of it on their personal relationships. Despite this, 22% cite not wanting to be a burden to others as a deterrence from seeking help, while 14% say they are not sure where or who to seek help from.

“Running your own business can be hugely rewarding but it comes with high pressure and often small business owners find it hard to switch off from work after hours,” said James Ciuffetelli, Yellow Executive General Manager.

“Having worked with Australian small businesses for more than four decades, we understand the challenges that come with being a small business owner. With Mental Health Week raising awareness of the issue this week, we want to remind all small business operators to take the first step of reaching out to someone – whether that’s a friend, a partner or a family member – and start a conversation about their mental wellbeing.”

Yellow has produced a mental health handbook for small business owners in partnership with RUOK?, which is available for download here.

Nine things we’ve learned about Australian SMB confidence

Mon, 19 Aug 2019 03:28:05 GMT

The good news for Australia is that small-medium businesses (SMB’s) are feeling confident and this confidence is expressed widely across the country. Metropolitan SMB’s are more confident than regional and interestingly female led SMB’s are more confident than their male counterparts. I’m regularly talking to small-medium businesses and there is no doubt that they are feeling happy about their business prospects and, in the main, strong trading conditions.

However, the big possible cloud on the horizon facing SMB’s is the economy. This concern is driven off the back of consumer confidence levels which have dropped, stagnant wage growth and a potential for consumers to ‘pull their heads in on spending’ as the year progresses. Whist lower interest rates and tax cuts are welcome the concern is consumers will pocket the saving and pay down debt instead of spending.

Overall SMB’s are confident and it’s the Australian economy and consumer confidence in the year ahead that will determine if their confidence continues.

Let’s look at the key results from the latest Sensis Business Index:

1. 57% of SMB’s feel confident while 17% are worried.

2. Tasmania leads the confidence table with 63% followed by Queensland at 60% and Victoria at 58%.

3. South Australian businesses are the most worried with 24% expressing concerns.

4. Victorian businesses lead the country in terms of prospects for expansion with 58% expecting significant or moderate expansion v’s the national average of 52%.

5. One in three business owners and managers believes the economy is slowing down and one in two believes it is at a standstill.

6. 22% of businesses expect the economy to improve in the coming 12 months and 30% believe the situation will get worse.

7. 37% of businesses across the country believe excessive ‘red tape’ is holding back their growth.

8. 30% of business owners and managers believe it is harder to access finance than it was six months ago, while 57% believe there has been no change.

9. A quarter of businesses are using credit cards to access finance and more than one in five are increasing their overdraft facilities.

As 2019 progresses small-medium businesses will be monitoring their trading results carefully with one eye on the economy striving to deliver business outcomes that keeps their confidence intact.

To read more about the report go https://www.sensis.com.au/about/sensis-business-index

John Allan

Australian small and medium businesses confident despite economic worries

Sun, 18 Aug 2019 22:23:47 GMT

The August 2019 Sensis Business Index has revealed that Australia’s small business confidence is strong, with 57% of businesses now confident in their prospects over the next 12 months.

Tasmania, with 63% of businesses expressing confidence in their prospects, remains the most confident state followed by Queensland at 60% and Victoria at 58%.

Commenting on findings of the latest index, Sensis CEO John Allan said: "It’s great to see more than half of small and medium businesses across the nation feeling upbeat about their business outlook post-election, despite their concerns about the current state of the economy.”

One in three business owners and managers believe the economy is slowing and one in two believe it is at a standstill. Overall, 22% of businesses expect an improvement in the economy over the next 12 months and 30% believe the situation will get worse.

South Australian businesses are the most concerned, with 24% expressing fears about the economic slowdown, while 21% of businesses in both New South Wales and Western Australia are worried about their prospects.

Metropolitan businesses (58%) are feeling more confident than their regional counterparts (52%), with half of metro SMB owners and managers (52%) expecting significant or moderate expansion in the coming 12 months, 7% higher than the regional average. Regional businesses are 13% less likely to increase headcount of their current operations than metro businesses.

Aussie SMBs found government policies not impactful

One in three Australian small businesses (36%) said that the current Federal Government policies for small business are having no impact.

“Over the years we have seen a growing perception among SMBs that Federal Government policies do not affect them and our latest index further cements this,” said Mr Allan.

Less than one in three Australian small businesses applied for the $30,000 instant asset write-off introduced by the Federal Government this year, citing lack of funds and spending as a deterrent. Two industries that took advantage of the scheme were the manufacturing and building industries.

At the state level, only one in five Australian small businesses believe that state policies are supportive of small business with ACT leading the pack, followed by Tasmania and NSW.

Across the country, 37% of businesses believe excessive ‘red tape’ is holding back their growth. This was highest in Victoria with 41% of businesses quoting red tape as an issue. In NSW, 35% of businesses view insurance as the second highest hindrance after red tape (36%), while 37% of South Australian and Tasmanian businesses believe insurance is putting the brakes on their growth. Interestingly when pressed further as to what red tape specifically, few business owners and managers could name specific examples.

Access to finance remains a pressure point for Australia’s SMBs

Access to finance is still a significant issue for Australia’s small and medium businesses. The index found that 30% of business owners and managers believe it is harder to access finance than it was six months ago, while 57% believe there has been no change.

Access is most difficult in regional areas with 37% reporting it is harder than it was six months ago to access finance and 52% reporting there has been no change.

A quarter of businesses are using credit cards to access finance, and more than one in five are increasing their overdraft facilities.

Notes for editors:

For the first time in the Index’s history, Sensis Business Index has moved to a fully digital survey methodology, reflecting the shift of SMBs to the web. The key benefit is a faster time to market. The report surveyed 1,019 small and medium business owners or managers across metropolitan and non-metropolitan regions throughout Australia between 23 and 31 July 2019. As a result of the changed methodology and sample it is not recommended to make comparisons with previous SBI quarterly surveys.

The interactive report can be viewed her e

For media queries, please contact:

Will Clarke
Head of Corporate Communications
Sensis
Will.clarke@sensis.com.au
0488 345 464

Sensis Darrell Lea statement

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Thu, 30 May 2019 09:58:33 GMT

Sensis has issued a cease and desist letter to chocolate maker Darrell Lea and the major television networks to stop them showing the remake of its iconic 2000 Yellow Pages “Not Happy Jan” ad.

The remake of the 2000 ad to relaunch Darrell Lea in Australia hit our television screens this week.

Sensis has reacted quickly. “We are flattered that Darrell Lea has used our iconic Yellow Pages advertising, featuring ‘Not Happy Jan’. However, it has been used without our consultation or approval. To see the Yellow Pages brand, which is iconic and trusted by many Australians, and our beloved character Jan, used by another company for commercial gain is a total shock to us and our customers,” said Yellow Executive General Manager, James Ciuffetelli.

“By imitating our ad, we believe it is misleading to consumers. It’s clear on social media that a number of people believe Yellow Pages has endorsed this campaign which is not the case”

Ciuffetelli, said that where appropriate, Sensis will act to protect its investments and goodwill. “It is important for advertisers and agencies to protect their work, creativity and innovation. This advert is so loved we feel we share it with the Australian people, and we believe it is right to protect this from being cheapened to sell chocolate.”

The Yellow Pages print directory is delivered to over 7 million households and businesses across Australia, and its online version has 5 million users per month.

The cease and desist letter issued by Sensis asks for airing of the ad to cease immediately.

Ends.

Yellow wins 2019 Microsoft Advertising APAC Channel Partner of the Year award

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Thu, 23 May 2019 02:11:37 GMT

At the inaugural Microsoft Advertising Channel Partner Awards, Yellow received the APAC Channel Partner of the Year award in recognition of its achievement of the highest standards in quality and performance in Search Engine Marketing.

“To be awarded and recognised as the best across the entire APAC region by a global organisation like Microsoft Advertising is a huge honour and a testament to our commitment to excellence in Search Engine Marketing,” said Deepa Singh, General Manager Operations and Partner Management at Yellow.

The Microsoft Advertising Channel Partner Awards took place at the Thompson Seattle to celebrate the innovation, passion and recent work of the highly valued partners that play a significant role in driving the advertising industry. The Microsoft Advertising Channel Partner Awards honour organisations behind some of the most impactful, innovative and performance-driven work from Microsoft Advertising partners in the Americas, Asia Pacific region, and Europe.

Commenting on what the Award means for Yellow and its customers, Singh said Microsoft Advertising commended Yellow for its strong partnership, collaboration, and results driven performance in Search Engine Marketing.

Microsoft Advertising has recognised the emergence of a new and critical skillset within advertising agencies in deploying strategies to leverage the intelligence search offers marketers to succeed across the digital marketing mix.

“There’s never been a more exciting time in Search Advertising, as marketers from across the industry are not only becoming more deeply invested in search, but they’re continuing to push new limits on the quality of content and the depth of their engagement with Microsoft Advertising,” said Lynne Kjolso, VP of Corporate Sales, Microsoft Advertising.

Yellow looks forward to continuing to expand its search advertising offerings with Microsoft Advertising as it continues to grow globally, with over one third PC search market share in the US, 24.7% in the United Kingdom, 18.5% in France and 15% in Australia.

Ends

About Yellow:

Yellow is the champion of Australian small and medium businesses. Its brands include Yellow Pages, True Local, WhereIs, Found Digital, Bridge, and Pocket Office. Yellow also provides an extensive range of digital marketing services including search engine marketing, search engine optimisation, digital display, websites and social media services for all business types. Yellow is a division of Sensis – Australia’s leading marketing services company. Other Sensis brands include White Pages, Sensis Data Solutions and Skip. Find out more at yellow.com.au

For more details about the Microsoft Advertising Partner Awards and a complete list of winners please visit: https://about.ads.microsoft.com/en-us/blog

About Sensis:

Sensis helps Australians connect and engage through our leading platforms. We help create and manage valuable connections via our digital consumer businesses (Yellow, White Pages, True Local, Whereis and Skip), search engine marketing and optimisation services, website products, social, data and mapping solutions, and through our digital agency Found. Sensis is also Australia’s largest print directory publisher including the Yellow Pages and White Pages. Find out more at www.sensis.com.au

For comments or more information please contact:

Will Clarke – Head of Corporate Communications, Sensis

0488 34 54 64 will.clarke@sensis.com.au

Aussie small and medium business confidence falls on fears of slowing economy

Will.Clarke@sensis.com.au (Will Clarke) — Mon, 06 May 2019 21:17:49 GMT

7 May 2019: The March Quarter 2019 Sensis Business Index, released today, reveals Australian small and medium business (SMB) confidence fell significantly across the country during the first quarter of the year as concerns about the health of the economy grew.

The report, which measures SMB activity, expectations and confidence over a three-month period, found small and medium business (SMB) confidence levels decreased 16 points to +34, its lowest level since March 2016.

Perceptions of the current state of the economy continued to decline, this time decreasing by eight points to -4, the first negative balance recorded since June 2015 with 26% of SMBs believing the economy is slowing and 52% believing it is standing still.

Speaking to the results, Sensis Chief Executive Officer John Allan said, “The March Quarter Sensis Business Index report has revealed mixed results on the level of support for the Federal Government in the lead up to the election.

“On the one hand, Small and Medium Business ratings of the Federal Government reached one of the highest levels recorded in the last 10 years with 26% supportive but on the other, overall business confidence fell significantly with concern about the strength of the economy,” Mr Allan continued.

South Australia bucked the national confidence trend, reaching an all-time high confidence level of +56 (increasing five points from last quarter), while Tasmania remained unchanged at +43. Falls were recorded in all other states and territories.

The largest fall was recorded in WA, dropping 32 points to +20, followed by Victoria (down 24 points to +32) and Queensland (down 23 points to +32). Despite declines, ACT and NSW remained above the national average at +45 (down 1 point) and +35 (down 7 points) respectively.

The opinion of the state government was measured as positive by five state or territory governments. Tasmania rated highest (down three points to +26), followed by SA (up two points to +19), Victoria (up eight points to +8), NSW (up one point to +3) and WA (up six points to +1). The lowest rating was again recorded in Queensland (down four points to -23) while the largest fall was experienced by the ACT Government (down 17 points to -19). The balance was also lower in the NT (from -2 to -5).

“The Tasmanian and South Australian governments continue to lead the way in terms of Small and Medium Business support, with confidence in the policies of the South Australian Government at a 6-year high,” said Mr Allan.

“Victoria’s support for the State Government is also ata 6-year high, continuing the rise in Small and Medium Business support for the Andrews Government.It will be interesting to see if confidence in state and territory governments shift following the Federal election.”

Access to finance was again a major concern for SMBs as the net balance for accessing finance decreased seven points to -28, compared with +1 last March, as tightened lending regulations continue to bite. The last time SMBs believed it was this difficult to access finance was in March 2012 when the net balance was -29.

“Small and Medium Business’ ability to access finance is critical for capital expenditure and growth,” said Mr Allan.

“Fewer SMBs attempted to access finance during the March 2019 quarter than in December, with the majority believing this to be the most difficult time to access finance in the past seven years,” Mr Allan concluded.

-ENDS-

The full report available here from Tuesday 7 May 2019

Notes for editors:

• Each SBI seeks 1,000 telephone interviews with 900 small and 100 medium business proprietors or managers (respectively employing less than 20 and 20-199 people). The sample covers metropolitan and non-metropolitan regions throughout Australia with quotas set for location and industry.

About Sensis:

For comments or more information please contact:

Will Clarke – Head of Corporate Communications, Sensis

0488 34 54 64 will.clarke@sensis.com.au

Australia’s small business owners still undecided

Wed, 24 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMT

New research shows one in three SMB owners still undecided on which party is best for small business

24 April 2019

Over the next three weeks all parties have significant work to do to convince Australia’s small and medium business owners that their policies are best to support small businesses. Just over one in three SMBs (35%) are yet to decide which party to support in the upcoming Federal election.

The findings form part of the March Quarter Sensis Business Index Report which is due to be released in coming weeks. Sensis asked 1,001 small and medium business owners their voting intentions in the months running up to the election being called.

The Sensis Business Index has traditionally shown that the Liberal National Coalition has been the favoured party of the country’s small businesses and this is still true today. Among SMBs who have made up their minds which party to support, the Liberal National Coalition is preferred to Labor by a ratio of more than three to one – 42% to 13%. In all states and territories, industries and segments, the Coalition’s appeal is significantly higher.

Liberal National Coalition support is strongest in Western Australia (54%) and New South Wales (47%) however the infamous ‘Canberra Bubble’ seems to be impacting its support in the ACT (27%). SMB support for Labor is strongest in the NT (19%) and Victoria (16%).

The number of undecided SMB owners is highest in the two territories – 49% in the NT and 47% in the ACT. In other states, it varies from 31% in NSW and Tasmania to 42% in SA.

Parties other than the Coalition or Labor generate minimal support from Australia’s SMBs – voting intentions for an independent 4%, Greens 3%, One Nation 2%, United Australia Party 1%. Surprisingly the Greens were more popular with Queensland small business owners than One Nation or United Australia Party. Tasmania bucks the trend with independents tying with Labor on 13%.

Both major parties have significant work to do to convince female small business owners that they are the best to support businesses into the future with female proprietors (49%) much more likely to be undecided than males (27%). Female voters are also steering clear of the minor parties.

Perhaps unsurprisingly younger proprietors (aged under 40 years - 45%) are more undecided than those aged 60 or older (24%). Support for the Liberal National Coalition is strongest amongst 41-50 year-olds (49%) and those 60 plus (44%). These groups are also the most decisive with 36% and 24% respectively undecided on their vote.

By industry, the ‘can’t say’ response was lowest in the Building and Construction sector at 25% and highest in the Communications sector at 40%. Liberal National Party support was strongest in the construction sector (55%) with Labor strongest in the health and community services small business sector (17%).

Notes for editors:

About Sensis:

For comments or more information please contact:

Will Clarke – Head of Corporate Communications, Sensis

0488 34 54 64 will.clarke@sensis.com.au

Sensis and Mobilewalla Partner to Provide B2B Audience Segments in Australia

Tue, 26 Feb 2019 00:00:00 GMT

February 26, 2019, Sydney, Australia

Mobilewalla - a global leader in consumer intelligence solutions - and Sensis Data Solutions-a sophisticated data services company-today announced a strategic partnership, making B2B audience data available to marketers and media buyers in Australia.

The partnership addresses the growing client demand for engaging professionals and business owners in various industries withinthe region. Together, Mobilewalla and Sensis Data Solutions have curated unique audience segments, enabling B2B advertisers and media agencies access to the highest quality and valued consumer intelligence for Australian professionals. Engagement is available through a wide range of data platforms, such as DMPs, and DSPs, including Trade Desk, Oracle Data Cloud, Adobe, AMP (Turn), MM and DV360.

The 18 B2B audience segments that are readily accessible include: construction, building, tradies, telecommunications, information technology, hotel, hospitality and food services as well as many others.

Lee Coats, Commercial Director, Sensis Data Solutions commented:

“Sensis Data Solutions is the trusted custodian of one of the largest databases of Australian consumers and businesses. These unique data assets, coupled with Mobilewalla’s leading data and technology, provideB2B marketers with unique targeting capabilities, ensuring high return on campaign investment.”

“We are working with Mobilewalla to build custom segments that only Sensis Data Solutions could provide – enabling mobile advertisers to promote and target consumers who are seeking business categories for example plumbers within a specific local area.”

Anindya Datta, CEO and Founder, Mobilewalla commented:

“The increasingly diverse requirements for mobile advertising signals the importance of improving efficiency through accurate customer insights. Sensis Data Solutions’ comprehensive business directory information integrated with Mobilewalla’s data and insights would enable B2B advertisers and media agencies better target their desired audiences across Australia.”

About Sensis Data Solutions

Sensis Data Solutions ( www.sensisdata.com.au ) is a subsidiary of Sensis ( www.sensis.com.au ) - a leading provider of marketing and advertising services that advises and connects millions of Australian businesses to customers via its iconic brands. Sensis Data Solutions offers a range of sophisticated and intelligent services to transform any database into becoming more accurate, powerful and useful. Sensis Data Solutions hasthe expertise and tools to help with data quality, consumer insights and customer connections. Ultimately, Sensis Data Solutions works with clients to make the most of their data, ensuring every interaction is meaningful.

About Mobilewalla

Mobilewalla is a global leader in consumer intelligence solutions, leveraging the industry’s most robust consumer data set and deep artificial intelligence expertise to better understand what drives the customer journey. Our proprietary solutions provide businesses with rich insight into consumer behaviour helping them to more effectively attract and retain their most desired customers. Mobilewalla has the richest global consumer database and a deep understanding of what drives consumer actions over time, increasing the accuracy of our analytics and allowing us to provide the best understanding of the customer life cycle and how it is evolving.

Mobilewalla was founded in 2011 and has offices in Atlanta, Australia, India, New York and Singapore.

For comments or more information please contact:

Will Clarke – Head of Corporate Communications, Sensis

0488 34 54 64 will.clarke@sensis.com.au

Arianne Reyes - Mobilewalla Marketing APAC and ANZ

contact@mobilewalla.com

Aussie small and medium business confidence reaches nine-year high

Tue, 05 Feb 2019 00:00:00 GMT

5 February 2019: The December Quarter 2018 Sensis Business Index has revealed that small and medium business (SMB) confidence across the country has reached a nine-year high.

The report, which measures SMB activity, expectations and confidence over a three-month period, found confidence levels increased eight points to +50, the highest level recorded since December 2009, with Victoria claiming the top spot, due to a post-election surge to +55 (14 points higher than the September Quarter report).

Metropolitan SMBs were once again found to be more confident than their regional counterparts, recording balances of +58 and +38 respectively. Overall, prospects for the year ahead were also strong particularly in sales, with over 40% of SMBs expecting growth in this area to indicate a rewarding 2019 ahead.

Sensis Chief Executive Officer, John Allan, said: “It’s great to see over 64% of small and medium business owners report they feel confident in their business prospects, particularly as the survey was completed as they headed into the Christmas period.

“The report also shows that expectations for 2019 were positive across the majority of business indicators, which is extremely encouraging given the disruption of the coming Federal Election,” Mr Allan said.

At an industry level, Hospitality was found to be the most confident sector, recording a massive increase of 36 points to a record high index of +71. While Retail remained the least confident (+26), it recorded an increase of 14 points which indicates the sector maintained positivity ahead of its busiest period.

When looking at views of the Federal Government, SMBs made it clear they don’t feel their business is affected by decisions made in Parliament, with 62% reporting Federal policies had no impact on their business – increasing from 57% in the previous quarter.

“The perception that Federal Government policies do not affect small and medium businesses has grown in popularity over the years among SMBs, which could suggest they are becoming increasingly resilient toward Government changes.”

Despite a growth in sales predictions, perceptions of the economy continued to fall for the third quarter in succession, with 61% feeling they will see no change in the economy in 12-months’ time.

“It is interesting to highlight that SMBs are more confident in their own sales over the next 12-months than they are in the Australian economy and we hope to see businesses maintain this confidence throughout 2019,” Mr Allan said.

Other findings from the report:

Access to finance continues to decrease, falling four points to -21; the lowest recorded balance since 2013. SMBs are also reporting that time to pay is pushing out and is becoming an issue.
Capital expenditure trends fell again to -8 despite confidence being high.

· Higher wages were recorded by 21% of SMBs with a fall reported by 12%. The net balance of +9 is three points lower than last quarter but the same as recorded this time last year.

Profitability performance has remained negative since March 2015, recording a balance of -1. However, expectations of the next 12-months have increased – with 40% believing profitability will increase during 2019.



The full report and video summarising the report are available here from Tuesday 5 February 2019

About this report:

· This survey took place from November 5 to December 3, 2018 and the sample comprised of 1,000 telephone interviews with 900 small and 100 medium business proprietors or managers from metropolitan and non-metropolitan regions throughout Australia with quotas set for location and industry.

· The date of the leadership change from Malcolm Turnbull to Scott Morrison as Prime Minister was August 24, 2018.

· The Sensis Business Index is a quarterly report that tracks small and medium business owners’ feelings towards trading in a range of industries.

About Sensis

For comments or more information please contact:

Will Clarke – Head of Corporate Communications, Sensis

0488 34 54 64 will.clarke@sensis.com.au

Sensis Business Index shows small business access to finance hardest in six years

Tue, 05 Feb 2019 00:00:00 GMT

5 February 2019

Australia’s small and medium businesses (SMBs) are finding it harder and harder to access finance. The latest edition of the Sensis Business Index shows that the net balance for obtaining finance decreased by four points to -21 and this compares with +2 one year ago and +16 in December 2016. The last time SMBs found it so difficult to access finance was in March 2013.

“SMBs’ ability to access finance is critical for capital expenditure and growth,” said Sensis CEO John Allan. “Not since March 2013 have SMBs found it as difficult to obtain finance as now. And the trend is showing no sign of stopping its downward spiral”.

The Sensis Business Index December Quarter report comes fresh on the heels of new figures released last week by the Reserve Bank that confirmed lending rates were down for business.

“Small and micro businesses are telling us they have been hit the hardest by the APRA lending squeeze and the fallout from the Banking and Finance Royal Commission. There is considerable concern about the credit implications of an overly zealous regulatory response,” said Allan.

Fourteen percent of SMBs sought finance which is unchanged from last quarter. Of those, 71% were successful; no change on the previous quarter.

“Small business owners are so close to their businesses and their banks and, as a result, have informed viewpoints on the lending climate,” said Allan. “They are conscious of their debtors and talk to each other. This new lending climate is forcing them to consider lending from alternative sources to the banks”.

Yesterday’s Royal Commission report comes after a period of concerns about the bursting of the housing price bubble and the APRA crackdown on "responsible bank lending". This is squeezing small-business borrowers relying on mortgaging their homes.

“The Royal Commission has already had an impact on how banks have approached finance and the fallout from the final report will no doubt impact the ability of SMBs to access finance in the short term as the industry comes to term with the recommendations,” said Allan.

Key Findings from the SBI December 2018 Quarter

· Negative balances were recorded across the country. SMBs in the NT (-39) found it hardest to access finance; those in Tasmania found it easiest (-2).

· By sector, SMBs in Wholesale Trade (-7) found it easiest. The Finance and Insurance sector experienced the most difficulty (-47) followed by Hospitality (-32) and Retail (-32).

· Small (-21) and medium size (-16) businesses both continue to find it difficult to access finance. Last survey the balances were -17 for small businesses and -20 for medium size businesses.

· The incidence of seeking finance ranged from 11% in Tasmania to 19% in Queensland.

· SMBs in the Hospitality sector (25%) were the most likely to have sought finance. Least likely were those in the Wholesale Trade sector (5%).

-ENDS-

The full report and video summarising the report are available here from Tuesday 5 February 2019

Video and audio grabs available for download here .

About the Sensis Business Index:

· The Sensis Business Index is a quarterly survey of 1000 Australian small and medium businesses (SMBs) which commenced in 1993 to measure and track:

- SMB business activity over a three-month period

- Expectations for the current quarter

- Overall confidence among SMBs

· The Sensis Business Index samples SMBs nationally to enable broad scrutiny of the market and identify relevant trends and issues. It examines differences by location, business size and industry. The aim is to reflect the attitudes and behaviour of SMBs, which comprise some 99% of Australian businesses.

About Sensis

For comments or more information please contact:

Will Clarke – Head of Corporate Communications, Sensis

0488 34 54 64 will.clarke@sensis.com.au

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