WA small businesses are kicking online goals

Overwhelming community support and a heavily boosted online presence were critical in helping one WA small business survive the height of COVID-19. David Stedman, who owns and operates Cambridge Corner Store with his wife, Simone, and their children, said the pandemic had forced them to rapidly ramp up their online presence. The business, which opened in late 2017, already had a basic website, but Mr Stedman said the pandemic helped him focus on its digital presence. “COVID showed that we didn’t actually have a big enough presence from an online point of view, so for us, we had a lot of work to do in this area,” he said. “We’re certainly still at the start of the digital journey. We had emails and people texting in for their coffees but we didn’t have an online presence where customers could interact with us the way they wanted to.” Ms Stedman said turning to online channels was the only way to let the community know their business was still trading once COVID hit. “Even though we were using some social media, we weren’t using it as a major form of getting our message across,” she said. Despite the threat of COVID subsiding in WA, Ms Stedman said they had no plans to step back from interacting with customers through digital channels. “We’re still trying to maintain that level of interaction with the community, and use our online channels to tell people about our store,” she said. A report released in December by the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman revealed that 40 per cent of small businesses changed the way they provided products and services in response to the crisis, while 20 per cent indicated those changes would stay in place. Mr Stedman said community support was also crucial during the pandemic, with locals continuing to back the family business during the height of COVID. One regular supporter included West Coast Eagles captain Luke Shuey. The footballer said the local store was convenient given its close proximity to his home, and it had everything his young family needed. “The business owners are lovely people and it’s been good to see them blossom over the past couple of years,” Mr Shuey said. “We need to play our part to help small businesses rebuild after what would’ve been a tough year for many of them last year. “We can’t overestimate how important they are to our communities.” The Stedmans will get a helping hand in their quest to ramp up their digital operations through Telstra’s $8.5 million Go Digital program. The new program will be offered free to all small to medium businesses throughout WA this year, which includes a consultation by a Telstra adviser on their digital touchpoints — from online marketing to ecommerce and employee engagement. Eligible businesses who register for the competition online before March 23 will have the opportunity to broadcast their business on a national stage with free advertising at an AFL game.

WA small businesses are kicking online goals

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