Growth & Jobs | ‘Digital Jamaica’ urges MSMEs to use websites to increase sales

CHRISTOPHER DERRELL, head of web development at Adtelligent, speaking at the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) Digital Jamaica Summit & Showcase held recently at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel, sought to address the need for entrepreneurs to integrate website into their sales strategy. “When I say websites, I’m not just talking about the digital brochure that displays your services. When you think about a website like that, it’s a very static, very unchanging way for a website to exist.” A 2024 corporate website must be able to move potential customers through the complete ‘sales funnel’, Derrell emphasised.

FEW MSMEs HAVE A WEBSITE

However, only 27.89 per cent of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Jamaica have undertaken the development or updating of their corporate website in the last five years, based on a comprehensive survey of MSMEs across Jamaica conducted by the JBDC. This means that a significant portion of businesses are without a modern, updated website optimised to channel potential customers to complete purchases.

Salesforce defines a sales funnel as ‘A marketing term used to capture and describe the journey that potential customers go through, from prospecting to purchase.’ The sales funnel typically involves six stages. In the first three stages, the potential customer learns about your brand and engages with your offerings, while in the last three stages they are empowered to take action and finalise the transaction.

In the same way, Derrell said the 2024 website must encourage potential customers to take action. “For every single brand out there, you have to ensure that your website serves every single customer. For the person who has never heard of you and stumbled across your website, your website has to teach them who you are. For the person who is interested, they have to know that you have the exact solution that he or she is looking for. For decision, there needs to be a way for them to commit. If your website doesn’t have a way for them to take action, then there is nothing they can do,” Derrell explained.

A corporate website must act as a branch of the business. As such, MSMEs must integrate e-commerce into their websites to make the sales funnel work. Regarding e-commerce technology and process adoption among MSMEs, the data reveals that 17.36 per cent of respondents reported adopting e-commerce within the last five years. This indicates a low level of engagement with e-commerce, suggesting that while there is some recognition of its importance, the majority of MSMEs have yet to fully embrace e-commerce.

DIGITAL JAMAICA PROJECT

The Digital Jamaica Project is funded by the European Union. Website development and e-commerce are just two areas that 2,700 MSMEs will be trained in under this project. Attendees at the summit were given the opportunity to pre-register for the upcoming training sessions to be conducted by the JBDC and other experts under the guidance of the Ministry of Industry, Investment & Commerce. With the training set to be implemented over two fiscal years (2024-2026), the target for year one is 700 MSMEs. Approximately 600 persons have pre-registered.

Of note, the sessions will be limited to a maximum of 20 participants at a time. Registration will be ongoing as the sessions are scheduled and announced. Persons may get more details on the project at www.jbdc.net.