TEN years ago graphic designer Che Stevenson could see digital spaces on the horizon.
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In 2006, he was working at a business whose direct marketing included flyers, telemarketing and faxes.
Facebook had just been released to the public but businesses having a website or digital presence was far from the normal thing.
“In that business I was with (in 2006), I could see the marketing getting less effective,” Mr Stevenson said.
“The business was 35 years old, had about 70 staff and was very traditional and reluctant to change its ways.
“It doesn't exist any more, which is what happens when you don’t adapt digital channels.”
Mr Stevenson adapted his own business, Creative Revolutions, from a freelance graphic design outfit to a business that focuses on digital marketing in 2010.
By 2014, he had left his day job to focus on Creative Revolutions full time and by 2015 had employed his first employee and opened a studio in Hargreaves Street.
He now has a team of seven people and this year won the Bendigo Business Excellence Award for excellence in strategy for online presence.
“I wanted to work with businesses that wanted to change, so I developed those skills,” Mr Stevenson said.
“I saw the need and the gap for a competitive digital-first agency. It was about making it happen.
“New businesses are now giving traditional ones a run for their money. There are now that traditional businesses that can't ignore (online). Digital marketing has been around so long that it is now tried and tested.”
Bendigo fashion business Frankie and Co was created two years ago by mother-of-two Paige Davies with an iPhone.
“It started with a private Facebook group. When that grew, I thought if ‘I want to keep building, I need to be on Facebook so everyone can see.’
“But it wasn’t easy. I spent hours and hours away from my children and family, weekends where I was never home.
“I saw massive hole in market for where I was – a young mum with two kids and nowhere to go in Bendigo for shopping. None of the shops were children friendly and online shopping was either high end or Target, there was nothing in between.
After going from a private group on Facebook to a public page, Frankie and Co hit 8000 likes within five months.
Today with a staff of seven, Frankie and Co fills up to 800 orders each week.
“I didn’t even have computer when I started, it was all on my iPhone,” Mrs Davies said.
“A lot of it has to do with marketing. If you take a photo of white T-shirt on a hanger you might get one sale. If you put the shirt on a gorgeous girl and get a proper photographer you sell more.”
Frankie and Co now have their own store in Bendigo, something Mrs Davies always wanted to do.
“Not everyone likes shopping online. Some people have tricky sizing or want to feel the fabric. It’s really good to still visually see customer,” she said.
“One thing I do want to do is stay true to good old-fashioned service.
“We have employed two full-time customer service staff who answer emails as soon as they come in.
“People still private message me for advice and I never want to lose that. I still manage all the social media accounts.”
City of Greater Bendigo small business development coordinator Peter Jeffrey said, for businesses, being online is critical.
“For regional businesses, getting online with a digital presence, is more than just a website, email and Facebook,” he said.
“Now there’s Instagram, Twitter, search engine optimisation, getting ranked, reviewed and well received.”
“Businesses need to be aware of how a digital space works, operates and what the benefits are.”
Mr Jeffrey said businesses today are a blend of new business owners and the older generation.
“Usually it is the younger generation and then the older , bricks and mortar businesses,” he said.
“They are often in a meeting of the worlds. The owner who has been in business for 20 years with a store is now trying to get a social media and digital presence but we are also seeing a shift where (online) entrepreneurs are developing a ‘bricks and mortar’ store.
“There is merging of worlds and it is an interesting time.”
To help Bendigo’s small and micro businesses, Mr Jeffrey and the city’s economic development team have developed Support Local Businesses Bendigo – an online forum, Facebook page and website.
“It came about two years ago because there was a recognition that the the Bendigo Economic Development Unit didn’t have a digital presence,” he said.
“Smaller micro-businesses, which employ less than five staff, were engaging quite well and communicating on social media. As a result, we needed a presence.
“We developed a website that feeds into a forum and the reason that appealed is that it's a depository where the information doesn't get lost. The essence of that forum is to share.”
But for businesses venturing into the online space for the first time, Facebook is often see as the first stop.
“Facebook is the default go to but it is for a reason,” Mr Stevenson said. “Sixty-five per cent of Australians are monthly users of Facebook and they use Facebook about eight hours a month.”
Mr Jeffrey said it isn’t a matter of just setting up a Facebook page.
“Social media won't solve all the issues. A lot of business believe Facebook is answer, but it’s not the entire answer,” Mr Jeffrey said. “It requires energy, love and needs to be maintained.
“The catchphrase is ‘don't work in your business, work on your business’ but we are often too busy to work on our businesses because we are working so hard in our businesses.”