PR and marketing

Almost 73 per cent of Australian workers in the mining, industrial and construction sectors have expressed their concern about the widening gap between the two-speed economy.

These are the findings of a recent survey of 1,030 Australians, working in the mining, industrial and manufacturing sectors, conducted by Ferret.com.au – an online business directory servicing the Australian mining, industrial and manufacturing sectors.

The survey revealed growing concerns of economic pressures caused by the weaknesses in the manufacturing, construction and retail industries in opposition to the mining boom.

Dom Weatherhead, Account manager for Ferret.com.au said, “This was one of the most significant responses when it came to addressing concerns and issues regarding the mining, industrial and manufacturing sectors. It shows that confidence really isn’t all that high at the moment.”

In addition to growing concerns about the Australian two-speed economy, was the belief that the mining boom is causing a skills shortage in Australian businesses that are outside of the mining sector. However, those surveyed also expressed concern about a skills shortage in the mining sector, with just over 50 per cent believing the shortage does exist.

“Just over 51 per cent of those surveyed expressed concern for skills shortages occurring in sectors like manufacturing and retail due to the mining boom, but almost the same amount of those surveyed expressed concerns about a shortage of skills in the mining sector as well,” said Mr Weatherhead.

In response to the skills shortage, 54 percent of the Australian workers in the mining sector indicated they believe automation is needed and only 10 per cent indicated they don’t.

“Automation is slowly increasing in the mining sector, with many companies implementing automated machinery in remote areas and places they find difficult to employ workers for,” said Mr Weatherhead.

“Although there are some negative aspects to automation, these results indicate that these workers are worried about the skills shortage and believe automation may be the answer.”

Business owners, managers and employees of the mining, industrial and manufacturing sectors were surveyed about the major issues of their sector including economic, environmental issues, and cost and effectiveness of resources.

-end-

For further information or interviews please contact:
Lauren Milne
CP Communications
Phone: 02 9460 9200

About the survey
The survey of 1,030 business owners, managers and employees of the mining, industrial and manufacturing sectors over the age of 18 years was carried out over the months of March and April 2012 covering all states and territories of Australia and representing all demographics.

About Ferret.com.au
Ferret.com.au is an online business directory servicing the Australian Manufacturing, Industrial and Mining industries. Owned and operated by Catch, an online division of Reed Business Information Australia, Ferret.com.au provides a comprehensive central online source containing the latest product, company and industry news updates. www.ferret.com.au

A survey of the Australian hospitality industry shows that although the boom of online, ecommerce and digital media are well on their way to being powerful business strategies, the hospitality industry is still wary of online business and ecommerce.

The survey conducted by GoHospitality.com.au of more than 850 businesses highlighted that almost a third of the respondents don’t have a website for their business and more than 52 percent do not feel the need to buy or sell any products or services online.

The survey revealed that many businesses in the hospitality industry have been reluctant to adopt an online business strategy.

The survey, however, did show an increase in interest toward the utilisation of online marketing. Although more than half of those surveyed do not use the internet to buy or sell, 82 percent stated they would begin to engage in online buying and/or selling in the future.

Additionally, while 85 percent of business owners surveyed believe that a website is important for their business, a quarter of them do not believe their customers find them online. Furthermore, more than one fifth of business owners in the hospitality industry believe they are unaffected by the internet and mobile commerce.

GoHospitality.com.au Account Manager Kylie Tabrett said, “Although there is indication of attitude changing towards the internet and digital strategies in the hospitality industry there is still very little action going on. Although the internet is the preferred source of information for the hospitality industry their actions just aren’t matching their needs.”

“There seems to be something stopping business owners in the hospitality industry from integrating more with the internet. More than half of those surveyed claimed not to shop online for hospitality products and yet 96 percent believe it’s a viable channel – it’s very contradictory,” said Ms Tabrett.

When business owners were questioned about the internet and an increase to global competition via online businesses and ecommerce:

• Just over one third did not believe the internet helped their business to compete globally in any way.
• 73 percent do not believe their business will be negatively affected by customers going online to shop with overseas suppliers.
• One fifth were unsure whether or not their website helped them to compete with global competition.

“Although businesses in the hospitality sector appear confident about global competition only 26 percent surveyed said their business can compete with overseas pricing. The majority stated they believed they could only sometimes compete,” said Ms Tabrett.

Almost 40 percent of business owners shop online from overseas businesses with 86 percent of those online shoppers claiming to have saved money.

“We see business owners in the hospitality industry shopping online because it saves them money and yet those same business owners are claiming they do not believe their customers will go the same way,” said Ms Tabrett

Australian made products were said to be much more expensive with 74 percent of the surveyed business owners stating overseas products were cheaper but when questioned on quality vs. price 57 percent were confident that their customers would opt for quality even if it meant spending more money.

However, when asked whether the business owners themselves would opt for Australian made over price just over half stated they would in fact go with the cheaper option.

Ms Tabrett said, “The flood of coupon sites offering discount deals in accommodation, dining, and entertainment are signs that the industry is responding to a competitive local market with price conscious consumers. Naturally, businesses are branching out overseas to buy cheaper supplies in order to compete and increase profitability.”

“In addition to leveraging the internet to source products for their business, it seems the hospitality industry is yet to realise the real potential of the internet as a tool to future-proof their business and build on the engagement and loyalty of each customer. Otherwise a discount will trump quality every time,” said Ms Tabrett.

Business and non-business owners in the hospitality industry were surveyed about the effects of major issues in their sector including financial, environmental issues and cost of resources.

-ends-

For further information or interviews please contact:
Lauren Milne
CP Communications
Phone: 02 9460 9200

About the survey
The survey of 866 business and non-business owners in the hospitality industry over the age of 18 years was carried out over the months of September, October, November and December 2011, and January and February 2012 covering all states and territories of Australia and representing all demographics.

About GoHospitality.com.au
GoHospitality.com.au is an online business directory servicing the hospitality industry. Owned and operated by Catch, an online division of Reed Business Information Australia, GoHospitality.com.au provides a comprehensive central online source containing the latest product, company and industry news updates.
www.gohospitality.com.au 

KEY FINDINGS FROM THE SURVEY

Online trends and buying habits

• 76 percent reported the internet to be the number one preferred source of information to support purchase decisions.
• The internet is a rich resource for hospitality professionals who claim to use the internet primarily for researching products & services (83.8 percent) – as well as finding suppliers of sought products and services (81.3 percent).
• Of the hospitality professionals surveyed (non-business owners), 48.8 percent claimed they will change their buying
  habits to incorporate products from overseas.
• Hospitality professionals surveyed agreed that while Australian products were more expensive (74.2 percent) – they also agreed that they were a better quality (63 percent).
• Business owners also felt confident that their customers would opt for quality (57.1 percent) over price (42.9 percent).

Search Engine Optimisation

• Of those businesses who reported having a website, more than half (51.8 percent) were confident of their SEO performance.
• 27.9 percent were certain their SEO was not good and 20.2 percent were unsure whether their SEO was good or bad.
• Results indicate a significant portion of the hospitality market has an understanding or awareness of what SEO (and Internet marketing) is.

Hospitality industry outlook on the Carbon Tax

• More than half (53.5 percent) of the hospitality industry believe carbon emissions will not be reduced as a result of the carbon tax.
• 52.5 percent of the hospitality industry claimed they would use alternative energy sources in the future due to the carbon tax.
• 91.2 percent of the hospitality industry claimed they do make an effort to reduce carbon emissions and 41.5 percent already use alternative energy sources for sustainability.
• 91.4 percent of the hospitality industry is concerned about environmental issues of which the majority worried about Water conservation and consumption, followed by climate change.

Future outlook for the hospitality industry

• While 62.1 percent of hospitality businesses felt positive about the future of the industry, the remaining 37.9 percent of businesses were either unsure (27 percent) or did not think the future of the Australian hospitality industry looked promising (10.9 percent).
• The main concern for Hospitality businesses in 2012 were reported as the Global financial crisis, followed closely by the declining retail sales in Australia.

Rural and regional Australians are unprepared for the impact a faster internet service will have on their businesses and everyday lives when the National Broadband Network (NBN) is introduced – with many seeming confused about what the changes will mean for them.

These are the findings of a recent survey of 1030 rural and regional Australians conducted by FatCow.com.au, an online business directory servicing the Australian farming, agricultural and horticultural sectors. The survey revealed confusion over the NBN with contradictory opinions surfacing about whether any impact will even be noticeable, especially to their businesses.

Over a third of rural and regional business owners said they would not take advantage of the NBN to promote their business even though over half of all the business owners surveyed claim to be found by customers via the internet.

Commercial Manager for FatCow.com.au, Paul Ryan, said, “Regional and rural Australians don’t seem to understand the incredible potential of the NBN. Many business owners don’t believe their customer numbers will increase and the majority believes competition will stay the same, which shows a real lack of education about what the NBN can actually lead to.”

When business owners were asked about the NBN and possible increases in competition and customer numbers and orders:
· Almost 54 percent stated they did not think their business would be negatively impacted by customers buying products from overseas online stores.
· 71 percent did not believe the NBN would create more competition for their business.
· Over half believed the NBN would not help to deliver more customers or orders.

Although more than 70 per cent believe owning a business website is important and 85 per cent will continue to engage online, 60 per cent of regional and rural Australians are worried about the cost of the NBN.

“The NBN will bring fantastic opportunities for all regional and rural Australians. It will bring forth the potential for increased revenue in business, faster internet which will improve productivity and a much wider scope for business services. Yet many Australians are unwilling to pay for it,” said Mr Ryan.

While almost 96 per cent of non business owners believed the internet was a viable channel for buying and selling agricultural products online, 72 per cent would not consider starting a business regardless of faster internet access.

Rural and regional Australians were surveyed about the effects of major issues on their town including the economy, environmental issues and cost of resources.

-ends-

For more information please contact:
Lauren Milne
CP Communications
P: 02 9922 1063

About FatCow.com.au and the survey
FatCow.com.au is an online business directory servicing the Australian farming, agricultural and horticultural sectors. Owned and operated by Catch, an online division of Reed Business Information Australia, FatCow.com.au provides a comprehensive central online source containing the latest product, company and industry news updates.

The survey of 1030 rural and regional Australians over the age of 18 years was carried out over the months of August, September and beginning of October, covering all states and territories of Australia and representing all demographics.
 www.fatcow.com.au

As the Carbon Tax has been passed through the lower house, regional Australians voice their opinions and concerns about what it may bring for the future of their businesses and everyday lives.

The 2011 FatCow.com.au Industry Survey has revealed that 78 percent of regional Australian business and non-business owners do not support the carbon tax, with 65 per cent stating that they do not believe the Carbon Tax will reduce carbon emissions. Considerable doubt seems to exist even amongst the minority group of Carbon Tax supporters (22 percent) of which 46 percent reported uncertainty about whether the Carbon Tax could reduce carbon emissions.

The survey of 1030 rural and regional Australians, conducted by FatCow.com.au, an online business directory servicing the Australian farming, agricultural and horticultural sectors, investigated the trends and issues surrounding rural and regional Australians.

The survey showed that when the attitudes of rural business owners and non business owners were compared, business owners were the most cynical towards the Carbon Tax. Over 80 percent of rural business owners stated that they would not support the Carbon Tax and 87 per cent showed they were concerned about the implications for their business.

Group Sales Manager for FatCow.com.au, Paul Ryan said, “Many regional and rural Australians have placed a negative connotation upon the Carbon Tax, stating that it won’t encourage them to reduce their carbon emissions – yet most are concerned about environmental issues for the future.”

Some comparisons of business and non-business owners included:
· 82 per cent of business owners stated they did not support the Carbon Tax as opposed to 72 percent of non-business owners.
· Almost 70 per cent of business owners do not think the Carbon Tax will reduce carbon emissions as opposed to 58 percent of non-business owners.
· 58 percent of business owners would not switch to alternate energy sources due to the Carbon tax as opposed to the 45 percent of non-business owners.

Regional Australians are also showing some confusion around what effect the tax will have - with many having contradictory thoughts about the use of alternative energy sources.

As a contradiction to these negative Carbon Tax responses, rural business owners are the most willing to reduce pollution and emissions and make an effort to switch to alternative energy sources.

“We can see that most of regional and rural Australians are concerned about climate change and are doing what they can to support environmental sustainability,” Mr Ryan said. “The Carbon Tax is just another way Australians can support the effort to reduce global warming.”

While majority of those surveyed would not use alternative energy sources due to the Carbon Tax, over 92 per cent state they are already making an effort to reduce pollution and carbon emissions.

Rural and regional Australians were surveyed about the effects of major issues on their town including the economy, environmental issues and cost of resources.

-ends-

For further information or interviews please contact:
Lauren Milne
CP Communications
Phone: 02 9922 1063

About FatCow.com.au and the survey
FatCow.com.au is an online business directory servicing the Australian farming, agricultural and horticultural sectors. Owned and operated by Catch, an online division of Reed Business Information Australia, FatCow.com.au provides a comprehensive central online source containing the latest product, company and industry news updates.

The survey of 1030 rural and regional Australians over the age of 18 years was carried out over the months of August, September and beginning of October, covering all states and territories of Australia and representing all demographics.
 www.fatcow.com.au