BaseKit, the global white label software development company specialising in designing effortless digital tools for micro businesses, is kicking off Bristol Tech Festival at 9:30 on Monday 10 October with a breakfast panel discussion: “How can we champion tech democracy for the small business economy”
BaseKit is on a mission to democratise tech so that everyone has the confidence to build a business online. Their streamlined site builder, e-commerce and scheduling solutions and responsive editor allow business creation from mobile, tablet and desktop devices, enabling anyone to start a business and thrive online.
The company wanted to understand how best to support tech democracy – the ability for a company, no matter how small, to be able to have an online presence and grow that presence – so they polled 529 UK microbusinesses (with under 5 employees) and have compiled a report which they will be presenting at their event.
Their findings showed that there was still a strong digital divide in place amongst microbusiness owners:
- 26% still don’t have a website
- 77% are unlikely to search for new digital tools
- 39% don’t know who to trust to provide those digital tools.
The education gap is real but so is the opportunity and there is hope that larger organisations will be able to help more micro businesses cross the digital divide. .
Join an expert line up of panellists including, Ash Phillips (Founder at Dffrnt), Ian Phillips (Head of Partner Sales at XERO), Jonathan Gaunt (Founder of FD Works) and BaseKit’s own CEO, Simon Best, as they discuss the key findings from the report, covering:
1. Micro business owners’ expectations
A large majority of microbusinesses say that they are unlikely to embrace any new digital tools in the next year. The panel will discuss why this might be.
2. Micro business owners’ motivations
Micro businesses appear to be willing to buy a digital tool from a professional services provider or an accountant as there is a belief that they would provide a professional and speedy service, as well as understand the needs of their customer base
3. Barriers to adopting technology
37% of respondents to their survey indicated that expense, lack of support, lack of knowledge, or not being able to identify the most cost effective digital solutions. The panel will talk around how this can partly be resolved through an education piece around incorporating digital tools into their core business.
4. Winning micro business owners’ loyalty
The results of the survey we led show that once micro business owners have committed to a digital provider, they are unlikely to switch in the near future. The panel will debate whether the incorporation of digital tools into core packages could lead to lower rates of churn in some industries.
Simon Best, CEO of BaseKit told techSPARK: “As we embark on our mission for global tech democracy for small businesses, we are really excited to be bringing our debut research report to Bristol Technology Festival as founding partner. We hope spreading awareness of the expectations, motivations, tech barriers and loyalty of UK micro businesses will spark interesting and actionable discussion on how larger businesses can champion efforts to cross the digital divide and enable the backbone of our economy to grow and thrive in a fast changing world.”
Please join BaseKit and their panel for coffee and croissants from 9am on Monday 10 October, followed by a panel discussion chaired by Lucy Paine of techSPARK.
To register for the event, please save your seat here.
