Digital Brockley - there's no app for that

Boston Consultancy Group recently released a report, which showed that small and medium sized businesses in the UK that make heavy use of the internet to market and sell themselves grow much faster than those who don’t. The authors state:

In the U.K., sales at "high-web" companies increased six times as fast as revenues at firms with no internet presence. 23% of UK SMEs have no web presence. Additionally, 85% of high-web companies added jobs in the last three years, compared with only 51% of low-web or no-web companies.*

It’s perhaps not a hugely surprising conclusion, but it does show that Brockley businesses that don’t have a website or make use of free social networking tools are tying one hand behind their backs. It also underlines the value of digital placemaking projects like the South London Art Map or the Get Greenwich app (launched in time for the Olympics) in helping to increase footfall to high streets and town centres. Obviously, Brockley Central does its best to spread the word via a plethora of channels, but we haven’t embraced mobile yet.

With mobile internet access due to overtake PC-based access by 2015 (Morgan Stanley forecast), it's becoming increasingly important to design with mobile in mind. Is BC mobile friendly? Does Brockley need an app?

*BCG classifies companies as follows:

High-Web companies use a wide range of Internet tools to market, sell, and support customers, interact with suppliers, and empower employees; medium-Web businesses market or sell goods or services online; low-Web businesses have a website or a social networking site; no-Web businesses do not have a website.