Helping tradespeople get online and beat the recession 2008

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So the results of the first Torbay Trades Survey. It will be interesting to see how it compares with one at the end of this year.

100% of respondents believe that the current mayor is not the visionary he would like us to believe.
Only 10% think that most local councillors are level-headed individuals that just want to give something back to society
25% think The HiFyler Ballon has been a great success and very profitable for Torbay
No one at all thought Torbay high streets are a Mecca for the discerning shopper
Only 3% thought we are truly blessed to have a police force so committed to spending our money and their time taking care of the inebriated by providing flip flops
13% think parking ticket machines and parking wardens are providing an income to the area that will be spent on worthwhile issues
12% thought the council is correct to outsource so much work to businesses outside the area rather than giving it to local business
0% thought the national media have provided us with a well-balanced view of the current recession
Only 10% thought the local media are championing and supporting local business at every opportunity
70% thought that if a new online magazine written by local people about local issues was available would you subscribe to it. 70% would be a contributor to such a magazine

When asked. If you have advertised in a local paper how successful has it been for you?

No one said it had been very successful.
57% said not very
47% said useless

When asked. If you have advertised on local radio how successful has it been for you

No one said it had been very successful.
75% said not very
25% said useless

When asked. Do you have a website

50% said yes
13% said no
38% said they were now considering it

When asked who made it

43% said I did
43% said I paid a company to do it
14% said my 12 year old son / daughter did it one wet weekend

And the can it be found in search engines question

83% said yes
17% said no

When asked if they promoted their websites

20% don’t
80% do on all advertising material

When asked if it has generated business

25% said loads
75% said a little

How do you stay in touch with your customers?

50% by email
75% by phone
38% by letter
25% by invoice
13% don’t bother

Will you be advertising more or less in 2009?

75% said more
13% said less
13% have not even thought about it
0% said I don’t need to advertise

When asked. Do you think that the Internet is a valuable marketing tool that you will be using more in 2009?

75% said Yes
13% said No
13% said Maybe

Do you think that using video and audio on your website makes a difference?

38% said Yes
38% said No
25% have no idea

When asked if directory listings (Yell, Thompson etc) was money well spent

38% said Yes
63% said No

Have you been called by a directory company offering a web site and a listing in their directory?

75% said Yes
25% said No

How long do you think the recession will last for?

0% 6 months
0% 9 months
13% 12 months
13% 18 months
38% 24 months
38% have no idea

When asked. Have you experienced any default debts in the last year

38% said Yes
63% said No

Are the number of late/bad payers increasing

50% said Yes
50% said No

When asked. Have you stopped doing business with certain customers because you are uncertain of their liquidity?

50% said Yes
50% said No

How do you think the current situation is being managed by government

0% thought Well
13% thought satisfactorily
88% thought poorly
No one thought stunningly awfully

When asked if people thought the media coverage had influenced the situation

100% said Yes

When asked. Do you think the local economy will suffer as much as the rest of the country

88% said Yes
13% said No

With the high street and building sector taking the worst of it. 75% of respondents thought that local politicians could do more while 50% thought there was nothing they could personally do to change things. When asked if people had noticed a change in the level of business year on year 50% said yes they were busier, which also means that 50% are not so busy or have the same level of business. It is said that you should continue to advertise in a recession. 88% of people thought this was true the rest did not. 50% of people have a advertising budget so where is the best place to advertise according to this survey?

Television 0%
Radio 0%
Newspapers 0%
Mail shots 17%
Direct mail 17%
Online 17%
Networking 50%

When asked if the internet was part of their marketing strategy 63% said yes with 25% saying no and 13% claiming to be thinking about it. So what about working with others on joint ventures? 50% said they would and 50% said they would not. So if you were looking for advice at this time where would you go for it

Accountant 75%
Solicitor 25%
Business advisor 50%
Friends and family 75%
Chamber of Trade 0%

There was a section at the end where people could add comments and ideas they had for getting through these difficult times. Most seemed to involve the internet.

“We are setting up a web site this year”
“We will have a web site in 09 as we can control it”
“All our customers are online, we asked them, so it is stupid that we are not!”