If you’re B2B marketing in Perth or looking to sell into the Western Australia SME business market, getting an understanding of the market’s size and make-up can be difficult.
However, there are a few places you can go to help you get a preliminary picture of the Perth B2B market, which you may not have considered. These resources can be a good place to start to help you decide how attractive the Perth and WA market might be for your goods and services.
The Small Business Development Corporation WA
Small business represents around 97 percent of all businesses in Western Australia. They operate across a wide range of industries including manufacturing, business services, retail and transport. According to the latest ABS counts of Australian businesses, as at June 2015 there were 2,066,806 small businesses nationwide, with 214,197 small businesses in WA.
The Small Business Development Corporation (SBDC) is an independent statutory authority, established by the Western Australian State Government back in 1984 under the Small Business Development Corporation Act 1983. The SBDC website is a bit of a beast and the user experience for Perth’s B2B marketing fraternity leaves a lot to be desired. They’re a past client of mine, so I have a soft spot for them. To get an initial lay of the land you can’t go past their facts and statistics page for a snapshot of the local market.
As at June 2015 industries with the largest number of small businesses in WA are:
- Construction – 40,502 small businesses (18.9% of all small business in WA)
- Professional Scientific and Technical services – 25,472 (11.9%)
- Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services – 23,401 (10.9%)
- Financial and Insurance Services – 19,494 (9.1%)
- Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing – 17,051 (8.0%)
Business New BNIQ Database
Perth’s WA Business News is a great B2B marketing resource for building databases, finding contacts and researching companies and markets. While the minimum 6 months subscription at $70 a month may seem a bit steep, if you look at what you get there’s plenty there.
BNIQ – is a boon for Perth focused B2B marketing specialists. The online database lists 6700 Perth-based organisations, 80+ industry sectors and segments, over 6000 local businesses and 24,000 individual Perth based business contacts.
The Business News Book of Lists (print edition) was the forerunner to BNIQ. The book and downloadable Excel spreadsheets have long been a staple of B2B marketers and anyone interested in B2B marketing in Perth. ‘The book of lists’ includes a round-up of +60 WA industries each ranked on key identifiers.
Business | WA Government
The Western Australian State Governments website’s business page is another great resource for B2B marketing in Perth and WA markets. The portal contains everything to do with businesses in WA including investing in WA, links for business opportunities, services and support, awards and grants and workplace safety. The business links page provides additional business opportunities, business services and support, statistics and publications. And if you have a service you want to sell to the WA state government check out the selling to government section .
WA Treasury
The Department of Treasury provides the government with timely, accurate and sound information and advice on economic and revenue matters. It also has some pretty decent environmental and economic data that can inform B2B marketing experts around the health of the economy and its various sectors. Probably the best page on the site is Economic indicators.
WALGA Western Australian Local Government – Preferred Supplier Program
Are you B2B marketing in Perth and selling into Local Governments? Consider becoming a WALGA preferred supplier. There are 138 Local Governments in WA, so chances are B2B marketers need to check out the LGA’s. WALGA Preferred Supply Arrangements are specified groupings of suppliers that have been pre-qualified and appointed by WALGA to supply a category of goods or services to Local Governments. This follows a rigorous public procurement process that is fully compliant with legal and best practice purchasing requirements.
City of Perth Local Government
The City of Perth’s My-business section has a wealth of information. Also check out its facts and figures page. It’s a great compliment to the research sources listed above.
Whether you are an existing B2B Perth marketer or a new B2B business looking to open in Perth these are some great, often underutilised, marketing and research resources you can use to your advantage.
If you can think of any others please let me know in the comments section below and I’ll update the post.
Happy Perth researching!
