Aussie small and medium business confidence falls on fears of slowing economy

For the second year running, Sensis is proud to have partnered with RMIT University to leverage Sensis/Glow data to inform the creation of various social media projects. The studio explores both the benefits and implications of contemporary digital media platforms. Each project included a variation of video, written and visual content to formulate nuanced and informative social media campaigns across a range of issues. The students utilised Sensis data, alongside student-driven research to form the basis of their projects and inform their strategy moving forward in terms of reaching their target audience and ensuring their message was informed and driven by research. Take a look at the completed projects here: http://www.mediafactory.org.au/2021-making-sense-of-social-media/

Thryv Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:THRY), the provider of Thryv® software, the end-to-end customer experience platform built for growing small business, has been named a leader in multiple categories in the newly released G2 Spring 2021 Reports. G2 is an online tech marketplace where technology users can discover and review technology and make informed decisions when purchasing software. Thryv earned 14 G2 Leader awards, breaking last quarter’s record for most honors in a single quarter. The Leader distinction is G2’s highest level award, followed by the High Performers, Contenders, and Niche player levels. Thryv was named a Leader for Small Business for the sixth quarter in a row, and an overall Leader among competitors across all categories. For the Spring quarter, G2 named Thryv the No. 3 payment gateway choice among small businesses, narrowly behind No. 2 Apple Pay. PayPal leads the category. “This is remarkable progress for Thryv and our payment processing service, ThryvPay, which we launched in late 2020,” said Ryan Cantor, Thryv’s VP of Product and Marketing. “We designed ThryvPay specifically for service-based businesses, and it’s clearly resonating that they needed a payments option tailored for them. We are delighted to see how ThryvPay and all of the other flexible payment features inside Thryv are meeting the needs of small business owners nationwide.” In addition to payments, Thryv provides a multitude of functionality in its platform, such as a newly enhanced and verticalized CRM, marketing automation, online scheduling, relationship management and more. Leading in these categories within G2 has once again earned Thryv’s place as a Momentum Leader for the third quarter in a row. Thryv added two new G2 Leader categories this quarter: Easiest to Use for Small Business and Best Support for Small Business. Reviewers repeatedly mentioned how these two areas set Thryv apart. “Thryv has catapulted my business to a wider audience. It's made on-the-go invoicing and receiving payments a snap, and the entire team has been absolutely delightful to work with,” said verified Thryv user and G2 reviewer, Gina Surrette, who owns GMS Inspection Services. “They walk me through the things I don't understand and help set me up for success across the board. “I truly can't say enough about every person I have interacted with so far!” Additional G2 Spring Report 2021 Leadership Awards for Thryv include: • Thryv was named a Leader for Overall Best Support for the second quarter in a row, and Best Support for Small Business for the first time. • G2 named Thryv Overall Best Estimated ROI for a second quarter in a row. • Thryv had the Highest User Adoption for Small Business for the third quarter in a row. • Thryv was a Leader in Overall Highest User Adoption for the second time. • Thryv Small Business users were Most Likely to Recommend Thryv for the third quarter in a row. • Thryv’s users Overall were Most Likely to Recommend. • For the fourth straight quarter, users said Thryv had the Easiest Set-up among Small Businesses and Overall. • Also for the fourth quarter in a row, Small Business users recognized that Thryv had the Easiest to Administer Software. • And new this quarter, Small Business users said Thryv is the Easiest to Use. “Because the G2 awards are solely determined by the reviews, sentiment and commentary from verified users, we consider these to be our highest honors of the year,” Cantor says. “We realize small business owners are busy and not always familiar with using software. This is why we provide free, unlimited support to get them up-to-speed quickly, so they can optimize the software and successfully manage their business. This is a game changer for Thryv and throughout the industry. And clearly, it shows.” About Thryv Holdings, Inc. Thryv Holdings, Inc. owns the easy-to-use Thryv® end-to-end customer experience software built for growing small to medium sized businesses (SMBs) that helps over 40,000 SaaS clients with the daily demands of running a business. With Thryv®, SMBs can get the job, manage the job and get credit. Thryv’s award-winning platform provides modernized business functions, allowing SMBs to reach more customers, stay organized, get paid faster and generate reviews. These functions include building a digital customer database, automated marketing through email and text, updating business listings across the internet, scheduling online appointments, sending notifications and reminders, managing ratings and reviews, generating estimates and invoices, and processing payments. Thryv supports franchise operators and multi-location business owners with Hub by Thryv™, a software console that enables businesses managers to oversee their operations using the Thryv® software. Thryv also connects local businesses to consumer services through our search, display and social media management products, our print directories featuring The Real Yellow Pages® tagline, and our local search portals, which operate under the DexKnows.com®, Superpages.com® and Yellowpages.com URLs and reach some 35 million monthly visitors. For more information about the company, visit thryv.com. Thryv delivers business services to more than 400,000 SMBs worldwide that enable these SMBs to compete and win in today’s economy. On March 1, 2021, Thryv announced it closed the acquisition of Sensis, Australia’s leading digital, marketing and directory services provider, which helps Australians connect and engage through its leading platforms, digital consumer businesses (Yellow, White Pages, True Local and Whereis), search engine marketing and optimization services, website products, social, data and mapping solutions, and through its digital agency Found. Sensis is also Australia’s largest print directory publisher including the Yellow and White Pages. Headquartered in Melbourne, Sensis has a sales presence in all states and territories across Australia.

Leading Small Business Software Provider Thryv Holdings, Inc. Announces Closing of the Acquisition of Australia’s Sensis from Platinum Equity and Telstra ● Thryv® to enter the Australian small and medium businesses (SMB) sector through acquisition of leading digital marketing and directory services provider Sensis ● Acquisition brings over 100,000 Sensis customers ● Focus on helping Australian small businesses adopt cloud-based software solution to better compete in a post-pandemic economy. DALLAS, March 1, 2021 –Thryv Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:THRY), the provider of Thryv® software, the end-to-end client experience platform for growing small businesses, today announced it has closed the acquisition of Sensis, Australia’s leading digital, marketing and directory services provider from Platinum Equity and Telstra Corporation Limited (ASX: TLS). “This is a transformational acquisition for Thryv, and one that will help Australian small businesses (SMBs) better compete in a digital economy,” said Thryv CEO and President Joe Walsh. “COVID-19 has radically reshaped the perspective of small businesses around the globe. Solutions that ensure SMBs have the tools they need to generate confidence and convenience for their customers have gone from a ‘nice to have’ to a ‘must have’ in this post-pandemic world. “The acquisition of Sensis follows our strategy of expanding internationally where small businesses are ready to modernize their operations in order to serve their customers faster and more efficiently – from anywhere, including mobile devices.” Thryv’s flagship SaaS product, Thryv®, enables small businesses to easily accept appointments, build digital customer lists, email and text customers, send reminders and notifications, deliver estimates and invoices, accept contactless payments, and generate online ratings and reviews. Sensis CEO John Allan, who will lead Thryv’s Australian operations and report to Walsh, said the acquisition made sense from a customer—and organizational—alignment perspective. “Our organizations share a similar heritage through our profitable Yellow and White Pages brands, which we will continue to develop,” Allan said. “Both organizations aim to be the primary partner of SMBs by helping them establish, grow and run their day-to-day business activities from their mobile phone. “In recent years, we’ve seen many Australian businesses forced to invest more in IT platforms than actual employees. Thryv ends that fractured, costly, and complex approach. “We also look forward to our continued partnership with Telstra, which will include continuing to provide them with the services they need to meet their regulatory obligations,” Allan said. Platinum Equity Managing Director Adam Cooper said, “Thryv is the ideal home for Sensis and this sale culminates a six-year transformation process that leveraged every aspect of our global M&A and operational tool kit. I’m grateful for the partnership we forged with John Allan, the Sensis leadership team and Telstra during our ownership. The company embraced the business transformation necessary to succeed in a rapidly evolving market and today Sensis is a nimble, multi-channel marketing business and an outstanding opportunity for Thryv’s international expansion. We have great respect for the Australian market and will continue to seek opportunities to invest in the region.” Walsh added that Thryv works with more than 300,000 small businesses throughout the United States. “While I’m sure there will be some differences in the Australian market,” said Walsh, “small business owners in both countries are no-doubt facing similar challenges—both are struggling to compete with national chains and increasingly-large and monopolistic tech titans who seek to dominate online. “By introducing the Thryv software to the Australian market, we’re confident we can make an impact on Australian SMBs, the five million people they employ, and the consumers who rely on their small business success.” Transaction details To acquire Sensis Holdings, Thryv Holdings, Inc. paid approximately $200 million in cash. In connection with the acquisition, Thryv entered into a new term loan facility for $700 million and refinanced its existing $175 million revolving credit facility. The term loan facility was used, in part, to finance the acquisition, to pay off existing debt under the revolving credit facility and to pay fees and expenses related to the acquisition and related financing.

In recognition of the incredible work done throughout the challenging year that was 2020, Sensis has been announced as a winner of the Community Response Award at the Microsoft Advertising Partner Awards for Asia Pacific. The Community Response Award is a newly introduced category that recognises partner organisations that have provided innovative support or services to the community amidst the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Speaking to Sensis’ work throughout the pandemic, Chief Operations Officer Anna Clive, said ‘When Covid-19 first hit, supporting our staff and customers was our number one priority. We wanted to ensure we could support our clients in trading through the pandemic, so they could continue their businesses for many years to come’. The theme of this year’s awards ceremony, “Forward Together”, reflects the importance of partnership and moving forward in a positive and growth-oriented way. The nominations received by Sensis reflect the dedication and commitment to excellence we display as an organisation. ‘In total Sensis had almost 5,000 Australian small to medium businesses reach out to us for support and I am really proud that as an organisation we stood behind these businesses and helped them through an extremely uncertain time’ Anna added. Sensis and Yellow receiving the coveted Channel Partner of the Year Award at the 2019 awards and also being nominated again in 2020 is a testament to the excellent partnership Sensis has continued to maintain with Microsoft Advertising. “Microsoft Advertising is delighted to show our appreciation, and acknowledge Sensis deserved win with the Community Response Award. The calibre of nominations this year was the best we have ever seen, and this makes our winners achievements all the more significant,” added Katherine Eills, Global Partner and Awards Lead, Microsoft Advertising. The Microsoft Advertising Partner Awards celebrate Microsoft’s Elite and Select partners for the incredible work they’ve done in 2020 across a number of categories in the Americas, EMEA and APAC.

Businesses in the ACT and South Australia are going to take longer to recover from the knock-on effects of the coronavirus, according to January’s Sensis Business Index. One in four business owners (25%) in the ACT said it would take them more than a year to recover to pre-Covid levels and 24% in South Australia. At the other end of the scale, just 14% of business owners in Tasmania said the same and 15% in Queensland. Overall, 18% of business owners said it would take more than a year to get back to normal. To emphasise the two-paced economy 15% of business owners overall said they were well ahead despite Covid, with Tasmania leading the way with 19% of businesses. The survey is of 1,000 business owners/managers across all states and across 10 business sectors. It was conducted by data insights platform Glow in the last week of January. 22% of the businesses survey had 50 employees or more and 53% of businesses had been operating for more than 10 years. Sensis CEO John Allan said there were promising signs of recovery with 26% of business owners saying they were back to normal. “Again, Tasmania topped the charts with 39% saying they were back to normal compared to just 15% in the ACT,” he said. “Some sectors are also going to take considerable time to recover. The Wholesale sector (28%) had the largest percentage of owners saying it would take more than a year to recover followed by Transport at 26% and Communications, Property and Business Services at 24%. “At the other end of the scale Finance/Insurance was at just 8% and Health and Community Services at 9%.” Mr Allan said the Transport sector was a little confusing with 26% saying it would take more than a year to recover, but 24% were already well ahead and 26% back to normal.” Profitability over the next 3 months When asked about their profitability over the next three months 37% of business owners expected an increase in profitability compared to 33% in November. The Manufacturing was the most positive with 45% saying they expected to be more profitable with Communications, Property and Business Services at 44% and Wholesale at 40%. Conversely, 25% of Wholesale business owners expected a decrease in profitability to lead all sectors. Are you more or less confident than three months ago Business confidence is also slowly on the rise. In November 36% of business owners said they were more confident than three months earlier, rising to 37% in December and 40% in the latest survey. Tasmania led all states at 47% followed by Victoria at 44% and NSW at 42%. The Finance sector was easily ahead at 66% followed by Manufacturing at 48% and Communications, Property and Business Services at 44%. Business prospects over the next six months The number of business owners more confident about their business prospects over the next six months has increased to 63% - up from 58% in both December and November. Unfortunately, 9% of Victorian business owners were extremely worried about the next six months. The Finance sector was the most positive at 80% either extremely positive or fairly positive – well ahead of the Health sector at 75% and Communications, Property and Business Services at 68%.

Small businesses around the country are increasingly realising what the impact is likely to be on their livelihood when the Federal Government’s JobKeeper stops in just seven weeks. The January Sensis Business Index is showing increasing distress about the loss of the lifeline that saved hundreds of thousands of businesses from going under due to the Covid-19 lockdowns. The survey is of 1,000 small business owners/managers across all states and across 10 business sectors. It was conducted by data insights platform Glow in the last week of January. 22% of the businesses surveyed had 50 employees or more and 53% of businesses had been operating for more than 10 years. The survey showed that over the past three months, those owners saying the loss of JobKeeper will have a major impact on their business has grown from 29% in November, to 31% in December and now 39% in January. A further 51% of business owners said it will have a moderate impact with just 10% saying it will make no difference. “We can see over just three months that the attitude of business owners has changed,” said Sensis CEO John Allan. “Despite a growing chorus of voices asking the Federal Government to keep JobKeeper in place for certain industries it doesn’t look like the Government will change its mind and that will put a lot of these businesses under pressure to survive”. Mr Allan said the survey showed businesses in Western Australia had a major change with the December figure of 12% saying the loss of JobKeeper would have a major impact jumping to an astonishing 56% in January. “Since taking the survey in January, where 56% of small-medium businesses felt the loss of JobKeeper would have a major impact, Perth has gone into a five-day lockdown and new restrictions have been introduced in Victoria. This is likely to exacerbate the loss of business confidence in both states and dent the performance of the local economy. Whilst WA’s impact is risen considerably there has also been a jump in NSW moving from 33% in December to 45% in the same period.” In November, 18% of business owners said the loss of JobKeeper would make no difference. That is now down to 10% overall and in Western Australia and the ACT it is just 4%. Looking at specific industries, of the 10 surveyed only two sectors saw a decrease: • The Construction sector went from 27% of businesses in December to 25% in January • The Hospitality sector, surprisingly, dropped quite considerably from 37% in December to 21% in January Conversely, there were some big jumps: • 60% of Transport owners said the loss of JobKeeper would have a major impact up from just 25% in November and 35% in December • Finance and Insurance has nearly doubled from 30% in November to 59% in January • Health and Community Services from 24% in December to 36% in January • Manufacturing from 21% to 35%. Mr Allan said the biggest surprise was in the Retail sector which had gone from 42% in December and crept up to 43% in January. Mr Allan said he believed many businesses will turn to the JobMaker program which offers payments to businesses that increase their headcounts. “There is $200 per week available for employees aged 16 to 29 and up to $100 a week for employees aged 30 to 35. It adds up to $10,400 or $5,200 annually which will be a significant amount for some businesses.” Small business can begin claiming this week.

Fewer than one in five Australian business owners say that productivity has been reduced with employees working from home, according to the January Sensis Business Index. The index showed just 18% of owners saw reduced productivity with 29% seeing an increase in productivity and 53% saying working from home had no impact. The survey is of 1,000 business owners/managers across all states and across 10 business sectors. It was conducted by data insights platform Glow in the last week of January. 22% of the businesses survey had 50 employees or more and 53% of businesses had been operating for more than 10 years. The Finance and Insurance sector saw the biggest uplift with 52% of owners saying productivity increased and 36% within the Health and Community Services sector also experienced productivity gains. The sector mostly affected was Transport which saw a 30% reduction in productivity followed by Construction at 29% and Wholesale at 25%. The sector where productivity was unaffected the most was Communications, Property and Business Services at 65% followed by Hospitality at 62%. Sensis CEO John Allan said the results showed that the vast majority of workers could be trusted to perform their jobs at home. “The fact that nearly one in three businesses (29%) saw an actual increase in productivity will make it hard for employers to force their employees back into the office full time.” The survey also looked at owners’ attitude to workers going back into the office with a split between working from home and working from the office the most popular at 48%. “For those wanting to work just from home it will be difficult,” said Mr Allan. “Just 13% of owners were agreeable to this option. 40% were also keen to have their employees return to the office full-time. That was a figure much higher than we had anticipated as in December that figure was jut 19%.” The state that most wanted their workers to return to the office full-time was Tasmania at 57%. The state least demanding their staff come back to the office full time was Queensland at 35%. Nearly one in five (18%) of South Australian business owners were comfortable with their workforce working from home full time. Looking at sectors: • The Health sector at 57% was highest in returning to work full time followed by Manufacturing at 51% and Hospitality at 48% • Surprisingly, only 29% of retail owners wanted staff to return full time to the office • Transport was the happiest with a hybrid model approach at 61% followed by Retail at 55% and Wholesale at 54% • Construction/Building was most comfortable with a 100% work from home week at 21% followed by Communications, Property and Business Services at 19% and both Retail and Wholesale at 16%.

With state border walls slowly coming down, 60% of business owners in the Hospitality sector are confident about the next six months. According to the January Sensis Business Index, the 60% is well up from 49% when asked the same question in December. Conversely, nearly one in five (19%) said they were still extremely worried or fairly worried about the next six months, although that figure is down on the 28% from December. The survey is of 1,000 business owners/managers across all states and across 10 business sectors. It was conducted by data insights platform Glow in the last week of January. 22% of the businesses survey had 50 employees or more and 53% of businesses had been operating for more than 10 years. Sensis CEO John Allan said “whilst 42% of Hospitality business owners reported a decrease in profitability over the past quarter, that was well down on the 63% in December and 68% in November”. “In December just 5% of business owners reported an increase in profit in the previous three months. In January that figure has jumped to 24%. They aren’t out of the woods but these signs are very encouraging and hopefully the borders remain open.” The increased optimism was also reflected in 16% of the Hospitality sector reporting they were now well ahead of pre-Covid trading. I 22% reported they were back to pre-Covid levels (up from 20% in November) and 20% reported it would take them 12 months to recover (down from 23% in November). “JobKeeper has been vital in keeping businesses afloat but those saying the loss of JobKeeper was going to have a major impact on their business has dropped in just one month from 37% to 21% in January,” Mr Allan said. “The 21% figure compares to 39% of all businesses surveyed which shows they are definitely on the way back.”

The Retail sector is showing strong signs of recovery with one in four business owners saying they had increased profitability over the past quarter. According to the January Sensis Business Index, 25% saw an increase up from 17% in December. Those reporting a decrease in sales dropped from 49% in December to 34% in January. The survey is of 1,000 business owners/managers across all states and across 10 business sectors. It was conducted by data insights platform Glow in the last week of January. 22% of the businesses survey had 50 employees or more and 53% of businesses had been operating for more than 10 years. Sensis CEO John Allan said “37% of retail owners expected an increase in profitability over the next three months, up from 29% in December”. “There was also a slight increase - from 56% in December to 60% in January – of businesses saying they were extremely confident or fairly confident about the next six months.” When asked how long it would take their business to be back to pre-Covid levels there was a broad mixture of responses. 17% said they were well ahead of pre-Covid levels, 17% back to normal, 18% would take another three months, 16% another six months, 14% a year and 16% more than a year. Whilst 39% of business owners overall said the loss of JobKeeper would have a major impact on their business, Retail was at 43%. Additionally, 48% said it would have a moderate impact with just 9% saying it would make no difference.