UK SMEs call for (more) advice to deal with recession

Research by Lloyds TSB Commercial, reported by The Business Desk.com in April 2009, reveals that more than a third (35%) of UK SMEs are asking for further guidance to combat trading problems.

Solution?

Deploy the army of independent professional business advisers to engage with SMEs.

Manufacturing is better served in the UK region of Yorkshire via the MAS scheme (Manufacturing Advisory Service) - independent advisers with manufacturing expertise are paid to carry out initial diagnostic overview. The scheme works well, but could work better. Up till now the other sectors in the region have struggled in comparison, in the light of this unfair treatment. The service delivery offered by Business Link is improving, but until the funding and support matches or mirrors the MAS scheme then I do not foresee a great improvement in productivity and profitability – which is clearly what SMEs, the UK Government and the UK Economy needs. (Please don’t tell me it is happening already, unless it’s new this week).

In conclusion.

Support needs to be pro-active i.e. go to SMEs rather than wait for them to come to the support.

Business Link and the Regional Development Agencies do maintain a service register of consultants. This is a help, but SMEs need more. This is one reason why Business Service Finder is being launched – a free online resource to help SMEs quickly, cheaply and effectively find the support that will make a difference to their business performance.

All professionals using the service have professional indemnity cover in addition to their professional credentials.

Not all Marketing Is The Same

Unless you have been living on mars the last 18 moths or so you may have noticed that there is a recession on. The media is full of closures and redundancies, keen to sell newspapers of gain viewers. Where is much of this is true what is not been so apparent is that not all businesses are failing to the recession.

Take marketing for instance, with customers choosing more carefully what they buy and not automatically coming through business doors, many businesses have decided it is time to market heir wares to attract new customers. Many advertising companies now have more clients on their books than ever. None more so that those who specialise in internet marketing.

Even during tough cost cutting times there still has been an exception with the top USA retailers that is to increase spend on internet marketing. With high street sales just about breaking even this Christmas even with huge discounts, sales on through the internet once again increased. Cost cutting consumers are using the internet more than ever to ensure they really are getting the best price on their chosen products and services and the large retailers have noticed this and responded.

Of course this applies to all businesses large and small and so the demand for SEO Companies and internet marketing suppliers is higher than ever. Unfortunately the quantity of those who know what they are doing ahs not risen. Many internet marketing companies have been formed only to let their consumers down and give a bad name to the industry.

So whenever choosing an internet marketing company, make sure you ask for evidence of what they have achieved for other customers. As well as this, focus on those who work in your industry sector as they are more likely to have contacts and access to other websites. You should not underestimate the work involved in getting visitors to your website, employing someone on £50 a month will not deliver you value for money. It may seem cheap, but ion fact you are probably throwing away £50.

Set out a budget and get your internet marketing company to estimate a rise in quality traffic to help you calculate extra profits. Remember quantity of visitors means nothing is they are not looking for you products. So it is better to have smaller quality traffic than large qualities of window shoppers.