The 2013 Albion Growth Report has shown high levels of optimism about future SME growth, but has also highlighted a number of key barriers which could prevent them from reaching their true potential.
The first of these barriers are regulation and red tape, with 60% of SME’s believing that changes in regulation make business harder. However, those SME’s noted as optimists (those who predicted growth within their company) were less likely to note regulation as a barrier, leading to the suggestion that this is an excuse to not plan for expansion.
Another barrier was that of finding skilled staff, with smaller companies finding recruiting the right staff as a significant threat to the business. This is perhaps due to the fact that skilled workers are more likely to be drawn to larger, better established companies. Whilst two thirds of SME’s suggested that there was no skills gap at management level, one in six businesses faced problems with skills in the sales sector. One in five ‘optimistic’ business owners cited a sales skills gap.
A further barrier to growth can be a lack of inclination to try new things, such as different types of marketing. Companies can be wary to use social media or websites to market their products, as they have no experience of the kind of results these campaigns can produce.
To learn more about how marketing could help you to beat your barriers to success, contact the Ideal Marketing Company on 01858 374 170 or email info@idealmarketingcompany.com
