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Reasons for SMEs to feel positive about 2012
Wednesday 25 January 2012 Back to Blog
While the economy has proven unstable over the past few months and the outlook for UK businesses still appears bleak for the foreseeable future, there are many positives that people in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can take comfort from in the months ahead.
From the adoption of new business strategies which can make the workplace environment a more welcoming one, to introducing schemes which could help the country to boom once more, 2012 could prove a positive year for companies in this sector.
SMEs confident of a good year of business
Many SMEs definitely seem optimistic for the months to come, if the results of a new study published by AXA Commercial Lines are anything to go by.
The survey indicated that 43 per cent of SMEs are confident that their turnover will jump during 2012, which increases to over half of businesses which have between 50 and 90 staff members in their workplace.
Matthew Reed, the managing director intermediary at AXA Commercial Lines, acknowledged: "When it comes to the fortunes of the UK's SMEs, there is a more complex picture out there than the headlines would lead us to believe.
"It's not all doom and gloom for sure."
How SMEs can help their local economy boom
One of the ways in which SMEs can make sure that 2012 is filled with positive stories is to focus on bringing their surrounding area out of the depths of the recession.
This is one of the key strategies that Lucy Armstrong, chair of the CBI SME council, was keen for businesses to adopt over the next few months.
She explained: "It's all well and good focussing on big businesses and big multi-nationals, but actually it's small, private and family businesses around the UK that exist in small towns, that have social links, are important to their community, that employ people."
As a result, Ms Armstrong pointed out that SMEs can make a large contribution to their local economy if they choose to take part in a variety of charitable schemes which are occurring in their community, as well as opting to invest in strategies which can bring a variety of long-term benefits to a region.
Ways for SMEs to pave the workplace of tomorrow
It is not just the surrounding economy that SMEs should be dedicating all their time to in 2012 though, with such businesses also having many means available to allow their own workplace atmosphere to change for the better.
The online community is without a doubt one of the main areas which small businesses can take advantage of, with many strategies available to benefit both managers and employees.
One of these methods is Facebook commerce - or f-commerce for short - which Dave Bird, managing director at Webtistic.co.uk, predicts will be taken up by more SMEs throughout 2012.
Explaining how f-commerce will prove such an appealing area for these businesses, Mr Bird commented: "[I expect] further harnessing of the marketing power of social media.
"I expect to see further models, in which online customers are encouraged to talk about brands they have shopped at in return for incentives."
Meanwhile, Darren Clare, head of IT services at Zycko, was keen to encourage SMEs to increase the level of videoconferencing solutions that they have available in a workplace.
The reason for this is that this technology opens the door for more mobile and homeworking opportunities to be adopted by staff members, as well as bridging the gap between homeworker and office worker communication.