Recent research has concluded that small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK are losing out on up to £122 billion in sales revenue by failing to keep on top of their marketing.
The research, carried out in association with the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), found that despite 87 per cent of SMEs acknowledging the positive impact that marketing has on sales, many are letting it ‘slip off the radar.’
While three quarters of businesses surveyed see marketing as important to business success, a third admits to rating their efforts over the last six months at less than five out of 10. A further 11 per cent admit to doing none of the marketing they had planned.
The biggest barriers cited by the SMEs to effective marketing were time (21 per cent) and money (36 per cent).
According to the research, the average business owner juggles seven different roles on a daily basis but puts buying stationery ahead of marketing. As expected, established SMEs are more likely to achieve their planned levels of marketing compared to younger SMEs.
Whilst marketing is often seen as the poor relation to other activities in smaller businesses it is increasingly obvious as the economy continues to bump along at the bottom that businesses of all sizes need to step out from the crowd if they are to thrive or even survive in the current climate. This is a lesson that seems to be learned as businesses mature but in many cases it’s one that comes too late.
At Burgis & Bullock we run a variety of training and development courses for business owners and businesses of all sizes as well as having a dedicated marketing team that are available on an ad-hoc basis to help and inspire business growth. Call us today on 0845 177 5500 or use the online contact form for more information