About the respondents
The UK Business Barometer surveys the people running small and medium size businesses. In the November survey 142 respondents were drawn with the following population characteristics:
| Sector |
| Production & Manufacturing |
Distribution |
Services |
Total |
| 25.4% |
9.2% |
65.5% |
100.0% |
| Turnover (£) |
| < 1 M |
1M-3M |
>3M |
Total |
| 69.0% |
18.3% |
12.7% |
100.0% |
| Number of Full-time Employees |
| 1-10 |
11-20 |
21-50 |
51-100 |
100+ |
Grand Total |
| 59.2% |
25.4% |
7.7% |
3.5% |
4.2% |
100.0% |
Survey Findings
References and recommendations to include the use of Business Blogs and Podcasts, with RSS as a means of delivery, in business marketing strategies are burgeoning on internet websites. With the rapid growth of access to broadband internet connections, more complex communication technologies are worth considering but demand a time commitment to use and to evaluate effectiveness. UKBB panellists were asked whether they feel sufficiently well informed to be able to benefit from these new tools.
It might be that UKBB panellists would wish to seek advice from a business adviser on their use, so we asked panellists in the parallel March UK Business Adviser Barometer Survey whether they felt sufficiently well informed to be able to advise on Blogs, Podcasts or RSS.
After adjusting for those responding 'not applicable', 74% of UKBB and 74% of UKBAB respondents said that they didn't feel sufficiently well informed on these issues. Of the 23% of UKBB respondents that are confident to use them, Blogs and Podcasts are twice as familiar as RSS. A similar proportion of respondents to the Advisers survey are confident to advise on them, with Blogs being far more familiar than Podcasts and RSS.
Government is offering incentives of tax free payments to employers with fewer than 50 employees to those who fill in tax returns online in advance of the date when online returns become compulsory (for tax year 2009/10). Although 39% have not yet participated in this, 44% already make the annual PAYE returns online and 25% have filed VAT returns online.
Business advisers were asked to what extent they advise clients to take advantage of the online facility and the finding was that 67% of respondents offer this advice to a high or relatively high extent.
Benchmarking the prices charged by competitors is a standard business practice although 19% of UKBB panellists say they do not monitor competitors' prices. Price changes can give indications on rival companies' strategy and prosperity, whether the business activity is in manufacturing, distribution or the service sector. Accessibility of price information will vary but the most frequent way was via websites, used by 75% of respondents. Trade journals were the second most favoured approach, by 45%. On average UKBB respondents, other than those who don't monitor competitors' prices, ticked 2.4 options.
Business Advisers were asked which options they would recommend to clients as being useful, and, after adjusting for 5% answering 'not applicable', 91% ticked websites, 71% recommended making telephone enquiries and 69% suggested requesting brochures. On average UKBAB respondents ticked 4.5 choices.
Unlike big business, smaller businesses may have little influence over their suppliers. The March survey asked panellists what the most important factor was when dealing with suppliers. Quality of product or service was chosen by 49% of respondents. Price (18%) and reliability (15%) were in second and third place, all after adjusting for the 4% selecting 'not applicable'.
UKBAB panellists were asked what they thought were the most important factor in their clients' dealings with suppliers. In this case quality of product or service was preferred by 35% of respondents, but the second most frequently chosen option was the relationship with suppliers (23%) very closely followed by reliability (22%).
Although 11% of respondents do not feel that they can bargain at all with suppliers, 64% are confident that they can negotiate at least on some aspects, while 25% are able to discuss all factors in the transaction.
The UKBB has been running in its current online version for just over five years. As higher speed connections become more widespread, there is more opportunity to broaden the range of what the Survey website offers. It is important not to lose responses from groups of respondents whose businesses may not have or need sophisticated IT equipment, but it would be good for the site to be able to provide facilities of value to panellists as one way of thanking them for the time they spend each month in providing responses.
The most popular of the three options we put to panellists was the facility for a panellist-only online forum allowing panellists to air views and discuss business issues. 50% of respondents opted for this, with 46% choosing a search facility of past questions and results and 40% were in favour of a links page.
A recent CBI survey recommended that Regional Development Agencies should have a stronger input from local businesses to help guide their business support strategies. This was shown to have some support from our respondents, 45% of whom feel, highly or relatively highly, that increased business representation and advice to RDA's is the best way to improve business support. There is also a sizeable measure of disagreement - 25% chose 'not at all' or category 4, 'not very much'.
The same question was asked in the parallel survey of Business Advisers, the UKBAB. Amongst these respondents there was a greater level of support, 66% selected Highly, or category 2, relatively highly, while only 12% chose 'not at all' or category 4, 'not very much'.
First Quarter Trends.
Constraints on business due to skill shortages and those due to lack of finance increased on average during the last quarter, more so with respect to lack of finance.
Businesses with turnovers of £1M - £3M experienced the highest increases in constraints due to skill shortages, although businesses in the services sectors experienced decreases. Constraints due to lack of finance increased most among firms with turnover of under £1M and also in the services sectors.
Constraints due to low market demand decreased across the lower (<£1M) and middle (£1M - £3M) ranges of turnover. They also decreased in the Production and Manufacturing and Distribution sectors, but only slightly in the Services sector. The overall average constraint index moved down by just nearly 4%.
Average growth in the last quarter increased for the second quarter across the lowest and mid ranges of turnover, and in the production and manufacturing, and distribution sectors. The overall average increased in the three month period by 2% .
Overall, respondents expect positive growth in the next quarter and more rapidly than they expected three months ago.
Listed below are extracts from feedback received in Survey
BB94 March 2006.
Comments are listed under sector headings.
Views expressed are those of individual panellists and may not represent those
of the University.
Business Services
Nobody has a single set of criteria for all their procurement. Nobody has a single overriding criterion. Almost Everybody ses a balanced score card to evaluate suppliers even if they don't know it.
I tried unsuccessfully to complete a tax return on-line; unsuccessful because the online facility was inaccessible. Given the IR advertised it widely in January, I am complaining to the IR that their system failed.
The question about monitoring competitors' prices didn't give a suitable option for service providers who might have to monitor competitors in more subtle ways owing to the nature of pricing policies (i.e. not selling a set product for a set price)
The question about RDAs interests me. RDAs this year are taking over resp for business support via Business Links. What are the RDAs objectives for business support, how do they measure this, and do SMEs support what RDAs and the Business Links plan? My (slight) experience suggests that RDAs are not sure what they want from Bus Links and have not consulted with the businesses in their region to ascertain what good business support would be for the customer ie the local SME. If business support is a justifiable investment for the taxpayer/Treasury what are the returns and how are these measured?
Production & Manufacturing
We do monitor competitor's prices but not in any of the ways mentioned. You seem to concentrate on fixed price per item sales. Where variable items or service are for sale the price is often negotiated on a per job basis. The only effective way of monitoring the competitors in these situations is to ask the customer what others quoted.
Other
I am not satisfied in this hi-tech age, that when I transfer money between my business bank accounts, it takes two days after leaving one account to arrive in the other. Rich banks making more money at my expense. Why shouldn't I get this interest, not them?
