Risks Small – Medium Businesses face
· Cashflow- keeping the money rolling in is the number one risk. There is a far closer nexus between business success and the ability to put food on the table for small businesses than there is for larger ones.
· Competition- The view that the landscape is getting more competitive is a theme that unites both small and large corporations. Small business, in particular, sees brand reputation and cash flow as mutually dependent. small businesses believe online trading and the rise of social media as key factors – and acknowledged these are very much a double-edged sword.On the one hand, they can dramatically expand the scope of a small business. Twenty-four hour trading, the ability to export and import with ease, as well as access to a global marketplace and customer base means that small can compete with large as never before. On the other, a level playing field means that competition is open to all players, without restriction.
· Damage to reputation -Five years ago, small business was not talking about their brand at all. Today it is identified as the third most significant risk. In times of economic slowdown, brand becomes all the more important to consumers making difficult financial choices, the rise of social media was also seen as responsible for this change. With so many businesses competing for a voice in an increasingly cluttered online world, those with the strongest reputation are likely to come out on top. It is now impossible for any business to escape the effects of their bad or good service record. Sixty per cent of purchase decisions come from peer recommendations, and decision making is driven not by advertising as in the past, but via peer recommendations, often through social media forums.
Comments are closed.