With COVID-19, labour shortages, and now the impact of geopolitical conflict to contend with, businesses are losing confidence fast. New and considerable risk factors to economic growth and inflation are causing unprecedented levels of volatility and unpredictability. Rising costs, such as energy and goods, are shrinking budgets, which is resulting in a polarised reaction from businesses: accelerate digital transformation plans or stop and take stock. It may seem counterintuitive, but businesses must fight the urge to batten down the hatches in the wait for what comes next, says John Cheney, CEO, Workbooks. To grow revenues and reduce costs, investing in ways to…
Author: sme-admin
A Northampton start-up that has designed a unique hybrid motorcycle and is already grabbing the attention of UK police forces, has just secured a £150K investment from British Design Fund, along with a further £150k from angel investors. White Motorcycle Concepts (WMC) was founded by engineer Robert White in 2018. With a background in high level motorsports, Robert has developed a product that bridges the gap between lowering emissions, while overcoming the current challenges presented by going electric. The technology’s potential for emergency service first responders being quickly recognised. Since introducing the world’s most aerodynamically efficient motorcycle featuring the company’s…
Joanna Jagiello, Marketing Director, at The Barcode Warehouse provides some insight to The Woes and Wonders of WhatsApp at Work. Around 2 billion of us use WhatsApp. It’s a cost-effective and convenient way to keep in touch with family and friends, to organise events and share videos. However, it’s very risky to use WhatsApp (or any consumer-grade messaging app) for internal comms at work – but that doesn’t stop lots of people doing it anyway. In this article, I’ll explain the five key risks that messaging apps bring to the workplace, and why you should be looking at the (many) alternatives instead. It’s…
Paul Waite passes comment on the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen, that steadfast lady who has been there all my life was born in 1926. George V was on the throne and the world had been through the war to end all wars. Arguably the UK never recovered from World War One. We entered it as the number one world super power but took one hell of a battering. It was the age of Empire and George was not only King of the UK, Canada and our antipodean brothers but was Emperor of India. The 1920s were grim with low growth and high…
By Heidrun Luyt, CMO, Pipedrive Any business that successfully scaled up to the SMB mark knows that all being well, strong marketing attracts leads which fill the sales pipeline and turn into customers. Marketing and sales coordinate to achieve overall success. Yet, under pressure to perform by the demands of growth, and without continued coordination, these two functions can fall apart. The result is that leads aren’t gained, nurtured, and converted due to common challenges and foreseeable errors. One of these biggest challenges lies in managing and analysing the large volumes of information to which a modern business has access. With…
Dark social is digital content that is shared privately and is untraceable by web analytics tools. One example of dark social is sending a friend a link from a local news article via Facebook Messenger or Snapchat. Marketers and brand owners – pay attention. Social media has billions of active monthly users, primarily Millennials and GenZers. This provides endless marketing opportunities for brands looking to start utilising this “dark” social environment. The term ‘dark social’ was first used in 2012, when Alexis Madrigal wrote for The Atlantic. He explained that “this vast trove of social traffic is invisible to most…
Advanced technologies like AI-powered data extraction and document processing automation are gaining new urgency ahead of looming economic turmoil. Now is the time to get serious about digital transformation and automation. François Lacas, CMO at Yooz explains how and why. There’s software for business process automation in the finance function, and then there’s software for intelligent business process automation. It’s a fine distinction that can make a big difference in terms of efficiency, productivity and profitability. Many companies think they have automated their purchase-to-payment routines for the accounts payable team because they use an ERP system. But despite its many…
According to new data from Lloyds Bank* spend on debit cards made in person, using contactless technology, has grown from 65% to 87% in the last three years. In April 2020 – during the pandemic – the contactless limit was increased from £30 to £45, rising to £100 in October 2021. These higher limits have helped cement contactless as the preferred payment method of customers when out and about. Contactless convenience The rise in contactless payments as a preferred method has been driven by restaurant and health and beauty purchases, which both see around 90% of face to face…
2022 is proving to be a tough year for British businesses. Although we have emerged from the clutches of the pandemic, thankfully leaving Covid restrictions behind, the business community now faces an entirely new set of challenges. Inflation has become the word of the day, and is forecast to potentially reach a staggering 15% by the end of the year. The impact of surging prices is set to be particularly hard-felt by small and medium-sized firms who, unlike large corporates, often lack the financial legroom to absorb the cost of price hikes. In the midst of this tough economic climate, businesses are…
London, UK, 12th September 2022: New research exposes the difficulties businesses face accessing finance from mainstream lenders and how alternative solutions can plug the gap. More than a quarter (26%) of business leaders surveyed have had difficulties accessing finance from main banks, over a third (38%) say that banks don’t understand their business needs and two in five (41%) think banks’ lending policies haven’t kept pace with modern business needs. The research from embedded finance and payment solutions provider, Sonovate, follows a recent announcement from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The regulator warned banks to improve their treatment of small…