Ecommerce businesses are presented with many opportunities for success during this time of year and with the high street spending slowing down since the start of the pandemic, consumers are more likely than ever to stumble across new sites online. For this reason, many businesses have invested in digital marketing tactics to try and boost their sales. However, high checkout abandonment rates present problems for many merchants. New research reveals that almost 90% of online shopping orders are abandoned by consumers. High abandonment rates can seriously harm the number of conversions, but also, result in fewer returning customers. With the…
Author: sme-admin
Richard Beaumont, a partner at the multi-disciplinary property specialists Matthews & Goodman, examines the growing use of green leases With all the talk of sustainability, net zero and carbon management in a post-COP26 world, what are the implications of this ‘green conversation’ to companies which lease or own offices and other types of workplaces? Enter the relatively new concept of ‘Green Leases’ (a legal document which identifies specific ‘green’ obligations on both tenants and landlords). Clauses could include: Monitoring and collection environmental date Non-enforceable schedules relating to detailed tenants’ obligations Guidance issued by landlords to tenants at the start of…
One in four business leaders (24%) believe that implementing the post-Covid future of work is their biggest business challenge, according to ECI Partners’ latest Growth Characteristics research.* This was followed by 22% stating IT and digital transformation was their biggest challenge, and 17% on finding the best talent. ECI, the growth-focused private equity firm, surveyed over 500 fast-growth SME business leaders as part of its Growth Characteristicsreport to define what makes a successful CEO, as well as to understand their current challenges and growth plans. Rich Pearce, Investment Director at ECI Partners comments on the findings: “The last two years…
Richard Osborne is an ambitious, influential entrepreneur who has been a champion of the small and micro-business sector for the past thirty years. He started his first “proper” business in 1999 and has grown a number of highly successful technology and social media SMEs including start-up and small business intelligence specialists, Business Data Group, and UKBF – the UK’s largest and most active online community for small and micro-businesses – which he purchased in 2005 and re-acquired in 2020. Richard has successfully lobbied the UK Government for improved corporate transparency and register reform to bolster the nation’s defences against money…
There has been criticism from accountants concerning the government’s proposed reforms to the basis period for taxation, with the sector denouncing the changes as ‘costly and complicated’ for SMEs. The IFA and its members have also voiced concerns that seasonal businesses could be hardest hit, explains Anne Davis, Director of Professional Standards for the Institute of Financial Accountants (IFA). The consultation, released by HMRC in July 2021, proposes that for the self-employed, partnerships and LLPs, the basis of taxation should change from the current year basis to what will be termed an earnings basis, or tax year basis. This will first…
The work from home trend looks set to continue well into the New Year. But while most of us have become used to this new way of working, in many instances company culture has begun to flounder. Maintaining that set of shared principles that can be so integral to the productivity of an office seems less important when your workforce is dispersed. The methods of maintaining it also become more difficult. But company culture is as important now as it has ever been – if not more so. And instilling it in your remote workforce is easier than you might…
Innovate Design, the UK’s leading invention development company, today announces that it helped The Apprentice candidates with one of the challenges in the new series episode 2. With Innovate Design’s support, each team had to create a brand-new electric toothbrush aimed at children between six and eight, along with an accompanying app to further encourage teeth brushing. Alastair Swanwick, founder of Innovate Design, said: “20 years ago, when I set up the company, Lord Sugar wrote an article recommending us in his newspaper column. That article gave us the credibility we needed to launch a successful business and with our…
According to the Government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2021, 39 per cent of UK businesses experienced a cybersecurity attack last year. For business owners, this statistic is worrying — risking reputation, integrity and ultimately commercial success. As we move towards an increasingly technology-centric working world, what should businesses be doing to protect their digital assets? Here, Kristian Torode, Director and Co-Founder of mobile device management software provider Crystaline, explains how technology can keep business mobiles safe. As remote working has become commonplace, mobile devices for business are no longer just desirable, but essential to communication. However, their popularity is not…
Rebalancing the supply chain post pandemic The past two years have been turbulent for online retailers. From surging demand to supply chain disruption and now soaring prices, fulfilment models remain under unprecedented pressure. With environmental commitments likely to be required by governments in response to COP26, what are the key supply chain trends for 2022? Emma Dempsey, CEO, James and James Fulfilment takes a look at the likely changes over the next 12 months. Now the peak 2021 season is over there will be a significant rebalancing of the supply chain. The frailties of just-in-time models have been exposed over the past two…
Workplace diversity is a common topic of conversation among employers, hiring managers and recruitment professionals. But diversity and inclusion in the workplace isn’t just a hiring fad; and over the years it has become less a case of simply factoring in age, gender and race, and more about hiring a wider range of people to add value to businesses. Increasingly, business leaders are seeing that encouraging diversity in the workplace has several tangible benefits, for the company and for its employees. What is workplace diversity? Workplace diversity is a term used for a workplace composed of employees with varying characteristics.These…