rise of the super sme

A GUIDE TO PLAIN SAILING

through the recession

SURVIVAL
GRO
WTH

PLAN ING
N
 contents
FOREWORD 2
INTRODuction 3
insights – stark reality 4
regional remedy 5
wHO IS RIDING THE STORM? 6
insights – planning and strategy 7
case study – teleproducts limited 8
insightS – mobility and it 9
case study – energy brands 10
insights – winning behaviour 11
case study – paddy and scotts 12
blueprint for the super sme 13
conclusion 15
about plantronics 16
about the research 17
 We live in strange and unpredictable times.
The headlines are of crisis and depression – yet there
is also a feeling of hope, springing from what many
believe is a healthy drive towards natural economic
correction and a desire for social change that is
crashing through global politics.
Within this unfolding story, small to medium sized
businesses have become the centre of attention. They
are the most vulnerable; the businesses most likely
to feel the pressure. At the same time they are being
championed and protected – suddenly celebrated as
our nation’s economic lifeblood by front-page media
campaigns and powerful business lobbying groups.
Now is not the time to panic. Certainly not to capitulate.

Now is THE TIME

TO GET FITTER. To think fresh. to take what
opportunities exist now – and to
plan for those to come.
Within these pages we get under the skin of the modern small to medium sized enterprise
(SME) to find out what is working, and what isn’t. By passing on the learnings gathered
from those that are bucking the downturn we have produced a report that is both optimistic
and actionable – something that we can all learn from as we work through difficult times
and look forward to a future of full economic recovery.
We hope it proves useful, even inspirational. If you have any comments, or ideas for future
Plantronics research projects, please write to me at sme.emea@plantronics.com.
Philip Vanhoutte, EMEA Managing Director of Plantronics

2
FOREWORD
introduction to the research
Bill Gates is on record as saying that the future of business lies with
small, knowledge-based enterprises that are able to react quickly
to shifting global markets.
Nowhere is this trend from large to small more evident than in the UK.
Since the 1980s, big employers such as in ship building, steel and coal-
mining have given way to ever increasing numbers of SMEs involved in media,
information and communications technology and tourism. Today, according
to the Federation of Small Businesses, there are 4.7 million small businesses
in Britain, employing 13.5 million people (58% of the private sector workforce)
and contributing more than half of the UK turnover.
The UK workforce has apparently been enjoying the ride. A Vodafone survey
recently discovered that the happiest and most fulfilled staff in the country
work for post start-up businesses employing between 10 and 50 staff.
Countless other surveys have found similar satisfaction levels with life in a small
business, with many workers glad that they swapped the security of corporate
perks and pensions for the cutting edge.

People want
The tide is with SMEs.
to work for them.
Politicians champion them.
But could this feel-good factor be lost in the space of a few short
months, taken away with one fell swoop of the financial markets?
Not necessarily. This study is a detailed portrait of the realities of trading as
a small or medium sized enterprise in a radically altering marketplace – and,
crucially, finds hope in those businesses that are managing to stay one step
ahead of the slowdown.
Through analysing their make-up and behaviour, whilst also reflecting
on the larger number of businesses that are feeling considerable pain,
we are able to pinpoint both the ingredients for success and the pitfalls
to avoid in a changing economy.
This research, conducted amongst 1,096 SME owner/managers
and directors in October and November 2008, provides unique
insight and actionable advice – straight from the engine-room
of British business and entrepreneurship.

3
Introduction
insights BUSINESSES THAT believe the current economic climate is having
a significant negative effect on them

STARK REALITY 33.6%

47.2%
CONSTRUCTION

MANUFACTURING/ENGINEERING
There is little point in denying that reality is biting 26.9%
LEGAL
for the majority.
24.1%
PUBLIC SECTOR
Our research shows that 79% of all SMEs have felt negative
22.6%
impacts for their business as a result of the current economic HR

slowdown, with almost one quarter (22%) citing that impact 22.2%
TRAVEL/TRANSPORT
as ‘significant’.
19.8%
FINANCE
In the construction industry, perhaps the hardest hit of all,
19.1%
47% say they have experienced significant negative impacts SALES/MEDIA/MARKETING

(six out of ten have seen turnover fall in the last six months) 18.0%
RETAIL/CATERING/LEISURE
and just one in ten remain unaffected by the slowdown. 17.2%
EDUCATION
A startling three out of ten SMEs trading currently have serious 14.6%
HEALTHCARE
concerns that they will not be trading by Autumn 2009.
13.0%
7% believe they may not even last beyond the Spring. IT/TELECOMS

45%
Construction, retail and catering are also expecting to see the
biggest decreases in staffing levels over the next six months.
More than half of businesses in these sectors expect to see
of SMEs in the Retail & Catering staff levels reduce.
sector fear they may not survive The slowdown is not restricted to these ‘worst affected’ sectors
another full year, however; 43% of all SMEs expect to reduce headcount over the
next six months.
alongside Likewise, 6 out of 10 SMEs expect to see a reduction in financial

38%
turnover in the next six months, with just 21% expecting to see
increases. 67% also expect to see their cashflow weakened in
the next six months.
of Construction companies In all, just 16% of SMEs say that they have not felt any
ill-effects of the slowdown, whilst one in twenty
businesses say that they are actually booming.

What are these firms doing right?

The research for this report has been designed to identify
and tag these high-performing businesses and chart their
respective difference in character, type and strategy. It is these
differences that we will turn the magnifying glass onto in the
following pages.

4
INSIGHTS
 regional
remedy
DO YOU HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT YOUR SHORT
OR LONG TERM SURVIVAL AS A BUSINESS?

7.0 %
7.2% The impacts on business are being felt on
a local level in varying degrees and the study
22.8 % helps to provide a regional SME confidence
barometer. Businesses in the East of England
display the greatest concern for their long (and
short) term survival but those in the Midlands,
33.4 % the South West and Scotland have the greatest
confidence in their ability to survive the
economic storm (around 45% have few or no
29.6 % concerns about long term survival). The global
economic powerhouse of London could even
lose its lustre as 28% of SMEs in the capital
have real concerns over their survival chances.
REGIONAL BREAKDOWN
NORTH NORTH NORTHERN SOUTH SOUTH
East London MIDLANDS EAST WEST IRELAND SCOTLAND EAST WEST WALES YORKSHIRE

15.3% 42.6 % 29.5 % 32.5 % 29.9% 46.2% 32.1% 39.0 % 33.3% 37.9% 27.0%

22.0% 23.1% 36.8 % 30.0% 25.3% 23.1% 37.7% 29.9% 38.7% 31.0% 36.5 %

51.7% 20.7% 18.4% 20.0 % 29.9% 23.1% 11.3% 14.0 % 17.3% 17.2% 23.8 %

6.8 % 6.0 % 8.4% 7.5 % 3.4% – 7.5 % 10.4% 8.0% 10.3% 6.3%

4.2% 7.6% 6.8 % 10.0 % 11.5 % 7.7% 11.3% 6.7% 2.7% 3.4% 6.3%

YES, THERE IS A CHANCE WE WILL NO, I HAVE LITTLE CONCERNS ABOUT YES, I AM CONCERNED WE WILL NOT
NOT SURVIVE IN THE LONG TERM THE SURVIVAL OF THE BUSINESS SURVIVE TNE NEXT 12 MONTHS+

NO, I AM COMPLETELY YES, I AM CONCERNED WE WILL NOT

CONFIDENT ABOUT THE SURVIVAL SURVIVE THE NEXT 6 MONTHS
OF THE BUSINESS

One of the areas showing the greatest cause for concern is the East of England. While 66% of
SMEs overall say that they expect profits to fall in the next six months, in the East the figure rises
to 79%. 55% of those business fear they may not survive for another 12 months.
But help is at hand should businesses be prepared to look for it. The East of England
Development Agency’s takeITon campaign is aiming to raise awareness of the benefits of
improved IT among businesses, providing them with a package of support measures that will help
boost productivity and ensure their businesses are fit to ride out the storm.
“A strong IT infrastructure has the ability to drive business success. If we can encourage businesses
across the region to adopt improved IT practices, they will reap the rewards in productivity and
efficiency which, in turn, will benefit the economic prosperity of the region as a whole.”
Jan Pinkerton, Head of Business ICT and Intelligence
at the East of England Development Agency

5
REGIONAL REMEDY
WHO is
riding the storm?
The research pinpoints the types of businesses more likely to be riding the
storm rather than being swamped by the waves. So who is riding the storm?
• SME
 s with mobile workforces – they are 10% less likely to have been
hit by the slowdown
• SME
 s with older, more experienced ‘captains’ – more than half
of directors/owners aged over 55 are unconcerned about long term
survival while just 31% of 35-44 year olds share this confidence
• SMEs who had a ‘worst case scenario’ strategy in place –
confident, booming businesses were three times more likely to have
had this in place
• SME
 s investing more in training, IT & Telecoms, marketing
– all are more likely to be riding the storm
• SME
 s with a woman at the helm – female-run businesses are
30% more likely to be riding the storm

WOMEN ON TOP?
karen gill, co-founder, everywoman

Women on top? Of the 16% of SMEs that said they have not felt any ill-effects,
the research indicates that it is 30% more likely that those businesses have
a female at the helm.
I was naturally interested though not necessarily surprised to see that female-run
businesses are more likely to be thriving through the downturn than their male-led
counterparts. Indeed our own studies suggest a newfound optimism and ambition
amongst women in business demonstrating that women business owners are
increasingly well equipped to handle toughened trading conditions. It is a sign of
a maturing sector where female entrepreneurs are investing increasingly heavily in
marketing and optimising their workforces for success. However, it would be naive to
suggest the outlook is rosy for all and there are certain actions that any business needs
to address immediately if they haven’t already done so.
As co-founder of the leading provider of training, resources and support for women
in business, I have seen the real-world economic and personal impacts of businesses
that haven’t got their cashflow in order, through tough times and there’s nothing more
depressing than a visionary concept strangled by a lack of financial nous. In this current
climate it is imperative to understand your business finances – our own research shows
this is an area where women in business are still lagging behind. My call to action to
all business owners, irrespective of gender, is to not let a great idea be killed
by financial ignorance or procrastination.

6
WHO IS RIDING
THE STORM?
insights

PLANNING and strategy

The message is clear. Businesses that review their business plans monthly
are most likely to be riding the economic storm. According to our research, they
are 42% more likely to be unaffected or booming during the slowdown. Businesses who
are confident about the future are also three times more likely to have had a strategy in
place for a worsened economic climate than those who fear for their survival.
One in twenty SMEs admitted that they don’t really have a business plan of any
description (never mind a revised strategy for a global slowdown) while 17% said
that their business plan only gets reviewed and revised once a year.
At the root of this problem is the fact that 62% of all SMEs have never had to face
a slowdown before. They never really needed a plan when times were good, and
never anticipated that they would need one for the future. Six out of ten SMEs did not
have a plan or strategy in place for a worsened economic climate.
A worrying trend for the wider economy, and indeed the future, is that the ‘young guns’
who have thrived for the past decade or more through good economic conditions were
least likely to have put a strategy in place for bleaker times. Two thirds did not have a
plan ready for harsher times, compared to 40% of 55 year olds, who by virtue of their
age and experience, have seen something similar (if even vaguely) before. The younger
working nation have much to learn from mentors of previous slowdowns and recession.

47.9%
SLIGHTLY

62%
AGREE

of all smes have

never had to face
30.1%
SLIGHTLY a slowdown before.
DISAGREE

SMEs that review

12.3% their business plans
STRONGLY
9.7% monthly are

42%
DISAGREE
STRONGLY
AGREE

more likely
to be riding the storm
how far do you agree with the following statements?
my current business did not have a business strategy in place for a worsened economic climate

7
INSIGHTS
planning
to
GRow
charley downey, general manager, tele products limited

Planning is vital, but plans must also be reviewed

regularly and rigorously. Our management team sat
down and risk-assessed the economic downturn on
a scale of one-to-ten. We make products which help
companies keep legal compliance with Health and
Safety legislation, but which save the companies money
by allowing them to carry out for themselves what they
would normally need to pay a contractor a substantial
sum for. We felt that this made us a relatively low-risk
industry. In addition, we have a lot of smaller customers,
with no individual customer contributing more than
4% of our total revenue. We also felt that this spread
the risk. We then looked at ancillary risks. We felt that
our main threats were from bad debt and an increase
in purchasing costs. We scaled our key vertical markets
on the one-to-ten risk scale and looked at credit limits
accordingly. As a result we’ve now reduced credit limits
on industries or businesses we perceived to be high risk
in the current climate, such as leisure, haulage, luxury
consumer goods, construction and hospitality. Finally,
we’ve made sure we stick to our budget and ironed out
any possible overspends to keep costs low.
So far, it’s working. We’ve grown the business 15%
in the last 6-12 months and increased our profitability
substantially. I would challenge any business leader to
accept that it’s not too late and to carry out their own
assessment. So far, we think it’s saved us thousands.

8
CASE STUDY
insights

Mobility and IT
One of the more striking findings of the research
is that businesses that have invested strongly in IT
infrastructure are currently showing the highest levels
of performance. In particular, investment in mobility, thus
IN general, we found
optimising individual productivity in a climate where staffing also that smes that have

fully
levels are being reduced, appears to be emblematic of the
ability to plan strategically and weather the vagaries of the
economy. Businesses that are fully enabled for remote and
mobile working said that they are more than twice as likely

‘mobile’
to review their business plan on a monthly basis compared
to those firms that have enabled none of their staff for mobile
working (34% compared to 16%).
workforces are 10% less likely to
have been hit by the slowdown and
are also 60% more likely to forecast
HOW OFTEN DO YOU FORMALLY turnover growth compared to smes
REVIEW/REVISE YOUR BUSINESS PLAN? that do not enable mobile working.
– BY MOBILE ENABLED

These figures are symptomatic of the fact that SMEs are all too
40% often overlooking the valuable asset of all – their employees.
The upshot is that 45% of SMEs do not believe they have
30%
equipped their workforce with the technology to reach their
full potential. Only 37% of SMEs say that their workforce are
20%
fully equipped to work where and when they want, while just
10%
4 out of 10 SMEs say that they provide the training and career
development to maximise their workforce’s potential.
0% In a recent survey for communications company Avaya, 92%
ALL STAFF ARE MOST STAFF ARE SOME OF MY NONE OF MY
ABLE TO WORK ABLE TO WORK STAFF ARE ABLE STAFF ARE ABLE
of UK workers said they would find it attractive to work
REMOTELY REMOTELY TO WORK TO WORK for a company that offered flexible working and 78% said they
REMOTELY REMOTELY
would consider changing jobs for the chance to work flexibly.
Without the requisite tools, understanding and investment to
QUARTERLY ANNUALLY
thrive or survive, SMEs ignoring these sentiments risk losing their
HALF-YEARLY NO BUSINESS PLAN
most unique proposition – the human talent that had previously
MONTHLY LESS THAN ANNUALLY
been attracted away from the corporate world to seek a more
exciting and fulfilling working life.

9
INSIGHTS
 INVESTING
TO STAY
ONE STEP
AHEAD
JAmie plumstead, sales director, energy brands

As a three year old business, this is the first slowdown we’ve had
to encounter but we feel we’re riding the storm well.
We provide integrated sales and marketing solutions for domestic and
international clients. We have placed a real focus on one of our core offerings that
ultimately helps companies increase sales in new markets while reducing costs.
In a slowdown it’s all about increasing efficiencies for us and for our clients.
In this kind of environment the whole idea of investing in our sales staff by
enabling them to work where and when they can, is also very important to us.
After all, the market we work in is extremely competitive and we have to show
real results quickly to our clients. This has definitely been the single biggest shift
– making sure that the people leading the business forward are out there in the
real world, developing new leads, nurturing existing relationships and making
more noise than our competitors.

smarter working
– not just for the good times
peter thomson, director, work wise ltd
and founder, future work forum, henley business school

As times get tougher the temptation is for SMEs to cut back on the implementation of new working practices
because they see them as employee benefits that were introduced during the good times to attract and retain
the best people. As unemployment rises and employees find it more difficult to move on it is easy for employers
to revert to older work practices – whether their people like it or not.

This approach totally misses the point. New flexible ways of working
are not just good for employees, they are good for business.
There is a significant body of research showing that flexible workers are more productive than their non-flexible
counterparts. Allowing people to manage their work-life balance and trusting them not to abuse this privilege
provides a boost to morale that pays dividends on the bottom line.
For an SME to stand out from its competition it also needs to have people who are prepared to ‘go the extra mile’,
because they are treated like adults and trusted to get on with the job without close supervision. Managers who have
flexible workers under them have to be able to empower people and trust them to manage their own time and place
of work. A recession is a time for showing faith in the workforce and appealing to their dedication to the company,
not a time for constraining their freedom and threatening them with redundancy.
Smarter working practices can also save costs as well as improve efficiency. Technology solutions can make fewer
individuals more productive, virtual meetings save travel and flexible contracts can produce a better match between
supply and demand for human effort. The SMEs that are more agile and can adapt to the market quickly
are the ones that are most likely to survive the downturn.

10
CASE STUDY
insights

Winning behaviour
It is not just lack of investment in technology that characterises
underperformance in SMEs. Our research found that SMEs are also
more likely to have reduced rather than increased training budgets over
the past 12 months (37% have reduced training budgets compared
to 24% who have increased them).
In a direct reversal, however, we also identified a new breed of
‘Super SMEs’ (those that are actually booming through the slowdown)
which are more likely to have increased (rather than decreased) training
investment (39% have spent more on their training in the past 12 months
while 28% reduced their training spend).
Similarly, while overall SME investment in marketing fell in the past
12 months (36% reduced marketing spend while 32% increased it),
amongst our Super SMEs, 43% increased their marketing spend,
compared to less than one in five who reduced it.
There was also a net decrease overall in IT infrastructure spend.
29% spent less on this, while 27% spent more. Amongst Super SMEs,
47% spent more on IT infrastructure and just 16% spent less.
The trends remain the same for employee benefits, flexible
working and communication technology and new product
development. In each instance the general trend amongst SMEs was
to reduce spend. However amongst those SMEs which are currently
experiencing growth, or have greater confidence in their long-term future,
spend was up across the board.
What do these companies, that are going against the grain and
defying the odds, look and feel like?
In the following pages we discover the DNA of their business success
and pass on some of their learnings.

11
INSIGHTS
 Streamlining
without compromise
PADDY BISHOPP, Co-founder, Paddy and Scotts

Many consumers continue to see a great cup of coffee as their ‘everyday

affordable treat’. Maybe now they only have one cup a day, but as a brand we
need to ensure they choose ours. Quality is king. Supported by our ethical
sourcing and environmental credentials, this focus remains fundamental to our
future success.
We used the downturn as an opportunity to ‘kick the tyres’ and make sure our
business is robust enough to survive. We have deleted our slow moving lines,
reduced our inventory levels and tightened our controls on costs. Every penny
invested must show a return.
Marketing is a crucial tool for surviving a recession, but not necessarily
through expensive PR and advertising campaigns. Innovative concepts such as
our Signature Club (www.signatureclub.co.uk) and highly targeted sponsorship
activity have been key to maintaining and growing our brand awareness.

Focus or diversify?
DAVID MOLIAN, CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
bettany centre for entrepreneurial performance and economics
Nearly half of all respondents (42%) said that they were less likely to diversify into new markets
than they were a year ago. It’s the classic dilemma facing the owner-managed business in a
downturn; should I diversify, or stick to the knitting? The data gathered by Cranfield over many
years strongly suggests that long-term sustainable growth is linked to core business development.
Most high-flyers succeed by identifying a profitable niche, building a strong position and selling
more of their core products and services to their existing customers and others who are like them.

Does that mean never creating new

products and never entering new markets? Absolutely not.
But it does imply constantly seeking new opportunities in the areas the business knows and
understands before migrating to pastures new. In a sunset industry it’s true that radical strategies
are often needed. But for most businesses, most of the time, diverting focus too early from the
core, risks alienating existing customers while not properly serving new ones.

12
CASE STUDY
BLUEPRINT FOR THE
super sme
Reason to believe
According to the Federation of Small Businesses, 2,000
shops close on the high street each year, 27 pubs close
a week and 40 businesses close each day.
But at the same time, the FSB also has figures that show over
500,000 people are sufficiently encouraged and motivated
to start up their own business every year. This constant input
of fresh blood is one of the principal reasons why the FSB
can also claim, on the upside, that approximately 64% of all
commercial innovations come from small firms.
Wherever possible, this is not a time for SMEs to lose
faith in themselves. Sir Ronald Cohen, one of the founding
fathers of the European venture capital industry, believes that
times such as these are just right for the bold entrepreneur.
In his latest book ‘The Second Bounce of the Ball’, Cohen
argues that everyone can see the ‘first bounce’ of the ball,
usually when times are good. It is the ‘second bounce’, when
both the times and the needs of your customers change
simultaneously, that is uncertain.
The challenge for SMEs is to take advantage of that
uncertainty; for it is only in situations of uncertainty actions to sucCeed
that substantial gain can be made.
In the final phase of our research we asked all SMEs, who are
currently thriving or remain unaffected by the slowdown to tell us
one business priority they believe has kept them one step ahead
of the competition. Not to tell other businesses what they ‘should
have done’, but to offer guidance to businesses on what they can
start doing to improve from today – not least those 500,000 new
businesses that the FSB says are still starting up every year.
The open responses are compiled here into a Top Ten Critical
Business Priority list of actionable advice for those businesses
currently facing up to difficult trading conditions.
Most tellingly, by examining the collective character of these
successful businesses it is clear that they are not overly cautious.
If anything, they are seeing uncertainty as an opportunity to get the
biggest increase in value from taking the right decisions at the right
time. They are looking to investment, even though credit is hard
to come by, to steal a march on the competition – confident that
any gains could be worth a great deal more than if they had been
achieved at other times.

13
super smeS
 1 Provide excellent customer service. We can’t survive
without customers, so don’t forget them. Listen and respond to

TOP TEN
their needs, demonstrate the value you place in them. Review
customer and client feedback formally – this will be the litmus
test of what you are delivering (and how) and will help to inform
positive changes where necessary. Always go the extra mile for
CRITICaL business priorities your most profitable and loyal customers.

2 Innovate. Develop new unique products and services to

distinguish you from the competition. Focus on those that add
tangible value or reduce costs for your customers and clients.

3 Invest in people. Offer customer-focused training and reward

high performers. The most talented and valuable members
of your workforce are those most able to move on during
a slowdown. Introduce simple, cost-effective recognition
programmes and allow them the flexibility to work where or
when they need to.

4 Maintain quality. If you trade on quality, do not cut costs that

are visible to the customer in the short term, compromising your
reputation in the long term.

5 Reduce debt and manage cashflow. Tighten internal

financial procedures immediately and look to secure longer term
contracts where possible. The single biggest regret of struggling
businesses was that they did this too late, or not at all, which
speaks volumes.

6 Respond to the market quickly. Be flexible. Capitalise on

your size and ability to change direction quickly. Carry out
detailed risk assessments on all areas of your business and
customer base – identify ‘safe’ areas to focus on.

7 Prioritise marketing. Do not cut budgets or stop advertising

as a knee-jerk reaction to challenging trading conditions. The
most successful businesses use slowdowns as an opportunity
to grow, share and broadcast their message louder than the
competition. Crucially, you need to remind your customers
that you’re still in business and instil confidence in your
existing clients. Slowdowns also offer greater scope for canny
businesses to negotiate for favourable deals.

8 Forecasting accurately and plan realistically. Super SMEs

tended to have a ‘slowdown plan’ in place. If you haven’t written
one, start now. Encourage open and honest communication
with your teams on what is realistic. Revisit old order-books to
ensure no opportunities are being missed.

9 Know your market. Increase market knowledge and insight.

Be seen as the thought-leader in your field and enable your
workforce to become experts through sharing information. Use
readily available free research online to boost your expertise.

10 Invest in technologies to help your people. The need to

work more efficiently has never been higher up the agenda.
Invest wisely in IT solutions focused on optimising your
workforce productivity, reducing wastage and enabling smarter
(not necessarily harder or longer) working.

14
super smeS
conclusion
by
DAVID MOLIAN
Cranfield University School of Management,
bettany centre for entrepreneurial performance and economics
This research confirms what we have seen for some time
now: the progressive build-up of pressure on the SME sector
of the UK economy. Much of this has been reported anecdotally,
so a national survey is a welcome addition to the evidence base.
The overall picture presented is even more serious than I, for one,
would have predicted. The crisis of confidence that originated in the
financial sector has now clearly infected the economy in general.
Certain sectors, such as construction and retail, are notorious
bellwethers of the economy, and it is no surprise that these are
experiencing the sharpest downturns. As evidenced by the survey,
those firms which are prudently managed will have anticipated
problems by:
• investing in sales and marketing, especially with their
core customers
• investing in their greatest asset – their staff – to maximise
productivity and flexibility

On both counts this increasingly means resourcing IT and

telecommunications – especially mobility solutions – to ensure the
highest levels of customer service. Customer service, I believe is the
key battleground where SMEs will ensure their long-term survival.
Most interestingly, the survey correctly identifies the ‘gazelles’,
the small minority of super-performers which are the engine of
growth in advanced economies. These businesses will buck the
trend. It is characteristic of these firms to over-invest in sales,
marketing and technology by comparison with their peers. These
high-achieving businesses are to be found in different economic
sectors up and down the country, but they share a common
management philosophy: they invest in their staff.
They are also focused on maintaining the highest quality of
customer service, and investing, if necessary, to achieve
this. The ability to innovate is also identified as being important, but
that needn’t mean technical breakthroughs or radical new designs.
Many very successful high-performers build their businesses
through constantly improving the design and quality of their core
products and services – and making sure that they communicate
those benefits clearly and persuasively to their customers.
Overall, I believe that the advice offered within this report by
these businesses amounts to an excellent recipe for survival,
and indeed, success for when conditions improve.

15
conclusion
PLANTRONICS –

WHY DID WE comMission

this research?

In true American tradition, Plantronics began in a garage in a little-

known beach town of Santa Cruz, California, in 1961. The founders
– two pilots named Keith Larkin and Courtney Graham – took it upon
themselves to create a lightweight headset to be used by commercial
pilots. In fact, this is where the company name comes from – a meld of
‘plane’ and ‘electronics’.
A short while after supplying their first headset to United Airlines,
Keith and Courtney persuaded NASA to try them out. The rest, as they
say, is history. In 1969 Neil Armstrong, stepping from the Lunar Module
Eagle 1, uttered those immortal words through his Plantronics headset:
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
The UK office opened in 1986 – and in true British tradition, this was in a
spare bedroom of a house in Swindon. Today in the UK we employ just
under 100 employees with an annual turnover of over £30M. Like all the
SMEs participating in this survey, we too are taking actions to weather the
current storm. We’re reviewing costs, cashflow and pipeline orders. We’re
cost-saving where we can, and continuing to invest where it makes sense.

And we’re staying committed

to flexible and mobile working.

One of the gems unearthed through this research proves that

SMEs with fully mobile-enabled workforces are 60% more likely to
forecast turnover growth despite the current economic downturn.
And one piece of kit that can help achieve this is an office headset
– proven to increase productivity by as much as 24%.
SMEs with
We’re dedicated to helping companies like yours enjoy the benefits
fully mobile enabled
associated with better flexible working – that’s why we’re offering a
workforces are
no-risk trial on our most popular wireless office headsets. 8 out of

60%
10 people who try our headsets go on to purchase them – find
out why with your own no-risk trial, visit

www.ourbetterway.com more likely to forecast

turnover growth.

16
plantronics
 GROWTH
about
THE
research
The independent survey of 1,096 owner/managers and
directors of UK SMEs was carried out between October
24th and November 3rd 2008 by Opinion Matters, a full
service market research company, using an online fieldwork
methodology. All research carried out by Opinion Matters
adheres to the latest MRS Code of Conduct.
Demographic detailing includes industry sector, business
location, gender and age of respondent.