Business Challenges
The Sage Business Index paints a compelling picture of businesses across two continents worrying about overheads, costs and revenues and knowing they have to address expenditure, grow their business and find new customers. That said, many businesses acknowledge their own country possesses the entrepreneurial spirit needed to progress in 2011.
Across the board, the top three biggest business challenges are maintaining/growing revenue, controlling rising costs and gaining new customers.
Looking forward over the next year, these factors are still viewed as the biggest challenge with slight changes within them – maintaining or growing revenue is seen as an increasing challenge. In terms of how these challenges impact their future plans reducing expenditure was seen as the highest priority by all (around 50% cited this in each country). This was followed by monitoring finances more closely and investment in sales and marketing, which we cited as 2nd or 3rd by all.
From the data, only two countries within the survey emerged as champions of new product innovation – France and Spain. 36% of French small businesses will look to launch new products in 2011 and even more in Spain, where 41% will do this.
Chapter Resources
| File name | Format | Description | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Challenges 5 | Recruitment plans | 15/09/2011 | |
| Business Challenges 4 | Which of these do you plan to do next year? | 15/09/2011 | |
| Business Challenges 3 | Over the next year, what do you envisage being your biggest business challenge? | 15/09/2011 | |
| Business Challenges 2 | Over the past year what have been the biggest challenges you have faced? | 15/09/2011 | |
| Business Challenge | Business challenges and future plans | 15/09/2011 |
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