Does Government do enough for SMEs?
The Chartered Institute of Marketing has put together what it calls Agenda Paper that asks whether the Government is doing enough from small business. The paper, 'Access all areas?' questions whether Government should be merely a point of access for SMEs seeking grants and funding, or whether it should offer more direct help.
Mark Stuart, head of research at The Chartered Institute of Marketing, said: "There's a range of information, grants, assistance and training available from Government, but many small and medium-sized companies don't pick up on this, sometimes because the language and context of how help is delivered does not resonate with the business needs and wants of SMEs; there is also a further problem in treating 'SMEs' as one body, as the needs of start-ups, micro-organisations, small companies and medium-sized companies can differ.
"Government needs to recognise that many 'business development' issues are, at their core, marketing issues. That gives us at the institute a job to do."