Technology. Can it really benefit SMEs? Part Two

Technology provides lots of opportunities for SMEs (Small and Medium Sized Enterprises) to make business improvements. The experience of the National B2B Centre is that SMEs can be reluctant to introduce new technologies and new business practices.

In part two of her investigation, Steph Williams at the National B2B Centre looks at some feedback from other SMEs and provides some examples of B2B Members have been able to overcome the obstacles and achieve benefits from the technology.

SMEs comments
To get some real feedback I asked our members on our LinkedIn Members group and the B2B Team why they think SMEs are still facing barriers between transfer of knowledge and implementation.

• Stuart Steele, Director of StuWeb Race Timing , comments on how small businesses need a non techie interpreter to bridge the gap between what is really necessary to suit your business. Once you’ve chosen an IT solution there’s a need for supplier support to show the process of how to implement and use in-line with business.
• John Beeston, owner of [The Marketing Workspace , agrees with Stuart and believes SMEs are more reluctant to take new technology on, as it’s seen as a big risk. John suggests SMEs need a trusted suppliers source were they are identified to take an interest in the client and speak their language.
• Glen Watts, Manager at D W Supplies , suggests the government should invest in an “advice centre” where businesses can be advised and guided on technologies which will be of benefit long term. He also calls for a “vetted list of suppliers to be made available so that SMEs can buy with more confidence and trust that they are getting best advice.
• Bruce Andrews of Practical eBusiness suggests that SMEs are reluctant to invest because they don’t fully understand what they need. And it’s hard to get real independent advice.
• Gareth Edwards, eMarketing specialist at the National B2B Centre, explains, in his experience “suppliers fail to talk in the right language”. Many businesses are bombarded by technical jargon and fail to actually understand whether a piece of software or a web-based service is right for their business.

It seems SMEs fall at the first hurdle. The vast amount of suppliers and information is a minefield where SMEs are bombarded with too much sales talk and not enough one-to-one business planning and road mapping to establish the correct possible IT solutions. No wonder the words “change” and “technology” equals risk to many small business owners.

On the other hand if you have successfully managed to fight through the battle and found a supplier that (a) spoke your language and (b) found an IT solution that you’re happy with, then the second barrier you are faced with is implementation. Large organisations have the resources to implement and maintain their IT systems. To the SME this is a daunting task which requires expert help, guidance and of course more finance.

Let’s look at some companies who have achieved some success.


Case Studies

e-business
A variety of low cost technologies are available to help improve the effectiveness of your business. However, as we have discovered, the keys to success are firstly to understand what you want to achieve, then to understand what you really need and finally to find way to implement the appropriate technologies (from complete DIY to fully managed solution).

The National B2B Centre a supported project can assist in your e-business requirements. We offer impartial advice to help SMEs understand and implement e-business technologies and tools. There are a number of routes you can follow depending on your level of knowledge. For easy accessible solutions our website provides access to e-business related articles, website planning guides and workbooks, or join us on one of our interactive workshops to gain more knowledge and confidence using the variety of eMarketing tools available to any business.

Case Study
Find out how Severn Partnership , a firm of Chartered Land Surveyors, have taken up the challenge to transform their operation using eBusiness technologies. With the B2B Centre’s help Severn identified the areas of the business where technology could make the biggest difference and then planned the implementation of various systems to reap the benefits. Severn have implemented the vTiger CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system to give themselves very close control over business processes and used collaborative tools such as Google Docs to improve the effectiveness of remote staff.

e-marketing
e-marketing techniques and tools can help you find new customers and generate new sales leads. E-marketing can also allow you to more accurately target the people you want to talk to at a lower cost than traditional marketing. It can be a real driver of business growth and enhancing your competitive position.

The great thing is that you can start small.
For some B2B Centre clients simply using free, or low cost, online directories has instantly increased their visibility to both directly to potential customers and to search engines.
Simple websites, which provide information about your company, products/ services and ways to contact you, create a 24/ 7 channel to market.
Social media tools such as Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter allow you to communicate with different groups of people in different ways.

The B2B Centre’s website provides access to e eMarketing tools such as our eMarketing Toolbox which can help with planning a website or help review and optimise your existing website. We also have the online SEO Tool and the recently launched Website Assessment Tool .

The SEO tool will review the ability of your site to achieve good search engine ranking and provide gives a detailed action plan to help you improve your website’s performance on Google, Yahoo and MSN. The website assessment tool will provide you with some important insights into the technical set-up of your site and help you ensure that it is running in optimal condition.

Case Study
Read how Craig Clarke owner of Beatroot Visual Solutions set up a website using an Open Source Content Management System (CMS) to promote his business and then went on to optimise the site using SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) techniques learned from the B2B Centre. This has helped him compete effectively within his target market.

e-collaboration
Collaborative working is about getting people together to share information and work together on solving problems using a variety of technologies from VOIP (Voice Over IP) telephony, which provides low cost and very flexible communications capability, to sophisticated web-based applications that let you run your business “virtually”. You could host meetings with clients using web conferencing, share documents and information, and provide business applications that can be used by staff and associates wherever they are located.

These technologies make it possible for start-ups to avoid or postpone the move to expensive office space and certainly reduce the cost of travelling to and from the office or to meetings.

The B2B Centre’s Collaboration Toolbox is great place to start to understand what technology is available to help provide better facilities for remote, field and home based staff.

Case Study
Read how Office Lifeline set up a Virtual office services by using collaboration tools such as Voice over IP (VOIP) telephony, which provides low cost calls anywhere in the world, and VHQ WebOffice a web based business Application which allows you to manage business tasks in an integrated centralised place.

e-trading
Electronic trading enables you to sell products online using web-based software and take secure credit card payment. It is possible to start small and leverage services from people like eBay and Amazon. As your online presence expands then full eCommerce systems can provide you with a selection of functionality such as to adding unlimited products and product categories, specialised sales tools and options to offer product promotions and create gift certificates.

James Pennington, the B2B Centre’s Lead IT Consultant, has written an article outlining how you can kick off the process of selling on-line .

Case Study
Read how Rainbow Safety Signs (file opens in PDF format) developed an e-commerce system using ZenCart. The software allowed owner Darren Taylor to manage its own site and with the credit card payment facility it has attracted customers they normally wouldn’t have won business from.


SME Help

Here at the National B2B Centre we can help you in the first stages of identifying your ICT requirements by looking into your existing business processes and finding new solutions to fit your business, this will provide you with the correct impartial advice cutting out all the sales talk and focusing on the important needs you require to help run your business more effectively.

The next stage of finding a supplier can be handed to Accredit UK who can put you in touch with trusted accredited suppliers.

For financial support, such as grants, Business Link are on hand to provide advice and support schemes to help your business. Take a look at their recent guide to getting business finance. If you are after investment then Connect Midlands is a good place to start.

Conclusion
Implementing transformational ICT change can be difficult…but our experience of working with small and medium sized businesses suggests that not only can you achieve but you will achieve major benefits as a result.

Steph Williams
©National B2B Centre 2009