17 October 2011
BMG research and Middlesex University have undertaken research to understand the barriers to the take up and use of business support in the UK.
The report concludes that:
- Over the last three years, two fifths of SME employers made use of formal external assistance, with one in five seeking only information, one in eight both information and strategic advice, and one in twenty only strategic advice.
- Business Link was the main public sector provider of information and strategic advice, with email, telephone, and face to face methods being used more frequently than web based methods.
- An estimated 28 per cent of SME employers had a latent demand for formal business assistance over the last three years: half were non users that did not recognise their need for assistance, despite experiencing unresolved problems; a third were nonusers that did recognise their need for assistance; and one in seven were users who had other unmet needs for assistance.
- Amongst SME employers with latent demand, the main reason for market failure was doubts about the benefits and value of assistance in relation to the expense and time involved. Relationship failures such as a lack of trust or confidence in external advisors were also evident amongst certain types of business, as were concerns about being able to find appropriate assistance.
Download the full report here