SMEs unfazed by slump, see expansion in next 12 months
Survey finds them keen on growing ops, branding, mktg
By FELDA CHAY
THEY may be called small and medium enterprises, but the economic turmoil has not caused SMEs to stagger backwards when it comes to growing their business, a survey has found.
Branding and retail strategy consultancy AS Louken Group (ASL) said 79.6 per cent of the 152 respondents to its survey expect to grow in the next 12 months.
The telephone survey of senior managers was conducted over five weeks in June and July.
All respondents are members of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (ASME), mostly from sectors such as wholesale trading, business services and manufacturing.
Top areas in which companies hope to grow in the next year include the expansion of operations, branding, marketing and advertising and capital.
Asked about areas in which they would like to grow, 25.6 per cent of respondents who expect their companies to grow in the next 12 months want to expand current operations, while 16.5 and 14 per cent want to do more for branding and increase capital, respectively.
With companies realising the importance of differentiating themselves from competitors, about 8 in 10 respondents said branding is important.
Of these, 72.8 per cent said they plan to invest in branding in the near future.
Overseas expansion is also on the cards for a significant number of SMEs surveyed.
Among the 34.9 per cent of SMEs that currently do not have an overseas presence, two in five plan to venture overseas in the next 12 months, mainly spurred by available distributorship.
Training, too, is a priority for most SMEs, with 84.2 per cent of those surveyed saying it is important, and just 2 per cent saying it is not.
Of the types of training that SMEs feel are important, product and technical knowledge came in tops, with 47.7 per cent of respondents viewing this as important.
Some SMEs, however, do not seem to know what their competitive advantage is - a situation that ASL calls ‘worrying’. 13.8 per cent are unsure where their competitive edge lies.
Respondents also provided feedback on how ASME can further assist members, with 38.8 per cent of interviewees hoping it will organise more training, talks, courses and seminars.
Also, 30.9 per cent said they hope to see more networking and business opportunities from ASME.
In response, ASME’s executive director Bryan Teh said: ‘In the current economic environment, more should be done for them to help find new markets and cut the cost of doing business.
‘The survey results are useful for the association in charting our future activities to meet our members’ needs.’
ASL was established in 2001 to provide banking, intellectual property management, design and other advisory services.
Its client list includes BreadTalk Group, Charles & Keith, and Tung Lok Group.
Source : Business Times - 16 September 2009
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