Did you know that small businesses account for over half (63.8%) of the UK’s private sector employment – and over half (59.2%) of our turnover? That’s a massive £1,653 billion.
In recent years, the internet has revolutionised the way in which we interact – personally, as consumers and from one business to another. It has fundamentally changed how we buy and sell, and has challenged the traditional relationships between company and customer.
BT Tradespace’s The Voice of Small Business 2009 report presents the top-line findings from our independent survey of 300 UK small businesses. We aimed to discover how SMEs communicate and conduct business both off- and online. We wanted to understand more about how smaller enterprises view the web, and how its role will change in these challenging economic conditions and for the future.
The survey questioned small businesses from a range of different sectors throughout the whole of the UK. Company size varied from fewer than five people to a maximum of 50 employees.
This report seeks to provide an independent perspective on how technology and the internet are shaping the way that small businesses work, particularly in a time of limited budgets and restricted credit.