From my perspective, innovation is crucial. One might presume, in an uncertain economy, that SMEs may have reservations about innovation, instead prioritising stability. However, research conducted by SAP found that actually a significant proportion of SME business owners feel the recession has been a catalyst for innovation.

1. Innovation = Key to SME Growth
and Profitability

2. • From my perspective, innovation is crucial. One might presume, in
an uncertain economy, that SMEs may have reservations about
innovation, instead prioritising stability. However, research
conducted by SAP found that actually a significant proportion of
SME business owners feel the recession has been a catalyst for
innovation.
After all, innovation doesn’t necessarily mean making a 'big splash';
it could mean tweaking procedures slightly, or questioning
previously accepted ways of working.
But realistically, how can this be achieved? Here are five top tips
which can really help make a difference to your company’s growth
and attitude towards innovation.

3. 1. Work smarter
• An innovative way to improve staff
productivity can be achieved through
implementing mobile technology. Employers
are recognising the potential here to boost
employee morale and efficiency by integrating
these devices into the company’s
infrastructure, ultimately reducing costs
associated with less consumer-friendly ways
of working.

4. 2. Improve Customer Experience
• Today, customers expect to be able to have access to
your services and products on any device at any time –
or risk losing their custom to a competitor who meets
these needs.
In fact, despite the recession, spending in CEM is still
very much at the top of the agenda for business
leaders. Getting customer interaction right is critical,
particularly in a volatile economy, and if you don’t
consider updating your approach, your competitors
could out-innovate you, making it easy to lose
business.

5. 3. Make your data work harder
• UK headlines are full of stories about the ‘data
deluge’ and big data management, which
could seem overwhelming for SMEs. The trick,
however, is not to try and stop the volume of
data which you collect as an organisation, but
to use it to your advantage. In a competitive
economy, everyone needs to find their edge
and making your data work harder is one
innovative way of doing that.

6. 4. Invest in cost-effective new tech
• Small businesses are among the best placed to
leverage some of the most recent developments in
technology. Cloud computing is a prime example. Over
the last few years cloud has been heavily 'talked-up',
with a lot of discussion around how it will actually
benefit businesses.
However, latest research from the IT industry is
showing the cloud computing has finally reached
mainstream adoption and businesses are seeing real
results. If you’re deliberating how to be innovative with
your IT strategy, think about how talked about trends
could really set you apart from your rivals.

7. 5. Continuous Improvement
• A crucial factor for small businesses to bear in
mind is that innovation shouldn’t be regarded
as something to be picked up and dropped. In
order to be truly innovative, companies need
to continually look at how their business can
be improved to rival competitors.

8. Hope for the future
• With the economy suffering from the same ill-
fated outlook for several years now, it’s time to
recognise this climate as the ‘new norm’ – and
it’s good to see SMEs already doing just this.
Rather than sitting tight for fear of failure,
embracing innovation can help ensure continued
business growth and sustainability.
It is only by thinking bigger that your business can
grow, and it is this attitude which will ensure the
UK’s economy goes from strength to strength.