Almost half of small businesses want to upgrade their digital skills as a lesson from the Covid-19 pandemic, according to research.
In a sign of demand from businesses to embrace the growing digitalisation of the economy triggered by the crisis, 48 per cent want to upskill their technical know-how.
New research from Small Business Britain and Lloyds Bank Academy found that almost two thirds of small businesses (60 per cent) want support with marketing and sales as they recover from the pandemic.
And over a quarter also identified strategic planning (30 per cent), business resilience (26 per cent) and developing new products (25 per cent) as important focus areas for their businesses.
The Small Business Recovery and Support survey found that over two thirds (67 per cent) of small businesses have already sought help to respond to the crisis in the last year, underlining just how fundamentally the pandemic has accelerated demand for business skills and advice, particularly in relation to digital skills.
This trend appears to have sparked a growing appetite amongst small businesses to develop skills and knowledge in these areas further, particularly when it comes to online capability.
Almost two thirds (60 %) of small businesses want to improve their social media capability and over half (56%) want to enhance their digital marketing, while half (51%) want to improve search engine optimisation and over a third (39%) want to enhance their e-commerce/online sales capability.
“The changes I’ve made to my business in response to covid have been far-reaching and will be long-lasting,” said the owner of Miss Ballooniverse Natalie Haverstock, who quickly had to move her workshops with biodegradable balloons online during the pandemic.
“I’ve been on a huge journey. Back in March 2020 I would never have thought you could teach someone balloon making without being the same room! But in a matter of weeks I was doing just that, which allowed me to keep my business going at a difficult time. While it’s exciting to start doing in-person events again, the pandemic has shown me the value of investing in technology and building my skills in everything from marketing and sales to delivery. Digital changes are here to stay and I’ll continue to focus on this, even when the crisis comes to an end.”
“The economy is going through a huge transition and the pandemic has prompted a major rethink amongst businesses on how they run their businesses,” said Michelle Ovens, founder of Small Business Britain.
“This presents a major opportunity for the UK’s small businesses to be at the heart of the recovery, but we need to support them to do it by continuing to give them help to grow their skill and insight.”
"Helping small businesses recover, prosper and thrive is at the heart of our purpose. It’s good to see that almost half of small businesses want to boost their digital skills, something we know unlocks benefits including time savings, productivity gains and revenue. It is now up to us all to help provide these small businesses with the additional skills they need," said Nick Williams, Group Transformation Director from Lloyds Banking Group, which partnered with Small Business Britain on a webinar series to support small firms responding to the pandemic through the Lloyds Bank Academy.
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