As one of Dorset’s leading independent insurance brokers, we know that Dorset means business. It comes as a surprise to some to hear that despite the very many beautiful green spaces and dramatic coastline, Dorset is more than just a tourist area.
Dorset is in fact, the UK’s 10th largest urban area, with 52,000 businesses based in the county. From fast-growing local businesses, such as the Coversure Poole Group to well-known large corporations like JP Morgan Chase, there’s a multitude of talented and hard-working business owners on our doorstep.
Here at Coversure Weymouth, we pride ourselves on providing a professional but friendly, accessible insurance service to our fellow Dorset-based business owners. Whether they need business insurance, commercial vehicle insurance, or landlord insurance, we’re here to help.
Better Times Ahead For Dorset’s Businesses
There’s no denying that the current economic climate has thrown yet another challenge to all UK-based businesses of late. Fortunately, as the latest Barclays business barometer data shows, there’s room for optimism, with confidence levels the highest recorded for 9 months.
So, what does the rest of 2023 hold for small business owners in Dorset in 2023? In this latest blog from Coversure Weymouth, we look at the key trends affecting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Dorset region.
Top 4 Trends for SMEs in 2023
With so much outside of their control, 2023 is likely to be a year in which small business owners focus on those things that they can control. To that end, we’ve identified four key trends for 2023.
- Marketing and promoting awareness
With many consumers concerned with rising prices and general economic uncertainties, it’s vital for businesses to promote themselves to ensure that it’s their products and services that are chosen. One recent survey of SMEs concurs, stating that 45% of small business owners cited customer acquisition as vital, with awareness and getting recommendations paramount.
- Customer service and experience
Getting good customer recommendations only comes from creating great customer service and ensuring that existing customers feel like they are getting great service and value for money. It’s something we pride ourselves on and which is reflected in our 4.8/5 feefo rating. It’s said to cost five times more to acquire new customers than retain existing ones, so it makes perfect business sense to ensure your existing customers keep returning.
- Staff retention and recruitment
In our experience, the best customer service levels are provided for by a happy team. Retaining staff and ensuring you have the right levels of staff to offer the best levels of service will be crucial in 2023. With unemployment figures at their lowest since the 1970s, retaining existing staff and ensuring their health and well-being are key considerations for many small business owners. Some 88% of business decision-makers recently surveyed said that flexible working has a positive impact on staff retention, and a CBI survey also revealed that 71% of firms thought hybrid working attracted new hires, so it looks like working from home, at least part of the working week is here to stay.
- Cybersecurity
Our last trend arguably is not one that business owners have direct control over; however, it is a trend that SMEs need to be aware of and mitigate. 54% of SMEs experienced a cyber-attack in 2022, according to the latest research. With the average cost said to be in the region of £4200, it’s an issue that not only disrupts business and potentially damages a business’s reputation (digitally at least), but it also results in financial loss.
There are several ways small businesses can look to secure their practices, such as backing up data, installing anti-virus software, and training staff to spot phishing attacks, but when technology moves at such a fast pace, its hard for business owners to keep up. 2023, therefore, may be the year that more businesses look to include cyber insurance into their business insurance policies. Cyber insurance cover through Coversure Weymouth is a flexible policy that can be tailored to every business’s needs protecting them from those financial losses in the event of an attack.
No matter what line of business you are in, 2023 looks like it’ll be yet another year of challenge and change. Businesses have had to learn to embrace change over the last few years, and when you own or run a small business, resilience is arguably a key attribute no matter the economic climate. One thing we also know about our SME business insurance customers is that we are sure they’ll be up for the challenge.
Looking for Business Insurance Help?
Whatever your business priorities are this year, and no matter what type of business you run, if you’re looking to expand or consolidate, the team at Coversure Weymouth is on hand to provide you with independent business insurance advice.
As a local community insurance broker, we have access to a wide range of high-quality policies that can be adapted to your needs. Great customer service to us means that not only will we get your business covered at the right price, and should you need to make a claim, we’ll be with you every step of the way.
So why not give our friendly team at Coversure Weymouth a call on (01305) 457 202 or come in for a chat at 35 Abbotsbury Road and let us help you protect what’s important to you.
Sources:
https://www.dorsetlep.co.uk/businesses-based-in-dorset
Small Business In 2023: Experts Predict Trends And Challenges (forbes.com)
Unemployment: Who are the millions of Britons not working? – BBC News
Employee wellbeing in a changing working world | CBI
Half of SMEs experienced surge in cyber-attacks during 2022 (vodafone.co.uk)
