Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s) do not have the staff that can be dedicated to a single function that larger companies may have
This makes the need for efficiency, clarity and ease of use when we are delivering them services
Pattern
They are very time poor.
The smaller they are, the more time poor they get
Smaller businesses tend to have individuals performing multiple roles
They trust and rely on recommendations from peer groups
Once they have a relationship with an Account Manager from a public sector agency, they tend to go to them first with questions, even if it is not their area of expertise
Reciprocity is an important concept to keep in mind. Lack of time makes them prioritise activities that can benefit their business.
Public sector jargon and service names is very confusing to most businesses
Anti Pattern
Once SME’s work with us for a while, they start to adopt our language in order to “manage us”. This can give an unrealistic view of how suitable our language and naming is.
Some SME’s do have dedicated resources for obtaining public sector support. This tends to happen in “Key Sectors” where there is a lot of Government support available which makes it worth while.
Supporting research
Over 900 research interactions across the last two years with most of them being SME’s
