Sales and marketing are top concerns for small engineering firms, says FPB

16 May 2011

Sales and marketing are currently the top business issues facing small engineering companies in the UK, according to a new survey by the Forum of Private Business (FPB). Sales and marketing strategy is a priority for over one in five (26.1%) smaller firms in the engineering industry. The second most common priority was operations management, highlighted as an issue by 14.6% of respondents. HR-related issues, such as recruitment, training and employment law, were the third (13.4%).

Forum Chief Executive Phil Orford (pictured) says: “Getting sales and marketing right is crucial for small engineering companies – especially as they are acknowledged as one of the main sectors to lead the country to a sustainable private sector recovery. However, marketing often falls outside the skill-set the of many small business owners in the industry, leaving them unsure about how best to increase sales and grow. Similarly, owners of engineering companies can’t be expected to be experts on the ins-and-outs of employment law or the criteria banks use when assessing a firm’s viability for lending, so it’s perhaps not surprising that these also emerged as concerns.