I came across an interesting article on Times Online - admittedly dubbed an ‘Advertisement Feature’ – which contained some interesting news for small businesses.
The article highlights the new ‘Have Your Say’ scheme, devised by Barclays, which aims to provide help and support to small businesses during tough times.
The article states:
“Barclays now wants to understand what it’s like to own a small business in 2009 so it can help by providing extra support with the issues of the day.”
To start this programme, Barclays will be issuing a nationwide questionnaire to gauge opinions of those working in small businesses across the UK. The key questions Barclays want answered are
“What is it like to be a small business in 2009? What are the main things on business owners’ minds? What opportunities are there? And what skill gaps do businesses feel they have?”
Although filled with some rather obvious advertising slogans which make me question the credibility of this ‘article’, the programme does appear to be useful and helpful for any small businesses feeling the strain during the current financial troubles.
As the article states, the programme aims to “tap into the mindset of the small business sector”. I feel this is what makes it stand out against other schemes and programmes which didn’t work so well in the past. Barclays want to create two way conversation in order to fully understand and get into the heads of those working in small businesses, which means messages and advice can be personally tailored to specific problems and therefore much more effective.
Comments