Diversifying SMEs discount to grow turnover

Insurer Aviva is a major private sector employer with 4,500 staff in Yorkshire, including 1,700 in Sheffield. Its Life business is headquartered in York. The research, which was compiled using responses from 500 SME owners across the UK, including around 50 in Yorkshire, found that this summer, 30 per cent of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Yorkshire have reduced prices, 28 per cent have diversified into new products and services and 20 per cent have increased sales and discounts.

The data found that 23 per cent of SMEs in the area are confident about strong or improved sales in the second half of 2012, but a separate 23 per cent are expecting a decline in sales. Eighteen per cent are concerned a boost thanks to summer events will lead to a dip in Q3/4 revenues.

David Bruce, commercial product manager at Aviva, said: “Diversification in particular is an excellent way to protect and grow the bottom line, while efforts to capitalise on the Jubilee and summer sporting boost are other examples of this. For some SMEs, the investment has paid off, with revenues increasing markedly already this summer.”