<p>With this year’s US Small Business Week just behind us, we’re looking at the world of small businesses – in the US and UK. What makes up a small business. The problems they face. And how Feefo can support them during Small Business Week and the other 51 weeks of the year too.</p><p></p><p>No matter which side of the Atlantic you live on or what you do, small businesses will have played a vital part in your life - directly and indirectly.</p><p></p><p>You probably use a small business several times a week or even daily. They help provide jobs and support consumer spending. Without them, both the UK and US economies would have serious problems. Even though they’re individually ‘small’, the contribution they make to each economy is anything but.</p><p></p><h2>What constitutes a small business</h2><p>The definitions of what makes a small business in the UK and in the US are quite different. The UK government defines a small business as one with less than 50 employees and a turnover of less than £10 million. In the US, as with so many things, small businesses are bigger – with the Small Business Administration’s general definition being fewer than 500 employees. Another measure they use is a maximum turnover of $41.5 million. These US figures do change, though, depending on the industry in question.</p><p></p><p>With such big differences in the way small businesses are classified, it’s difficult to make meaningful direct comparisons between each country. So, let’s look at how they impact each of their economies separately.</p><p></p><p>In the UK, there are around 217,000 small businesses. And while this means they’re only 4% of the total number of firms in the country, they employ 16% of the working population. And they generate 15% of the country’s total business turnover.</p><p></p><p>Small businesses in the US account for a huge 44% of the country’s economic activity. They’re also responsible for over 60% of jobs in America.</p><p></p><h2>The issues facing small businesses today</h2><p>The covid pandemic and the global economic problems caused by the war in Ukraine have had a significant impact on small businesses worldwide and added to the day-to-day problems they encounter.</p><p></p><h3>Rising cost and falling spending</h3><p>Inflation is the main problem for small businesses at the time of writing. They’re facing rising supplier costs and reduced customer spending in a double whammy for business owners.</p><h4>How Feefo can help</h4><p>We can’t do anything to cut the rising costs small businesses face. But verified reviews do help alleviate consumer anxiety when it comes to parting with their cash.</p><p></p><p>Using a platform like Feefo that collects genuine reviews from real customers establishes your business as one that people can believe in – especially important if you’re a small brand. Current customers will feel reassured they’ve made the right choice in picking you. And new prospects will feel confident to shop with you.</p>

Digital Marketing Coordinator, Medical Monks 

<h3>Revenue and cash flow</h3><p>In the small business world, healthy revenue and consistent cash flow are vital, and even a small interruption can be fatal for some companies. With consumer confidence and spending hit, many businesses are seeing revenues fall and becoming less profitable. To overcome this, they have to choose between passing increased costs on to customers or cutting their profit margins further.</p><h4>How Feefo can help</h4><p>Displaying verified reviews can drive revenue and cash flow.</p><p>When customers leave positive reviews, studies have shown online sales can be boosted by <a href="https://www.dixa.com/page/reconnecting-the-customer-experience/" target="_self">up to 18%.</a> Reviews are also one of the biggest influences on customers’ buying decisions, with up to <a href="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.brightlocal.com%2Fresearch%2Flocal-consumer-review-survey-2017%2F&data=05%7C01%7Ck.woodward%40Feefo.com%7C6a9c33e9f2cc44fe880008da8cee770f%7Cba89dc54cd184fedb9783dfe890a4aa2%7C0%7C0%7C637977253072550850%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=21vEUNfu2c3kYjBxP%2FFQIzyAwX4xxR98taa2m8t%2Bwtc%3D&reserved=0" target="_self">85% of consumers trusting online reviews</a> as much as they do personal recommendations. That’s great news for small or niche brands that people might find hard to get any personal recommendations on.</p><p>Reviews of individual products have been shown to increase sales by up to 200% better than those without too.</p><p>Our reviews can help improve your performance in search results and <a href="https://www.feefo.com/en/business/resources/webinars/seo" target="_self">generate Google stars</a> to make you rank above bigger competitors with larger budgets. Adding our reviews to your adverts can <a href="https://blog.reviews.io/post/how-online-reviews-impact-click-through-rate" target="_self">triple click-through rates</a>. Simply displaying reviews can <a href="https://spiegel.medill.northwestern.edu/_pdf/Spiegel_Online%20Review_eBook_Jun2017_FINAL.pdf" target="_self">increase conversions by 270%</a>.</p><p>With companies, especially smaller ones, having to look closely at their marketing and new business budgets, reviews are a proven way to keep cash flowing.</p>

Digital Marketing Manager, Impact Factory

<h3>Improving your products, service and keeping customers loyal</h3><p>If you don’t know someone has had an issue with your products or service, you can’t put things right and you may lose their custom. The same problem could go on impacting others too. Before you know it, your loyal customer base could have shrunk considerably.</p><h4>How Feefo can help</h4><p>A verified customer review platform lets you hear the voice of your customers. It gives them an easy way to let you know what they think and when they feel let down. When you proactively respond to a review, especially if things haven’t gone perfectly, it shows that you’re committed to providing excellent customer service. In fact, <a href="https://www.qualtrics.com/blog/online-review-stats/" target="_self">89% of consumers</a> pay as much attention to the reply to a review as they do to the review itself.</p><p>Having both positive and negative reviews on your website actually increases trust too. Consumers obviously feel a brand that gets just glowing feedback is too good to be true. Because our reviews are from verified customers, you can relax knowing there are no fakes in there.</p><h3>Planning ahead</h3><p>Just the day to day running of a small business is a full-time job. So, getting the time to even think about taking it to the next level can be difficult to say the least. And you need that genuine insight to base your plans on.</p><h4>How Feefo can help</h4><p>Listening to feedback and our AI technology gives you access to insights that help you identify opportunities, spot trends, and get better at everything you do. They’re always there as well for when you need them so you can make quick decisions if you have to.</p>

Director, Harris & Jones

<h3>Establishing your sustainability claims</h3><p>Consumers expect businesses to act on sustainability - even small ones. Staff too are actively seeking out companies that take sustainability seriously. With greenwashing rife though, people don’t automatically trust claims made by brands.</p><h4>How Feefo can help</h4><p>Depending on your business model and how you operate this can be a great way to differentiate yourself from the competition – especially the ‘big boys’ that might have other reputational issues. We’ve designed our <a href="https://www.feefo.com/uk/business/product/product-customisations/sustainability/ecolabels">Sustainability Awareness Solution</a> to help you demonstrate your independently verified sustainability claims. Based on the <a href="https://www.feefo.com/uk/business/resources/business-insights/united-nations-sustainable-development-goals">United Nations Sustainable Development Goals</a>, which cover a wide range of sustainable activities, it can be a real game-changer.</p><p></p>

If you’d like to learn more about how we can help you grow your business, just get in touch, and one of our experts will be happy to help.

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