How to keep the lights on

With governments across the country doing their bit to help small businesses navigate Covid-19, staying commercially buoyant is not only about cash flow.

Research by online lender OnDeck shows that 75% of small to medium enterprise (SME) owners believe good communication is the top skill they need to succeed. This result also underlines the importance to SMEs of staying in touch with clients.

But before you start trumpeting away to your clients, Oliver Wade, head of marketing and partnerships at OnDeck, advises SMEs against sending out opportunistic selling messages.

“Pushing your products and services too hard in your communications is undesirable and can be a risk to your brand,” he says. “But staying in touch demonstrates you value the client relationship. If you