Improved marketing could create £43 billion in value added* from SMEs, according to research by Pitney Bowes, which found that the average SME is only achieving 39 per cent of its planned marketing activity. Yet when business owners were asked to predict the sales impact produced by increased marketing activity, results showed a growth of 9.2% compared to 2011 prices.

Pitney Bowes, which providers marketing technology to firms, carried out research with the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), and said it demonstrates a clear disparity between planned marketing activity and what actually takes place. Three-quarters (77%) recognise that it is important to the success of their business, however a third rate their efforts over the last six months at under 5 out of 10. Some 11 per cent admit to doing none of the marketing they had planned.

Ryan Higginson, vice president Digital Channel Europe, at Pitney Bowes, said: "There is a great opportunity for savvy SMEs to grab a slice of the £122billion but to do so they must look for ways to embrace every sales opportunity and maximise profit. Implementing digital marketing is one way of doing this and easy-to-use, low-cost online tools can help set up a digital marketing campaign in under a day."

When asked what's holding them back, SME owners cited time (21%) and money (36%) – the acknowledged challenges for SMEs. Prioritisation is also a clear issue as the average owner juggles seven different roles on a daily basis and admits that buying stationery (35%) is ahead of marketing (32%). More established SMEs (25 years plus) are closest to achieving planned levels of marketing, with just
under a third (31%) claiming to have achieved their marketing plan.

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To help SMEs get more out of their marketing activity, Pitney Bowes pbSmartEssential, a set of marketing tools, has created a 'Rate Your Marketing' test where SMEs can find out where they stand on a scale of Super Busy to Super Hero Small Biz Superhero.

The average SME spends £23,810 a year on marketing and 49 per cent say mobile forms part of that outlay. However, only 8 per cent have a mobile optimised website with a further 10 per cent looking to invest in this space this year. Seven per cent are looking to invest in mobile payment solutions.

The research was conducted by Opinion Matters with 514 respondents. It questioned SME owners and decision makers in the UK with businesses ranging from 1-250 people in size. The survey was carried out between January and February 2013. The Centre for Economics and Business Research is a consultancy organisation that bridges the gap between economics and business. It looks into global market forecasts, predications, business outlook, projections and the UK outlook.
*The £122 billion and £43 billion figures were calculated as follows;
· SMEs report that they can raise sales by an average of 15.2% if they maximise the impact of their marketing effort
· Taking sales gained from other SMEs into account, Cebr estimates that this would result in a 9.2% sales increase for the SME sector, a rise of up to £122 billion in 2011 prices
· According to survey results, the sector which would benefit most from a rise in sales is ICT – 13.4% - and lowest is the wholesale and retail trade – 5.6%
· If a stable relationship between value added and turnover still holds under these circumstances, this would result in a rise in value added of £43 billion on 2011 prices