Dubai: Good sales and marketing is the highest spending priority for small and medium companies, SMEs, in the UAE, according to a business survey carried out by business intelligence provider, MEED.
In a survey of over 150 SMEs in the UAE, spending on sales and marketing topped the list of priorities for respondents, with 63 per cent saying they will invest in this area to drive further growth in the coming months. Staff training and development came second at 42 per cent.
Product development and innovation is also a key investment priority for 40 per cent of respondents, while other important investment considerations include Strategic Partnerships at 39 per cent, and Technology and IT Security at 30 per cent.
“Focusing on sales and marketing improvements is definitely a good investment strategy for growth, but what is important to highlight is that a good number of SMEs are giving product development and innovation a big push by making it a key priority area of investment to enhance their competitiveness,” says Richard Thompson, Editorial Director of MEED. “Many business experts believe that innovation is critical to attracting market capitalisation, which makes for a compelling reason why start-ups and small businesses should innovate.”
More than 150 small business owners answered the MEED survey on investment plans, highlighting their priority investment areas for this year that also include improving customer service (25 per cent), recruitment (20 per cent), as well as enhancing workplace culture and environment (19 per cent). The survey was carried out as part of the Gulf Capital SME Awards programme, which MEED launched 4 years ago to celebrate business success, innovation and growth in the SME sector in the UAE.
