Marketing tops 'headache' survey

How to get the best out of sales and marketing efforts has been rated the number one issue troubling small-business owners.

A survey sent to thousands of small-business owners asked what was the one business problem that kept them awake at night.

A fifth of the respondents ranked sales and marketing as their biggest headache, followed very closely by cashflow problems.

A distant third was employment issues, said survey coordinator Sarah Trotman.

Trotman, organiser of the Bizzone Business Expo, said before the survey her gut feeling was cashflow would come out strongly in front.

"I was pleasantly surprised that sales and marketing came to the top because I think it shows just how educated the average business owner is," she said. "You can keep cutting costs but at the end of the day that's not going to grow your business."

Trotman said a focus on sales and smart marketing, particularly given its strong links to cashflow, would be what helped grow small businesses.

"It's about figuring out ways of talking to your customers more effectively. Often that doesn't mean spending money," she said.

In a response to the survey results Prime Minister John Key named credit and confidence as the biggest issues facing small businesses.

"You can't have one without the other," he said.

"If I have a great idea am I going to be able to get funds to make that idea happen? And, if I can get funds, is anyone going to buy what I produce?"