Wednesday 23rd Sep 2020

Listening to Small Businesses through the Business Barometer
For the last five years, Hitachi Capital Business Finance has surveyed small business decision makers in the UK, spanning industry sectors, business size and geographical region. We are constantly speaking to small business owners in the UK, spanning industry sectors, business size and geographical region. We call this our Business Barometer.
"At a time of unprecedented anxiety and market uncertainty, understanding the outlook from small businesses has never been more important.
We look beyond industry sector or size to fully appreciate the variety of ways small-business owners are thinking and reacting to current issues."
Jo Morris, Head of Marketing and Insight
Why it matters
The small business community remains the keystone of the British economy and at a time of political change and economic uncertainty. It is important to understand how small business owners see the world, where they see the growth opportunities and how they tackle the apparent challenges. There has been much debate on the economy and business community in general but it cannot automatically be assumed that small businesses face the same issues as their larger counterparts.
"Hitachi Capital Business Finance understands that every single business owner faces a variety of challenges - some unique to them. Tailoring a service that acknowledges this is key to helping them to grow in the long term."
Jo Morris, Head of Marketing and Insight
Who we speak to
The research for our ongoing study is conducted by YouGov amongst a nationally representative sample in excess of 1,100 small business decision makers. The survey is carried out online and includes respondents from all UK regions and a full range of industry sectors.
The research is repeated quarterly, with some questions tracked quarterly and other questions alternating on a six-monthly basis.