Businesses planning growth and adapting to ‘new normal’

This is up from 57%last year and there are also less businesses anticipating negative growth in the next year , 13% compared to 43% last year.

ANZ managing director commercial Graham Turley says the survey shows owners are cautiously optimistic about growth.

"Forward-thinking business owners have moved on from focusing largely on short-term cost-management activities to get them through the recession,'' Turley says.

"However the cautious optimism they are showing is tempered by the need for continuing improvement in sales and margins before more owners will commit to new activity."

He says for sustainable growth, close management of working capital will be vital, as well as broad thinking around how to fund growth from sources other than debt or cash flow.

Turley says business owners don't ever expect conditions to return to the way they were, so the real challenge now is for them to adapt to the 'new normal' and changed consumer attitudes, or risk not having a place to grow.

"Consumers are saving more money-, and steering away from non-essentials and away from spending fuelled by credit," he says.

The Barometer found businesses are focusing more on basics such as actively reducing costs (54%, up from 49% last year), more actively engaging with clients (40%, up from 35% last year) and more actively managing debtors (32%, up from 30%).

External advice is also now seen by business owners as far more beneficial (92% compared to 75% last year).

Turley says the 'new normal' also sees a move away from traditional export markets of Europe and United States that were hit hard by the Global Financial Crisis, towards the growing markets of Asia.

Higher exporting goals were evident in the Barometer with 49% of businesses exporting now, and 53% expecting to in three years. 19% of businesses have sales to Asia and 25% expect to in three years.

He says greater use of new technology including social media is cited as another feature of the new environment."

Turley's tips and tools for the 'new normal':

• Stick to business basics and be ready to act

Turley says businesses who survived the recession and who will thrive in the new environment are those that returned to, or stuck to business basics by focussing on costs, and tighter management of debtors, inventory and supply chains, and closer management of customer relationships. They were also decisive and ready to act when a problem or opportunity came up.

• Seek external advice

Seeking external advice to provide fresh thinking around how to seize emerging opportunities in the new environment is also vital.

• Think broadly about how to fund growth

Coming out of a recession, businesses need plenty of liquidity and headroom in their available funds, as well as robust planning. International trade finance, supply chain finance, asset finance, or asset leasing are viable growth funding options as well as more traditional debt facilities.

• Exporting? Lay the groundwork first

Advice from successful exporters say market research is critical when going into new markets, as is having local representation, a thorough understanding of the culture and making plenty of contacts with other businesses operating in the market.

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