How to accelerate your SME's growth through a recession

By Big Presence

22 Feb 2023

In the world of business, it's easy to get caught up in the excitement of closing big deals and increasing the number of clients you have. After all, these are important metrics for measuring success. However, it's important to remember that revenue acceleration - the speed at which your business can make money - is just as crucial.

In fact, it may be the key to growth, even in a recession.

SMEs, or small and medium-sized enterprises, are particularly susceptible to economic downturns. When money is tight, clients may be more hesitant to spend, and larger businesses may be better equipped to weather the storm. However, if an SME can accelerate its revenue, it may be able to stay afloat and even thrive despite external challenges.

So, why is revenue acceleration so important? Firstly, it allows businesses to quickly reinvest profits into further growth. This means that as revenue increases, businesses can expand their offerings, hire more staff, and invest in marketing and other initiatives that will continue to drive growth. In contrast, if revenue growth is slow, businesses may struggle to make these investments and could end up stagnating.

Secondly, revenue acceleration can help businesses stay ahead of their competition. When a business is able to quickly generate revenue, it can be more agile and responsive to changes in the market. For example, it may be able to pivot its offerings to better meet customer needs or invest in emerging technologies that will give it a competitive edge.

Unfortunately, many organisations don't spend enough time focusing on revenue acceleration. Instead, they may get bogged down in administrative tasks or overly focused on closing large deals. This can make it challenging for them to increase revenue quickly, and may leave them vulnerable to economic downturns or competitive pressures.

So, how can businesses focus on revenue acceleration? Firstly, they can look for ways to streamline their processes and eliminate bottlenecks. For example, implementing automation tools can help to reduce the time and effort required for administrative tasks. Secondly, businesses can focus on building relationships with their customers to drive repeat business and increase the lifetime value of each customer. This means offering exceptional customer service, personalised marketing campaigns, and other initiatives that will keep customers engaged and coming back for more.

I've enclosed below my top 5 x areas that even just improving by 10% will make a huge difference to the speed in which you can generate revenue.

Tips for Accelerating Revenue Performance

  • CRM: A well-managed customer relationship management (CRM) system can help businesses build and maintain strong relationships with their customers, leading to repeat business and increased revenue.
  • Sales Processes: Streamlining sales processes, including lead qualification, proposal development and closing deals, can significantly reduce the time and effort required to generate revenue.
  • Lead Generation: A consistent and targeted lead generation strategy can ensure that sales teams are equipped with high-quality leads, increasing the likelihood of closing deals and generating revenue.
  • Sales Resources: Providing sales teams with the right resources, such as effective training, marketing collateral and tools to automate and streamline processes, can increase productivity and efficiency, leading to faster revenue generation.
  • Target Audience: By clearly defining the target audience, businesses can develop tailored marketing campaigns and sales approaches that resonate with potential customers, increasing the likelihood of converting leads into revenue.

In conclusion, revenue acceleration is just as important as other metrics for measuring business success. For SMEs, it can be the key to growth and survival, particularly in challenging economic times.

By focusing on streamlining processes, focusing on the areas that will make a difference to the speed in which revenue ca be created and building strong customer relationships, businesses can increase revenue quickly and stay ahead of the competition.

To find out more about how you can generate faster in your business, join us for our Linkedin Live on the 10th of March where myself and matt Simmons will be running through our top strategies to speed up your revenue performance.

Click here for details

Latest news

1

Lumo launches West Coast rail service with 100 jobs in Preston Lumo train in London and staff

Lumo launches West Coast rail service with 100 jobs in Preston

22 May 2026

2

Lancashire brings £20bn of investment opportunity to UKREiiF UKREiiF

Lancashire brings £20bn of investment opportunity to UKREiiF

22 May 2026

3

Work begins on Blackpool’s Multiversity campus Multiversity in Blackpool

Work begins on Blackpool’s Multiversity campus

22 May 2026

4

New £8.7m Pleasure Beach ride opens to public Aviktas ride

New £8.7m Pleasure Beach ride opens to public

22 May 2026

5

Red Rose Awards winners gather to celebrate Lancashire business Red Rose Awards Winners Reception

Red Rose Awards winners gather to celebrate Lancashire business

21 May 2026

Background image for hub sign up block

LBV Hub

Leverage Lancashire Business View platforms

Post your news
Post your events
Post your offers
Build your network
Improve your SEO
Gain coverage in the magazine
Sign-up
Events
Funding Summit
Funding Logo Canva Mid
Summit
17 Jun 2026

Funding Summit

Village Hotel Blackpool

08:30 - 11:00

LBV129 July/August Magazine Networking Event
Nov/Dec Networking Event
Networking
16 Jul 2026

LBV129 July/August Magazine Networking Event

Brysdales, Britannia Buildings Drumhead Road, Chorley, PR6 7BX

16:00 - 18:00

LBV130 September/October Magazine Networking Event
Jan/Feb Networking Event - Entrance
Networking
17 Sep 2026

LBV130 September/October Magazine Networking Event

The Beehive Blackburn, Shadsworth Business Park, BB1 2Q

08:30 - 10:30

LBV131 November/December Magazine Networking Event
Jan/ Feb Networking Event - Talking
Networking
19 Nov 2026

LBV131 November/December Magazine Networking Event

Lancashire

08:30 - 10:30

Building a high-performance culture
business workshop.png.png
LBV Hub Seminars
03 Jun 2026

Building a high-performance culture

Media Factory, University of Lancashire, Preston, PR1 2HE

09:30 - 11:30

Chamber Breakfast Networking – June
LBV Hub Networking
03 Jun 2026

Chamber Breakfast Networking – June

Pye Motors, Morecambe, LA3 3PE

08:00 - 10:00

Society1 Breakfast Social and Coworking Day
Breakfast Social June Facebook.png.png
LBV Hub Networking
04 Jun 2026

Society1 Breakfast Social and Coworking Day

Society1 Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

09:00 - 17:00

Yellow Day 2026
LBV Hub Fundraisers
07 Jun 2026

Yellow Day 2026

St Catherine's Hospice, Preston, pr55xu

11:00 - 16:00

Opening doors and opportunity for Tech in Preston
PTC Square June (900 x 900 px)-2.png.png
LBV Hub Networking
09 Jun 2026

Opening doors and opportunity for Tech in Preston

Society1, Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

18:00 - 19:30

Clubhouse Business Network sponsored by Orca Finance - June 2026
Padel Network.png.png
LBV Hub Networking
11 Jun 2026

Clubhouse Business Network sponsored by Orca Finance - June 2026

Clubhouse , Blackburn, BB1 3NT

14:00 - 16:00

The Business Network Central and East Lancashire
LBV Header (33).png.png
LBV Hub Networking
18 Jun 2026

The Business Network Central and East Lancashire

Stanley House, Blackburn, BB2 7NP

11:30 - 14:15

Chamber Business Lunch
LBV Hub Networking
19 Jun 2026

Chamber Business Lunch

Lancaster House Hotel, Lancaster, LA1 4GL

11:00 - 14:00

Advertise with us

Reaching 50,000 members, our print, digital and event platforms offer a fantastic way to raise your business profile and help you grow.

Find out more LBV124 Online Graphic
Subscribe now

Weekly news bulletin