More than half of SME managers believe that it is more difficult to run a small business today than it was three years ago.

Research conducted by YouGov for T-Mobile claims that this is due to rising customer expectations which force a 'want it now' culture on small businesses. 

Over a third of SME managers said that customers are more demanding, and 33 per cent said that colleagues, customers and suppliers expect faster response times than ever before.

The survey of 788 SME managers suggested that small firms could save £60,000 a year by making better use of dead time, and cutting unproductive time spent travelling or waiting for meetings to start.

"The rise of the internet has given birth to a 'want it now' culture where customers expect an immediate response to every enquiry," said Derek Williamson, head of business marketing at T-Mobile UK.

"This is forcing SMEs to operate in a different way, and to use all the tools at their disposal to be more productive and efficient.

"The ability to fulfil orders and respond to customers as quickly as possible is of paramount importance, which is why SMEs are starting to recognise that mobile technology can have a significant impact on the bottom line."

SME managers are having to work "smarter" and should use mobile technology to tackle the increasing demand for instant response and the problem of dead time, according to T-Mobile.

The survey found that over half of SME managers provide mobile technology for their staff, and 83 per cent agree that this has enabled them to respond to customer queries more quickly.

Over half of respondents also agree that mobile technology enables them to process orders more quickly, rising to 70 per cent of those that provide their staff with access to Wi-Fi hotspots.