Introduction
2019 presents many challenges for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). In the near term, SMBs will be facing the continual high velocity of disruptive technologies introduction, business sustainability and a threat to existence, and the ‘on demand’ and ‘gig economy,’ significantly impacting many strategic business plans.
Mission-critical, then, for small and medium businesses is placing dedicated focus and resources to address and mitigate the hard and soft barriers for organizational reawakening with the process and IT architecture redesign and proactive use of smart technology.
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”
T.S. Eliot
SMB Statistics
Globally, SMBs are significant drivers of today’s economic growth, representing more than 90% of the business population, 60%–70% of employment, and 55% of GDP in developed economies.
Research supports that about 50% of businesses close within their first five years, but we hear less about the 20% that fail within a year of opening or about the statistic that, ten years in, two-thirds of small businesses will have closed down.
Salesforce, 2019 Small & Medium Business Trends Report revealed:
1. Demographics Shape Entrepreneurial Experiences
Starting a business requires passion and stamina. Although most SMB leaders are driven individuals who wear many hats, we found key differences in their experiences that are shaped by age and gender. Access to capital is the top constraint on current business activity for women but number two for men.
2. Customer Expectations Dictate Investment Plans
Today’s customers have high expectations. When planning investments, SMBs prioritize capabilities that help them offer the personalized experiences that customers are looking for. CRM is the top technology budget priority for growing SMBs.
3. Advanced Technology Comes to SMBs
Technology is rapidly changing — not just for enterprise organizations but also for SMBs. The majority of CRM-using SMBs started leveraging the technology within the last two years, and three times as many SMBs have future plans for AI than are currently using it. Growing SMBs are more likely to leverage CRM, marketing automation, and AI.
4. Trust Matters Above All Else
In today’s business landscape, trust isn’t a commodity — it’s a differentiator. SMBs take trust seriously in their relationships with customers, employees, and vendors. Ninety percent of SMB leaders value trust above all else in their relationships with customers.
SMB Executive Challenges
But what are the critical challenges that are keeping SMB executives up at night? The following list consists of problems that recognized as mission-critical to business success and sustainability in the current economy.
- Managing financials.
- Engaging highly-qualified employees.
- Unreasonable government regulations.
- Maintaining and continually building customer loyalty.
- Identifying and retaining profitable customers.
- Working sales channels.
- Reliance on obsolete legacy systems.
- Leverage IT architecture and software portfolio.
- Strong competition from innovative and creative competition .
- Threats from weaknesses in cybersecurity.
“The greater danger for most of us isn’t that our aim is too high and miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.”
Michelangelo
Summary
With forethought and tenacity, there is no challenge that SMB executives cannot successfully overcome! Established small and medium businesses have developed an abundance of business competencies, highly-effective employees, and intellectual property, and applying them smartly to redesign and reinvigorate the business model, in alignment with business and technology strategies, should provide positive short-and long term revenue and profitability growth.
