Riva Lesonski
Posting on social media is a cost-effective way to increase brand awareness.
During Small Business Week this spring, EverCommerce surveyed small business owners and found that the majority of respondents (74%) had never heard of National Small Business Week, and half of those who were aware of the annual event said it had no impact on their company's success.
The survey also revealed that small businesses are concerned that economic headwinds, changing consumer expectations, and the introduction of new AI technologies will impede their path to success. Fortunately, the news isn't all doom and gloom: small business owners are embracing digital solutions to help them grow.
To find out how entrepreneurs can overcome these challenges, I spoke with Matt Firestein, President of EverCommerce.
The challenges facing small and medium-sized enterprises require appropriate growth strategies
Riva Lesonski: According to a recent small business survey, small business owners say they are currently facing several challenges. What are they worried about specifically?
Matt Fierstein: Their top three challenges were attracting new customers, hiring quality employees, and maintaining healthy finances and cash flow. Small business owners also said it's difficult to maintain work-life balance and stay competitive.
Rezonsky: How do business leaders intend to overcome these challenges?
Fierstein: According to the survey, small business owners plan to focus on attracting more customers, with 58% of small business owners surveyed saying “growing our customer base” is their top priority. Other top goals for this year include increasing brand awareness, hiring more employees and streamlining business operations.
Some business owners say their cities and towns are encouraging residents to “shop local” to help grow their customer base and increase brand awareness, but only 17% of survey respondents said these promotions were “very” helpful, 45% said they were “moderately” or “slightly” helpful, and 42% said they were not at all helpful.
Rezonsky: Do you think there are any other actions management should take?
Fierstein: Small business owners need to build on the advantages they already have: According to the survey, 67% of respondents believe that the ability to curate a personal service experience that fosters direct communication and strong relationships is an inherent benefit to customers, and 52% said that providing convenient access to products and services is also beneficial to customers.
So it makes sense for small business owners to increase the personal, convenient service they offer to their customers. Increasing your participation in local community events can help local consumers get to know you better and strengthen customer loyalty.
Digital solutions can help small businesses develop more personalized experiences and make business interactions easier. Look for digital tools that automate basic tasks like scheduling appointments, processing payments, and contacting customer service representatives.
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Rezonsky: Are there any elements that small business owners often overlook?
Fierstein: For small business owners, knowing what drives their business the most is crucial: the majority of those surveyed (70%) say customer referrals are essential to growing their business, followed by social media (57%) and online search presence (38%).
There are multiple ways to jump on these key drivers and leverage them for continued growth. Most notably, business owners need to track incoming leads regardless of the channel: referrals, social media, online search, etc. It's best to leverage digital solutions to streamline this process so entrepreneurs don't have to spend hours analyzing the data themselves. They also won't waste resources paying for specific SEO services or posting on specific social media sites if these channels don't give them the best return on investment.
Talking to existing customers may be the most important growth factor of all. Whether it's on a website, social media platforms, or in person, surveys are beneficial. They allow small business owners to hear directly from their customers about what's working and what's not, and also discover new ideas for attracting and serving customers.
Rezonsky: Digital solutions are mentioned a lot here, how important is technology in your growth process?
Fierstein: This is crucial: SMEs need to adopt digital solutions and new business practices and technologies that reduce the time and effort they spend on manual tasks, making their lives easier, making their business more productive, and allowing them to spend more time on things that help solve the challenges facing SMEs today.
About the Author
Rieva Lesonsky creates content focused on small business and entrepreneurship. Email Rieva here rieva@smallbusinesscurrents.comFollow us on Twitter @RivaVisit her website Small Business Current Stay up to date on business trends and sign up for Rieva's free Currents newsletter.
Related: Take the 30-day challenge to accelerate your small business growth
