Small Businesses Are Waging a Digital War for Customers

by | Feb 22, 2021 | IT Operations

The way customers engage with businesses is constantly evolving. In today’s digital-first world, customers are always just a few clicks away from meeting their needs. And with the pandemic increasing concerns about in-person transactions, most consumers and business decision makers are choosing to make their purchasing decisions from the comfort of their sofa.

To stay relevant and win the digital war for customers, small business owners must equip themselves with the same digital “weapons” as sophisticated organizations. This might sound daunting, but it has never been easier to embrace digitalization—nor more rewarding.

Digital Transformation Investments Pay Off

Unlike large enterprises, small businesses don’t sit on massive cash reserves, so every investment they make must deliver a serious return on investment (ROI) to be justifiable. Let’s take a look at a few statistics that clearly demonstrate the value of digital transformation investments:

  • 85% of all SMBs report that the digital tools they are using have helped their business in some way. (Source)
  • 1% increase in spending on online services leads to an average of $100,000 increase in revenue. (Source)
  • More than 40% of all SMBs report customer growth and attribute some of that growth to the use of digital tools. (Source)
  • Businesses that have a holistic strategy to digitally innovate are growing their revenue 8 times faster than digital laggards. (Source)
  • Small businesses that embrace digitalization can expect to save an average of 22% in costs. (Source)

These and other statistics explain why 71% of CEOs are personally ready to lead a radical organizational transformation to make better use of modern digital tools and improve overall business performance, relevance, and profitability.

But what about the rest? What about small businesses that have yet to even begin planning their digital transformation journeys? Unfortunately, such businesses will soon find themselves left behind like dinosaurs exposed to an Armageddon-like event that they didn’t even see coming. Luckily, though, there are many cost-limiting ways to get modern and get it now.

How Digital Transformation Is Helping Small Businesses

Comparing businesses with no digital efforts to dinosaurs may seem a bit hyperbolic, but the benefits of digital transformation say otherwise.

Here are three practical examples of how digital transformation can help small businesses thrive even in trying times:

Supporting Flexible Working

Thanks to modern technology, closed doors don’t automatically mean closed business. Digital tools make it possible for employees to work from remote locations while enjoying seamless access to familiar business software. In many cases, flexible working arrangements lead to a substantial increase in productivity and a reduction in employee turnover.

Enabling Data-Driven Decision Making

“Before you make any decision, consider its effect on the next seven generations,” advises a Hopi proverb. To be predictive as the proverb suggests, businesses need access to accurate historical data, which is guaranteed to be in short supply without the digitalization of core business processes. This means everything from tracking your how you make a sale to

Offering Quality Services at Scale

Thanks to the internet, small businesses are no longer bound to their physical office spaces. And the upside to this is that now they can compete with larger companies who were previously taking part of their market share. To stay competitive while keeping service quality high, they can take advantage of cloud solutions to instantly gain access to scalable infrastructure without having to build it from the ground up themselves. Even better is that these solutions are designed to be able to scale down as well up, ensuring that small businesses take advantage of every cost savings they can get.

Getting Started with Digital Transformation

By making the right technology investments, SMBs can increase their revenue, reduce costs, improve operational efficiency, enhance customer experience, and more.

We can split digital transformation investments into three broad categories:

  • Hardware: servers, desktop computers, laptops, printers, phones.
  • Software: software licenses, the development of proprietary software.
  • Services: cloud platforms, marketing, managed security, backup & disaster recovery.

Each business has different technology needs depending on its industry, target customers, and objectives. That’s why it’s important to begin any digital transformation by determining which areas are lagging behind and can be replaced or technologically upgraded.

This information can then be used to come up with a concrete digital transformation plan, detailing all the points along the journey that will help determine success or failure. But understanding the needs and benefits around changing to a digitally focused company (as well as the risks of not doing it) are only the first steps. Engaging with a Managed Services Provider (MSP) who is versed in digitizing all kinds of businesses and their unique issues can quickly educate you on how the process would go for you.

Being a Digital-forward Company is Easier than You Think

That’s where we at Help Desk Cavalry come in, providing all the support you need to digitally transform your business. Contact us to discuss your current needs and business plans so that we can suggest the best digital solutions available and give you a solid look at what it will take. Then let us take care of your set up and implementation while you get back to your business and your customers.