By Viresh Harduth, Vice President, Small Business, Sage Africa & Middle East
South Africa’s small and medium businesses (SMBs) are heaving a sigh of relief as the country starts emerging from the last of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Yet with load shedding, high inflation, and extreme weather conditions in some parts of the country, these SMBs continue to operate in a challenging economic landscape and now look to the future with renewed optimism as the global economy’s backbone.
In this piece, we look at five things SMBs are doing to boost their efficiency:
Adopting new technology
During the pandemic, we became even more dependent on technology than before. Having invested in remote working solutions and cloud technologies under the lockdowns, SMBs have seen digital technology as their best friend.
Adopting new technologies and automating repetitive, low-value activities are crucial steps to building a more efficient and resilient business. Many are implementing innovative technology that gives them visibility, flexibility, and efficiency to manage finances, operations, and people.
According to our Small Business, Big Opportunity research, 61% of SMBs have used this opportunity to adopt new technologies to enable efficient work-from-home practices. Some have implemented a hybrid model where certain employees work on-premises while others work from home on an alternating calendar.
Motivating teams
As load shedding and rising fuel prices test business and people’s resilience at home and work, it remains important for SMBs to focus on team motivation and workers’ mental health as they did during COVID-19. To improve engagement and keep employees motivated, businesses should relook their people strategies and enhancing them to create a sense of belonging, enable teamwork and collaboration, and recognise and reward good work.
Focusing on the customer
Our research found that the most common action businesses are taking to build resilience is developing stronger relationships with customers (56%). Businesses are encouraged to be innovative in finding ways to care for and help customers adapt to change.
Now more than ever, people need extra information, guidance, and support to navigate new challenges. The first step in caring is to reach out, not in marketing or overt attempts to gain a competitive edge but to offer genuine support.
Attracting new customers
Small businesses are using creative ways to attract new customers, with 42% investing in new sales, marketing, and advertising programmes, 42% selling in new markets, and 40% accessing better or cheaper short- and long-term finance.
Many are using digital platforms in innovative ways to attract new customers and are marketing their products or services to make them stand out from the competition. Others want to work with freelance marketers or professional agencies to enhance their marketing.
Finding new talent
Forward-thinking SMBs are actively seeking new talent to navigate these times more successfully. This might sound strange considering the state of the economy and shrinking budgets, but the nature of work is evolving, and businesses need individuals with relevant and practical skills.
It’s important to consider what skills a business needs to gain an edge in the market and advance its business goals. This may not necessarily involve making permanent hires and could involve outsourcing services to freelancers and contractors.
Re-assessing talent, technology, and teams continuously is good practice to ensure your business remains competitive, efficient, and profitable.
