Like all businesses, small and midsize companies are facing new challenges and opportunities as they strive to grow their business within the modern digital economy.
Your company can take advantage of the benefits of its size, such as being able to innovate quickly with greater agility and less bureaucracy, while also preparing to scale and expand into new markets with efficient processes, data insights, and technology. The goal is to do all this without losing any of the aspects of your business that have made it great.
Read on to learn the top 10 business priorities shared by small and midsize companies* and tips on how to achieve them.
Acquire New Customers
Leverage insights from a variety of sources, including online and offline transactions, marketing activities, service interactions, social media, and even data from devices based on Internet of Things (IoT) technology for a complete view of your customer.
Deliver differentiated and contextual experiences, whether you are selling to consumers or organizations.
Engage with your customers where and how they prefer – online or offline, mobile, social, or chat – and deliver consistent experiences through all these touch points.
Harness new technologies such as machine learning and the IoT to gain intelligence and efficiency in your customer acquisition processes.
Improve Revenue Growth
Reduce the risk and cost associated with tackling new market opportunities by taking advantage of cloud technology that can quickly scale with your business needs.
Close deals faster by taking advantage of collaboration technology such as video conferencing and social collaboration platforms.
Gain customer insights using analytics to provide relevant cross-selling and up-selling opportunities.
Increase Efficiency and Productivity
Monitor your key performance indicators across all functional areas of your business in real time to track progress and identify opportunities for improvement.
Reduce time spent on administration with automated workflows that leverage technology based on the IoT and machine learning
Access the information you need, quickly and easily, with in-memory computing solutions providing data updates in real time, so that you can make decisions more quickly. Enhance decision making with real-time reporting in a format that suits you, such as with management dashboards.
Simplify tasks and streamline processes by using application technology with built-in, best-in-class business practices.
Reduce Cost
Practice strategic sourcing to lower costs associated with finding and qualifying suppliers by using advanced collaboration tools and business commerce networks.
Improve your supply chain with visibility across every step of the process by tracking customers’ demands, asset utilization, and inventory levels.
Use your team members efficiently and reduce staff overhead through effective scheduling and by matching your available resources to your needs.
Cut the cost of IT ownership by purchasing integrated software – such as suite solutions rather than point solutions – so you have less to manage
Enable Growth While Maintaining High Quality
Develop a technology road map to support your business growth and help you achieve your digital transformation
goals, giving you a competitive edge over companies that aren’t as innovative.
Analyze your performance in real time, compare actual results against a forecast, and proactively identify areas for
improvement.
Simplify processes by integrating software across purchasing, finance, accounting, and the shop floor
When you are expanding internationally, choose technology from vendors who understand global requirements such as tax legislation and provide solutions that help you stay compliant.
Nurture Innovation
Leverage analytics for rapid feedback on what’s working and what’s not working to ensure that your innovations are moving in a positive direction.
Closely monitor new market developments, including what your competitors are doing, to stay aware of new opportunities.
Facilitate input from across the organization and across geographical borders, with both internal and external stakeholders such as customers and business partners. Use a range of collaboration tools and platforms to help people share knowledge and ideas
Promote Customer Loyalty
Listen to your customers. Monitor social media conversations and make it easy for people to contact you with issues or feedback.
Use your loyalty programs to capture more insights into your customers’ preferences so that you can offer relevant and valued promotions.
Make the after-sale customer experience feel personal by providing service teams with a comprehensive view of customer details and previous interactions.
Improve Cash Flow
Manage your accounts receivable carefully by establishing a days-sales outstanding goal, developing clear policies for customer credit, and following up promptly on overdue payments.
Gain visibility into your operations to more accurately project required cash buffers.
Track “cash in and cash out” processes as they occur so that you can more tightly manage cash flow.
Use data insights to efficiently manage your staff, supply chain, and production operations, reducing inventory and
resource requirements
Improve Staff Retention and Development
Blend talent management and collaboration not only to transform the new-hire experience and help employees ramp up quickly, but also to accelerate employee development and career progression.
Foster a learning culture by increasing collaboration and knowledge sharing between employees, managers, and experts.
Engage employees and motivate them to perform at their best through ongoing dialog with managers and continuous coaching and feedback.
Provide clear and compelling career paths to engage employees and cultivate talent, supported by blended
learning opportunities.
Enhance Competitive Advantage
Respond faster to a changing market by using analytics to track critical information about competitors, prices, and discounts.
Improve the customer experience with a collaborative approach that is supported by information sharing across digital
business networks.
Maintain tight cost control by using real-time analytics to optimize operational processes.
Disrupt traditional business models and take your company to the next level by exploiting new opportunities offered by
digital transformation.
Why Do Small and Midsize Companies Choose SAP and Crave InfoTech?
With SAP software, every function and department can work together to connect processes from across the business, put resources in the right place, and simplify how work gets done. Our solutions help growing businesses like yours stay focused on both getting new customers and retaining the ones you have. And we can equip employees to make informed, in-the-moment decisions, so you can track business performance, outmaneuver competitors, and keep your business moving forward.
You will be ready for the challenges and opportunities ahead – because you’ll never outgrow SAP, no matter where your business takes you.
Manage your business Connect every person and process – from finance and expense reporting to procurement and inventory – into an integrated engine that can scale efficiently, control costs, manage compliance, and help your team make the quick decisions required to run your business your way.
Engage your customers Focus the entire organization on creating meaningful customer experiences – giving employees the context they need to adapt each customer interaction to match what each customer needs.
Empower your people Give employees, managers, and your entire HR department the tools to efficiently grow their teams and their own careers – so you can recruit and retain the workforce you need to take your business where you want it to go.
Improve your decision making Put decision-driving insights into the hands of your entire team – so they can see what’s happening today, anticipate the future, and take smart, in-the-moment actions to keep your business on track for success
To learn more how you can grow rapidly in this competitive market by optimizing your business management and with real time analytics, read more about SAP Business One services.