tech priorities

There’s a lot to consider when small and mid-sized businesses are prioritizing how to allocate their budgets. In 2019, when Salesforce asked 2,000+ small and mid-sized business leaders what their top three tech priorities were, they responded – 1) Customer relationship management (CRM) system, 2) Financial software, and 3) Hardware.

Interestingly enough, these priorities differed between growing businesses and stagnant/declining businesses. Growing business priorities were 1) CRM, 2) financial software, and 3) technology services, while stagnant/declining businesses prioritized 1) hardware and 2) internet hosting.

They were also asked what technologies or tactics they used in attracting new customers. Overwhelmingly, 3 stood out over all others with website at the top, followed by social media and email marketing.

Finally, when asked what factors were most important in evaluating technology solutions, SMB leaders said ease of use and a trustworthy vendor were most important, even more than price.

Source: 3rd edition Small and Medium Business Trends Report by Salesforce (2019)

And that hasn’t changed.

Customer expectations, on the other hand, have changed a lot in the past couple years. Finding the right technology to engage customers and grow relationships is now one of the top tech priorities for small, fast-growing businesses.

In Salesforce’s fourth Small & Medium (SMB) Business Trends Report, more than 75% of SMB leaders surveyed said the 2020 crises was the catalyst for improving their businesses.

These SMB leaders offered the following three reasons why technology is front and center in their business success:

• It drives customer interactions (51%)
• It is a major influence on their organziation’s ability to stay in business (46%)
• It is responsible for the growth of their customer base (42%)

These leaders are convinced that technology is the critical difference in the success and growth of their business. And they are not alone. Many SMB leaders are reassessing their strategies and plans to address their essential tech priorities.