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 priorities for their techology budget was, 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)