The differences between small businesses and their bigger cousins go beyond simply the number of offices and employees they have, and the reputation they enjoy. For anyone looking to get a business off the ground, a look at the statistics can be pretty sobering – every year, innumerable small businesses go bust. For a big business to fall onto the scrapheap, it takes a long list of things to go wrong all at once without mitigation; for a smaller one to see the same fate, it can be something as simple as a bad decision or a national or local recession.
There’s no doubting the fact that a small business needs to work harder and smarter to live in a world where big businesses have so many advantages. Primarily, the key for a small business looking to buck the trend is to do what big businesses do as a matter of course – leverage its advantages. And while these are fewer in number the smaller the business gets, there are some ways, particularly thanks to technology, that smaller businesses can act like a bigger business, and survive and thrive as a result.
Technology helps you act internationally
Back in the mists of time, a small business operating in the shires of England would – almost exclusively – have sold to, bought from, and worked with other businesses operating in the same shires. The greater connectivity that tech has delivered means that this isn’t the case anymore; you can communicate and negotiate with partners in Peru as easily as those in Peterborough. Speedier travel connections and smarter checks, too, have made it simpler to fulfil and deliver orders worldwide. It’s still not as easy as delivering to the next town, but in the absence of teleportation, even technology has its limits.
Technology helps you respond promptly
Dealing with queries is something bigger businesses have always had the advantage on – with a phalanx of customer service workers and large communications teams, the major players have a head start in this respect. However, the more technology innovates, the more a nimble small business can make headway. You can keep track of inventory and improve user experience with ServiceNow CMDB and similar programs; you can reply to customer queries and promote special offers via social media; you can collate customer feedback in a spreadsheet to keep an eye on which problems recur. Technology helps a small business be on top of things.
Technology helps you respond to trying times
The last year has been extremely unkind to businesses, as it has been to all of us; the process of adjusting to a virus pandemic has offered up a new challenge with every passing week. However, working from home has been surprisingly straightforward and for many people has been – wider circumstances notwithstanding – more enjoyable than commuting to the office daily. The ability to offer work-from-home potential to prospective employees is a major selling point which can save you on office costs. So much so that there is an argument for maintaining it after the pandemic ends.
There are some advantages bigger businesses will always have over the smaller ones, but the ability to use the benefits of technology means more and more small businesses have the chance to compete on an even footing.