Small Businesses Can Grow In 2024. The new year is around the corner and it is time to rewind and see how businesses survived the global Covid-19 pandemic. Yes, Covid-19! It has been almost two years since the course of the entire world changed and it's fascinating how quickly we have adapted to the new normal.

It has been a really tough time for businesses, especially SMBs with many permanently closing doors. But all the ones that survived and thrived during the pandemic had one thing in common: they embraced technology and innovation. In fact, many startups that had humble beginnings turned into unicorns overnight during this period. So, let's see how small businesses grew amidst all this chaos and what we can learn from the events of recent years.

Small-Business Owners, Take Note

There are three simple moves every business owner can make to improve their business. This is more relevant than ever now that there is a possible danger from the Omicron variant and the world entering another lockdown (hope not!).

Harness the power of social media and digital marketing

Small-business owners must identify their most valuable products and services and focus most of their time on them. If a restaurant’s tried-and-tested pizza has a stronger gross profit margin than its salad bowl, it’s time to dump the veggies, at least for now.

The pandemic forced many old-school companies to embrace digital technology, such as contactless payment, online booking and orders, etc. However, small businesses don’t need a comprehensive digital strategy, or even a fancy website, to succeed online.

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More small business owners are prioritizing social media platforms to promote their products and services, even over their own websites. Also, there is an increasing shift towards instant messaging platforms like WhatsApp over traditional (not to mention expensive) CRMs for customer engagement and after-sales support. The key is to harness the most effective outlet for a business’s products and services.

Keep an eye on cash burn

A penny saved is a penny earned. Companies that are experiencing growing pains due to budgetary limitations should try to rethink their processes, i.e., take a look into what are the more expensive tools or services that they are paying for. Is there an alternative for that particular product/service? Will switching to a more affordable option reduce the operating costs? For example, people looking for affordable and easy-to-use CRMs as an alternative to the more expensive ones could consider EazyBe which is a CRM inside WhatsApp Web.

According to Karen Mills, a Senior Fellow at Harvard Business School, small-business owners tend to focus on their customers, and on their products and services. They often don’t have time for the accounting and paperwork. But knowing the cash situation is mission-critical in tight times like this.

Focus on low effort, high reward opportunities

For example, Razorpay, now the most valued fintech startup in India, was once approached by Flipkart for its services. But Razorpay knew they were not meant to serve large companies, but rather focus on building payment gateways for small businesses. They knew what to build, and as they say, the rest is history.

It’s equally important for firms to understand their most loyal and profitable customers - who they are, what they buy, and how to engage them because ultimately, they can become a company’s best advocates, providing genuine and free word-of-mouth advertising.

Tech will revolutionize 2022 even further. Small businesses must embrace, adapt and innovate to stay ahead in the game.