Low growth forecasts for the South African economy present an opportunity for SMEs to think laterally about how to expand their operations this year.
“While we face strong economic headwinds at home and globally, local SMEs can weather the storm through taking care of some basics, and looking to broaden their horizons,” says Euphoria Telecom CEO John Woollam. Below he outlines three things SMEs can do to keep business ticking up this year.
The ‘e’ word – Customer experience is what keeps customers coming back, and spreading the word about your products and services. A great customer experience is about more than just your business offering though. How responsive are your people to communications across phone, email and your social media channels? How easy are you to reach? Is your call centre queue always 30 callers long with incredibly annoying hold music? All of these elements can help make sure that every engagement your customer has with you is easy and effortless – especially when they have a problem to resolve.
Taking care – Customer care is dependent on employee care. Stressed and unhappy people aren’t going to be at their best facing customers. Ensuring your teams have the tools they need to get their work done easily, and are able to work remotely as needed to avoid load shedding and load shedding related traffic can make a massive difference to their morale and mood. Cloud-based technology systems – including business tools like CRM, ERP, office productivity suites and your telephony system can empower employees to be productive and efficient at the office or remotely.
Cast your net wider – It’s become more acceptable to work with suppliers and people in remote locations in recent years. This gives South African businesses the opportunity to start trading in areas that were previously harder to reach, whether it’s out of province or out of the country. Do your research into markets that may have a need for your product or service, make sure your website and communications channels are geared to deal with customers from different regions, and work with your payments enabler to ensure you’re not going to have forex or payments difficulties.
“South Africans are resilient, and we’re incredibly adaptable. By focussing on providing great service, caring for their people and looking for markets out of their usual range, South African businesses can turn adversity into opportunity,” Woollam concludes.