SMB Spending Trends That Create A Competitive Advantage by Anthony Bradley trigger: The Capterra 2019 SMB SpendPercentage of respondents who (NAPSA)—To maintain a competitive edge, SMBs must prioritize have budgetedfortech (includes the top 10tech) ing Survey on toptechnology trends revealed employee productivity as an important aspect of business growth. The investments in software technology. According to a recent survey on Top research also discovered that nearly 50 Spending Trends, the primary business goal for SMBs overthe next two years is growth: The survey discovered that SMBs are targeting increased revenue, larger customerbases, widened product lines or expandedlocations. This study ofsmall business tech spending trends, “What Tech Your Small Business Peers ‘Are Budgeting for in 2019” reveals how SMBsareinvesting in technology—and how they position tech investments as an important aspect of their business strategies—to compete more effectively. Accordingto experts, for the next one to two years, SMBs have budgets dedicated to investing in a variety of tech- nologies, with finance, cloud computing, security, digital marketing and HRsoftware toppingthelist. Their budget aver- ages generally range between $25K and $35K, with digital marketing, security andcloud computing atthe higher end. SMBtech budgets can vary significantly, dependingontheir business size. ‘The general trend:The bigger the SMB(as measured by either numberofemployees or size ofrevenue), the more SMBsplan to spend ontechnology, if they're going to keep pace with their competitors. In addition to dedicating funding toward tech implementation, SMBs planning to grow their organizations should plan onincreasing the role that technologyplays in their business strategies: As a business grows to over 100 employees, incorporating tech intoits business strategy distinguishesit from competitors. Most SMBs recognize the need to weave tech into their business strate- percent of SMBsin the U.S. won't meet their growth goals without significant enhancementsto employee productivity. Identify How Your Team Interacts _— <6 with Technology @ The rightsoftware can make a ference for growing a small business. in their planning generally increases as businesses growin size, from the 11- to 49-employee band (42.1 percent) to the 50- to 99-employee band(45.3 percent), on to the 100- to 249-employee band (52.2 percent). Along with growth in size, as an SMB%syearly revenueincreases, so does the significance of technology to its corporate strategy. Among businesses with less than $5 million revenue, only 20.6 percentsay technology trendsdrive their strategic planning. Amid businesses that take in between $50 and 100 million in yearly revenue, however, 40.5 percent say changesin technology drive their strate- gies. Consider thefacts: That's a 100 per- cent increase in tech trends’ importance between the small SMB and the SMB on. the verge of becomingan enterprise. ‘Technology InvestmentTriggers: Knowing When it’s Timeto Invest in New Tech Technology investments don’t hap- pen on a whim: The research found tant consideration or even a driver of business strategy. Of SMBs with 11 to 49 people, over 76 percentsee technol- three triggers that spur SMB leaders to invest in a new technology. First is a perceived need for productivity improvements. Second, there is a tie between twofactors: outgrowing current tech and competitive pressures. In third place is a desire to stop using obsolete technology. considering tech an important factor ty improvements as the No. 1 purchase gies. This new researchhas revealedthat over 83 percent of SMBswith 50 to 249 employees see technology as an impor- ogy as key. The number of businesses SMBs are looking for productivi- With “productivity improvements” the clear winner, software vendors should prioritize whatever features make employees most productive. As always, employee experience is key amongsmall businessleader concerns. If something is difficult to use, people will spend their productivity time learningto use the software—rather than actually being productive. When shopping for software, SMB leaders should first identify how their team needsto interact with the technology: Are workers using their smartphonesor their desktops? The type of tech to implement should depend on that answer, since competitorsare likely spending on what makes them most productive, as well. Remember: Com- petitors are asking themselves the same questions—it’s how they answer those questions thatsets them apart. Its clear from “WhatTech Your Small Business Peers Are Budgeting for in 2019” that SMBsunderstand the importance of monitoring market changes and aligning themselves with technological developmentsthatfacilitate growth and their competitive advantage—that's the good news. It’s also clear the opposite is true, however: Medium-sized businesses that don't consider technology as an important aspect of business strategy are at a disadvantage. The surveyfinds that most SMBsarecarefully investing in new technology.Investmentin tech is therefore a competitive necessity. Learn More Forfurther facts on SMBs and technology, go to www.capterra.com. + Mr. Bradley is Group Vice President of Research, Capterra.
