The world is a big place and there are innumerable businesses all looking to find and secure their markets. When corporations have huge sums to invest in technology and outreach to customers, it can feel like there’s no place for the smaller organisation.

But this doesn’t have to be the case. There are many ways that small and medium-sized businesses can compete on the biggest stage – if they embrace and use technology to its fullest extent.

We’ll look at some ways your SME can harness these possibilities and cultivate a global outlook.

Mobile is Key

It’s obvious to all that mobile is now the pre-eminent platform for most tasks in life. This is especially true when it comes to the modern consumer’s shopping habits. Yet, many smaller businesses don’t plan and implement any kind of mobile strategy.

This means, at the very least, ensuring all business sites are mobile-optimised. If a potential customer must wait for a slow site to load, they will simply go elsewhere. On a deeper level, there is nothing stopping smaller firms from embracing the use of apps. A well-designed app for researching and buying products is not the exclusive preserve of big business. Integration of Augmented Reality, for example, can place products in a user’s home before they buy.

Digital Advertising

It’s no longer enough to sprinkle a few keywords and product names on a site and expect it to appear anywhere near the top of a search engine ranking. Targeted solutions like Schema – a way for search engines to more accurately find search results for users – are the future. Understanding and using these new methodologies is the forefront of SEO along with practises such as local search optimisation, mobile and voice search.

Smarter Working

The old model of doing business is firmly out of style. Today, there are ways to streamline almost any task and redirect efforts to more pressing areas. Workers do not need to be in the office to contribute fully. Additionally, smaller businesses are in the enviable position of being able to make quick, strategic changes to everything from how they handle pay roll to marketing. The tools are there to streamline, hand off and prioritise tasks which, in turn, enables businesses to turn their attention to the areas that need focus.

Social Media

One of the best things about social media is that it represents a potential audience of billions for a business. And what’s more, a fresh and authentic approach can pay real dividends when it comes to engaging new or existing customers. Aside from traditional advertising on social media platforms like Facebook, venues like Instagram and Twitter can build a real connection between customers and businesses. It all depends on the time you invest and how much you care. If you take the time to cultivate a quality presence, the rewards are there. 

Recent news has made grim reading for high street retailers, with one in ten high street stores standing empty and, seemingly, no light at the end of the tunnel.

Footfall has continued to drop through March and April and consumer spending is on track for its worst performance in six years. Many would be forgiven for thinking that perhaps the end of bricks-and-mortar retail is nigh.

However, for those looking to fight against the ongoing dip and rejuvenate, there is hope.  

Personalised Engagement

Businesses operating on the high street must face the issue of online purchasing and why the spending public is so enamoured with it. They need to understand that people like convenience and they like a range of choice. But retailers can use this in their favour.

With this in mind, providing a personalised customer experience is paramount to high street survival. If shoppers are looking for in-depth knowledge and bespoke customer care, then that is what is needed. Providing this level of attention and knowledge is what will separate superior retailers from their competition – high street and online.

Post-Purchase Care

In order to survive and flourish, high street retailers need to think beyond numbers through the door and purchases. Building trust and a relationship post-purchase is an invaluable tool for the public-facing business.

At their core, shoppers like knowing they are in good hands. Great knowledge and attentiveness are brilliant tools to build a brand bond, but so is after care. Shoppers need to know that their post-purchase needs are just as important to a retailer as their pre-purchase requirements. Offering top-line return policies and a caring attitude are strong methods for building a relationship between retailer and shopper.

Buyer Persona

The reason many retailers struggle on the high street is that they’re not really sure who it is they are trying to attract. Knowing your buyer’s persona feeds through into all areas of operations, from branding to stock.

Defining age, income range, product preferences, gender and other factors can go a long way toward making it clearer just who a retailer’s prime market is. From this flows the needed adjustments and changes to ensure this shopper becomes a repeat customer. At its core, retail comes down to understanding, engaging and tailoring the shopping experience to the right person.