If your business is hunkering down, hoping to ride out the recession, Microsoft's Glauco Ferrari has some words of wisdom: Strive to improve customer relations and increase your employees' productivity in order to be competitive. And definitely have a plan.
As director of worldwide small and midsize business solutions at Microsoft, Glauco Ferrari has witnessed companies suffering because of the economic crisis. But he's also seen smaller businesses take it upon themselves to find new ways to rise above the recession. Ferrari describes the mood among small and midsize companies, explains how they can use technology to be competitive, and offers up why customer service is such an important practice.
bMighty: What do you sense is the mood among smaller companies during this recession?
Glauco Ferrari: In a word: determined. Smaller companies are losing sleep over the same daily reports of increased joblessness and shrinking GDP we all see, and they wonder when we'll hit bottom and what impact government-led stimulus measures will have on them. But they can't afford to wait and see. There is no plan B for most small-business owners.
Recent data from AMI tells us that in the United States alone, 67% of small and midsize businesses have seen revenues decrease, and nearly 50% are experiencing slower payment from clients. This recession is no longer hypothetical, and smaller companies are adapting.
Don't Miss: Customer Service As A Competitive Edge
The relative good news is that small businesses are incredibly resilient. Once market pressure is applied, small businesses take advantage of their close connections to their customers and partners to react in ways that bolster the bottom line relatively quickly. Ninety percent of small-business owners surveyed by Microsoft in December 2008 indicated that despite the economic downturn, they still prefer owning their own businesses to working for someone else. This passion and resiliency may be one reason that the U.S. Small Business Administration and others have suggested that small businesses have a greater potential to recover faster from a recession than larger businesses.
We're currently seeing our small-business customers and partners invest time and resources in improving customer experience and increasing employee productivity. In fact, 92% of SMBs cited "improving existing customer experience" as a key strategy for increasing revenue in this economic environment. The same AMI study found that "making employees more productive" was the top way to compete over the next six months.
