{"id":70062,"date":"2022-10-25T15:59:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-25T22:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.act.com\/the-role-of-crm-in-todays-small-medium-sized-businesses\/"},"modified":"2023-03-21T10:46:31","modified_gmt":"2023-03-21T17:46:31","slug":"the-role-of-crm-in-todays-small-medium-sized-businesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/products.act.com\/fr\/the-role-of-crm-in-todays-small-medium-sized-businesses\/","title":{"rendered":"The role of CRM in today\u2019s small & medium-sized businesses"},"content":{"rendered":"

2022 Act! CRM Survey Report Recap<\/b><\/h2>\n

Throughout the pandemic, increased resilience and adaptability became necessary as SMBs were forced to quickly adopt new ways of working to remain open and profitable while navigating numerous supply chain and resource limitations. As the United States slowly transitions back to a state of normalcy, it is evident that certain pandemic-era trends like remote working models and online shopping preferences, are here to stay and that SMBs must remain nimble to keep up with industry trends.<\/span><\/p>\n

In May of 2022, Act! surveyed 1,146 SMB owners and decision-makers to better understand the new and evolving challenges facing SMBs today and how customer relationship management (CRM) software is leaving owners with an optimistic outlook for 2022.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a look at the key findings from the <\/span>2022 Act! CRM Survey Report: The Role of CRM in Today\u2019s Small & Medium-Sized Businesses<\/span><\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n

Post-Pandemic Challenges Facing SMBs<\/b><\/p>\n

As the light at the end of the post-pandemic tunnel continues to shine brighter, businesses continue to encounter new obstacles. While labor shortages and \u201cGreat Resignation\u201d discussions permeated our media over the last year, our study found that SMB owners were less concerned with hiring or retaining talent and more focused on the current economic downturn. Nearly half (44%) of SMB owners pointed to inflation as the primary challenge for SMBs moving forward, while some pointed to ongoing pandemic-related challenges like supply chain uncertainties (28%), decreased demand for services (25%)\u2014which could directly correlate to an increase in market share and competition with other small businesses (21%).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Results<\/p>\n

Fears over rising inflation, whispers of a recession, ongoing supply chain uncertainties and a decreased demand for services have many SMBs fixated on their budgets\u2014which may explain why owners are wearing so many different hats these days. About 70% of SMB owners say they handle <\/span>all<\/span><\/i> of their company\u2019s sales and marketing operations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

CRM Myths Slowing Software Adoption Among SMBs<\/b><\/h2>\n

With overworked SMB owners and increased consumer demands for timely and accurate communications\u2014over a fifth of owners stating that post-pandemic consumers expect more frequent communications\u2014it is clear that owners and their teams need help. While larger organizations have adopted innovative technology to combat many of the same challenges, many SMBs continue to manage operations with outdated tools. Nearly half (45%) of SMB owners said they still use paper records to manage contacts, leads and customer communications, followed by 39% using spreadsheets\u2014with only 22% leveraging CRM software.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Results<\/p>\n

Why is there such resistance to software integration by SMBs? While there will always be Luddites who, no matter what will continue to resist CRM and other digital solutions, there are other factors deterring SMBs from introducing CRM software including:<\/span><\/p>\n