Feeling a tad anxious about what the new financial year has in store for your enterprise? It has been a roller coaster ride for many of Australia’s two million plus small businesses, these past two years and more.
The COVID pandemic delivered a devastating blow for some. For others, it represented a super-sized shot in the arm, as demand for their goods and services soared during the protracted lockdowns of 2020 and 2021.
Now, with the economy and borders re-open once more, business owners face a new series of challenges and opportunities. They include supply chain disruption, staff shortages, interest rate hikes and an inflation rate the RBA has pegged to peak at around six per cent by December.
Consumers under the cosh
It’s not only businesses that are feeling the squeeze. Australian consumers are concerned about what the future holds and they’re trimming their spend accordingly.
Two thirds of us have no plans to splurge in 2022, according to the results of a consumer sentiment survey published by McKinsey in May 2022. A preponderance of those planning to indulge are younger individuals with an annual household income in excess of $125,000.
“Although Australian households increased their spending in the past month, net intent to spend remains negative,” the Report noted. “…Most consumers have tried a different brand or retailer, especially to switch brands in pursuit of value.”
But while small businesses have valid grounds for anxiety, the outlook is far from dire. NAB’s Monthly Business Survey: May 2022 found that while both business confidence and conditions eased in that month, the latter remained well above average.
Monitoring the outlook
“Conditions remain strong across industries and states, with soft conditions in construction the only standout as profitability in the sector comes under increasing pressure,” the survey report noted.
Overall the survey indicates the economy has maintained its momentum into Q2 and most businesses are in a strong position despite the inflation headwinds, with the lift-off in official interest rates and global growth risks yet to significantly impact Australia’s economic trajectory.
Maintaining momentum in your business
One of the ways you can shore up sales and turn one-off buyers into repeat customers, even at a time when they’re pulling in their belts, is by elevating the customer experience you provide.
The term ‘customer experience’ is used to refer to the way in which a business interacts with its customers at every stage of the journey, from initial enquiry right through to aftersales service.
If you’re operating in a crowded market, selling products or services for which there are many broadly similar alternatives, it can be the sole factor which determines whether customers choose to drop their dollars at your establishment, or at your competitor’s down the road.
It’s the not-so-secret sauce that’s helped the beauty business Mecca – named Australia’s top customer experience brand in KPMG’s Customer Experience Excellence Report 2021 – amass an online community of 4.3 million highly engaged customers, without recourse to discounting.
KPMG’s report uses six pillars to measure excellence: personalisation – your business’s ability to use individualised attention to drive an emotional connection; resolution – its ability to turn a disappointing experience into a great one; expectations – its ability to manage, meet and exceed them; time and efforts – how well you minimise customer effort and create frictionless processes; integrity – how well you demonstrate and engender trust; and empathy – your ability to build rapport through your understanding of customers’ circumstances.
Tools to make the task easy
Digital technology can make it easier for you to monitor and manage your business’s end-to-end customer experience, both online and in-store, and help you send tailored product content to customers.
Amassing the data you collect from customer touchpoints across the enterprise allows you to map your customer journey and identify opportunities to improve the quality of your interactions, by creating automated experiences that are seamless, efficient and satisfyingly personal.
Doing so will help you grow your business, in all sorts of times.
Investing in the success of your small business
Changing economic conditions mean Australia’s small businesses will have to work hard to maintain sales and profitability during the upcoming 12 months. If you’re committed to ensuring the success of your enterprise, investing in customer experience automation technology that helps you capture and retain customers is likely to prove a seriously sound investment.
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