A new survey reveals the resilience of Melbourne and Sydney SMEs in the midst of the current lockdowns, with 53 per cent saying they will focus on bouncing back when restrictions ease.
The findings were derived from a survey of an independent panel of 161 SME business owners in NSW and Victoria, commissioned by SME travel management provider Corporate Traveller Australia.
Corporate Traveller found that 28 per cent of SMEs across the two states have not been impacted at all by the current lockdowns. On the other hand, 19 per cent said their businesses won’t come back.
Among the 53 per cent of SMEs that have been impacted but expect to bounce back after the lockdowns, 42 per cent of those surveyed say they will put more of their time, budget and resources into new customer sales, marketing, or changing their sales model. Of the respondents, 20 per cent said they will mostly focus on changing or growing their product or service offering, while 19 per cent will focus on bringing resources back into the business, such as “stood-down” employees. Only 10 per cent said they will focus on reducing business costs, downsizing and/or improving supplier arrangements and only nine per cent said they will mostly focus on changing their employee-working model and/or improving company culture and morale.
“It’s promising to see that SMEs across Australia’s two major states, which have been hit hard by lockdowns and restrictions, will proactively build their businesses back up after lockdown,” Tom Walley, General Manager of Corporate Traveller Australia, said. “SMEs are the backbone of our economy and a renewed focus on thriving rather than surviving will be important in driving the country’s economic recovery.
“A promising number of businesses are doing well during the current lockdowns, which suggests they have applied lessons learnt through COVID, and have found ways to strengthen the business in preparation for challenging periods,” Walley added. “I believe we’re likely to see businesses, even those that thrived during lockdowns, focusing on several areas to flourish and grow in a world beyond lockdowns and restrictions.”
