05 Jan 2024
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) form the backbone of most economies around the world. These businesses face unique challenges, including limited budgets and resources, and often operate in highly competitive markets. To succeed, SMEs need to optimize their operations and make the most of the resources they have available. B2B SaaS and software products can help SMEs achieve these goals by streamlining processes, automating tasks, and improving efficiency.
SMEs are not typically technology experts, and they need software that is easy to use and understand. A clear and intuitive interface, with simple instructions & jargon free language, is the most essential element for SMEs. Historically, it’s seen that whenever a business tries to adopt new technology or new ways of operating, it faces maximum resistance from the staff. As staff are the actual user of any system or the software. In order to reduce the adoption friction, the software has to be simple and very close to what they are already using, at least in terms of UI & UX. Lesser the friction, higher the adoption!!
SMEs are unique and have their own specific needs and requirements. The software should be customizable, allowing businesses to tailor it to their specific workflows and processes. This customization can include the ability to create custom templates, workflows, and reports, ensuring that the software fits the specific needs of the business. B2B & wholesale businesses are unique and have far more variables than any B2C business. Hence, a software should be custom build for B2B businesses to solve for the variables like custom pricing & offers, volume based pricing, business specific checkout option .
ASMEs may start small, but they have ambitions to grow and expand. The software should be scalable, that compliments the ambition of the business & able to accommodate the increasing volumes of transactions, data & users as the business grows. The scalability ensures that the software is optimised to support the business as it evolves.
SMEs need to protect their sensitive data and intellectual property. The software should have robust security features, including encryption, access controls, and authentication protocols. These security features should ensure that the software is only accessible to authorized personnel, data is protected against theft, loss, or corruption.
SMEs today need to sell in a variety of ways & places. An omni channel commerce should enable e-commerce and at the same time, it should support the offline distribution as well.
B2B businesses are largely offline with strong ground presence well supported by the Salesforce. Thus the software should be capable of support the online & offline commerce, that is the omni commerce!!
SMEs typically exposure to software is minimal, mostly limited to accounting or compliance software. In fact, these businesses are not designed to handle a variety of software. Hence, the software should be as comprehensive as possible. Like supporting the multiple sales channel, integrated online & offline sales visibility, managed supply chain operations, visibility of sales staff & their performance. Such comprehensive solution can not only help in better adoption, but is also cost effective in the long run. The software should be able to integrate with these other tools and systems, streamlining workflows, and eliminating duplicate data entry. The software should also have an API that allows for custom integrations, ensuring that it can be connected to any other software used by the business.
The software should be able to integrate with these other tools and systems, streamlining workflows, and eliminating duplicate data entry. Specially importance is laid here on integration with accounting systems like Tally, marg, busy, Zoho and so on. The software should also have an API that allows for custom integrations, ensuring that it can be connected to any other software used by the business.
SMEs need to access their software from anywhere. The software should be accessible from mobile devices, with a mobile app or a responsive design that allows users to access it from any device. In fact since most of the users of B2B software are sales staff, the mobile app becomes even more inevitable for these SMEs. This mobile accessibility ensures that the software is available to users whenever they need it, regardless of their location.
SMEs need excellent customer support to help them get the most out of their software. The initial hand holding for onboarding is very crucial for getting started and long-term adoption. Most of the SMEs do not have structured data for getting started, hence if there is no onboarding, support the software implementation is bound to fail. The software should have a dedicated support team that is available to help with onboarding & any issues that arise. The support team should be knowledgeable about the software and be able to provide training and assistance as needed.
SMEs operate on limited budgets, and the software they choose needs to be affordable. Saas with no or very low initial cost is most suited for the SMEs. A low capex ensures these businesses do not have to shell out a fortune to have their software. Even the subscription charges of the software should have transparent pricing, with no hidden costs or fees. The pricing should be easy to understand, with clear descriptions of what it included in each pricing plan. Whether the pricing is time based like monthly or yearly, or is it linked to transactions or usage, should be specifically clear.
Data analytics are crucial to the success of SMEs. The software should provide analytics and reporting capabilities, allowing businesses to track their performance, identify areas for improvement, and make informed decisions. In sort the software should provide the intelligence and not just the reports & numbers. The reports should be easy to read and understand, even for non-technical users.
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