by Marylou Kneale
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Uncertainty hasn’t left us with COVID subsiding, its merely changed with additional factors coming into the mix including rising inflation, loadshedding, floods or water shortages, slowing economic growth and continued supply chain issues.
In a recent poll conducted by Livingfacts with over 350 Senior executives in SMEs, 41% felt there was more uncertainty in business compared to a year ago, and another 30% said there was at least as much uncertainty.
Managing change, providing support, understanding where SMEs are at and how they feel about your company is essential to building long term loyalty.
What can providers and suppliers do to help SMEs to better manage uncertainty?
One arrow in your quiver, is communication. Let SMEs know what is happening in your business environment, how this impacts them and what you are doing to mitigate the risks. Communication with context and solutions, enables SMEs to plan, think about options, and diversify to overcome their risk of being too dependent on one client or one product.
It is positive to see, 39% of the SMEs interviewed said they were getting more communication from their suppliers. Of those who said they had LESS uncertainty in their business than a year ago, 44% said they were getting MORE communication.
BUT there is a caution against too much communication that talks only about challenges. In our poll, of those who were experiencing MORE uncertainty, 47% said they were getting MORE communication from their suppliers indicating communication without context and solutions can create more anxiety.
At Livingfacts we have 21 years’ worth of experience in understanding what companies, customers, stakeholders, and suppliers need. We collaborate with you to provide current research and insights on how to remain relevant in changing times. Our thanks go to Borderless Access for their contribution of providing the sample on this poll.
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