{"id":6492,"date":"2021-09-13T02:59:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-13T09:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/?p=6492"},"modified":"2021-09-13T02:59:00","modified_gmt":"2021-09-13T09:59:00","slug":"growing-smbs-survived-the-pandemic-by-going-digital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/in\/news\/stories\/growing-smbs-survived-the-pandemic-by-going-digital\/","title":{"rendered":"New Report: 71% of Growing Small and Medium Businesses Survived the Pandemic by Going Digital"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Today, Salesforce launched the fifth edition of its \u201cSmall and Medium Business Trends\u201d report<\/a>. Conducted by The Harris Poll in June and July, the research includes responses from more than 2,500 small and medium business (SMB) owners and leaders across North America, South America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The results highlight several clear ways small and medium businesses find success in a digital world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, 67% of SMB leader participants say community support has been important to their company\u2019s survival during the pandemic. 69% report government support, too, has been instrumental. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And as the events of the past year and half shined a light on some of society’s deepest inequalities and brought racial justice and equality to the forefront, communities have taken action to support and invest in Black and Latinx-led businesses. More than half of Black (59%) and Latinx (65%) SMB leaders* leader participants report that financial support from their communities has been vital to business survival over the past year. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n\t<\/tableau-viz>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Highlights from the report can be found below. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Small businesses prioritize employee and customer trust <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The most successful small and medium businesses are those that are taking action to earn employee trust. Research shows that 50% of SMBs with growing revenue have offered flexible working arrangements during the pandemic, compared to 38% of their stagnant\/declining peers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These businesses are working hard to build trust with customers, too. For instance, 75% of growing SMBs say their customers expect online transactions. Accordingly, 72% of them have an ecommerce presence \u2014 including over one-third (35%) who added it within the past year. Additionally, 95% of growing SMBs are taking action to secure company data and protect customer information from cyberattacks.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\t<\/tableau-viz>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

SMBs embrace a digital-first world<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Small businesses, in most cases, weren\u2019t prepared for the pandemic and its economic impact, which forced many of them to digitize. They had to make sure their employees could communicate, collaborate, and drive sales safely in a changing world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

71% of SMBs say they survived the pandemic through digitization, and 66% say their businesses could not have survived the pandemic using technology from a decade ago. Additionally: <\/p>\n\n\n\n