2020 saw huge waves of change for SMBs with the pandemic hitting many hard. 2021 continued to be a volatile year, especially with third and fourth waves of Covid forcing many to cease physical operations due to changing regulations − particularly in Singapore’s F&B sector.

In 2022, SMBS are recovering and pushing forward. Many have also flourished by being agile and accommodating the ever-changing landscape.

We round up the small business trends to keep an eye out for in 2022, with insights from the fifth edition of Salesforce’s “Small and Medium Business Trends” report. The report features the responses of more than 2,500 SMB owners and leaders in Asia Pacific, North America,

Latin America, South America and Europe. 

Community and government support for SMBs

As SMBs struggled to maintain revenue during lockdowns, governments and local community support has been key in helping them stay afloat.

Two thirds of SMB leaders surveyed in the report mentioned how community support has been pivotal to their survival − particularly those in the retail and consumer goods industry. More than one in 10 SMB leaders have deemed support as critical.

Government aid has also helped SMBs continue with daily operations like purchasing supplies and paying employees. More than half of SMB aid applicants surveyed received financial aid, with small businesses likelier to have received government funding.

Community and government support will continue to be important for business in 2022. In Singapore, two financing schemes will be extended for an additional six months till March 31 2022. These are the Temporary Bridging Loan Programme and the Enhanced Enterprise Financing Scheme – Trade Loan.

Customer and employee engagement

In 2022, employees and customer engagement will continue to be a primary focus for SMBs.

Many have already provided employees with flexible working arrangements and the ability to work remotely.

With some pandemic restrictions still in place, employees will continue to expect flexible work schedules, as well as transparent communication from employers as they seek to build trust following pandemic-related layoffs and furloughs.

SMBs will have to accommodate evolving customer expectations as well. According to Salesforce’s “State of the Connected Customer” report, 83% of customers expect to engage with someone immediately when contacting a company. This number is up from 78% in 2019.

Many customers also prefer to purchase goods online now. As many as 71% of SMBs leaders have noted that their customers expect online transactions. 

As such, SMBs are now embracing technology more than ever. The majority of SMBs (63%) surveyed have an ecommerce presence, with one-third (31%) having added it in the past year.

A digital-first strategy

In addition to establishing an ecommerce presence, many companies are also moving their business online.

83% of SMBs in the report have at least some operations online. Of these, 95% moved a portion of operations online in the past year. Nearly three-quarters of SMBs surveyed also expanded their online presence over the past year, via avenues like social media, establishing a website or email marketing.

Most SMBs are looking towards further digitisation by accelerating technology investments. The primary motivations are boosting data security, increasing productivity and improving business agility.

Growing SMBs (around three in five) are also likely to leverage technologies like customer service software ecommerce software and project collaboration tools. In particular, collaboration tools have seen the largest increase in adoption over the past six months.

One such collaboration tool that companies can utilise is Microsoft Teams, part of Microsoft 365. Tailored towards remote working, it facilitates group interactions via e-messaging, video conferencing, voice calls and co-editing documents.

Long-term changes from the pandemic

Some long-term changes are likely to continue beyond 2022. For example, the inclusion of contactless services. The majority of SMBs (79%) plan to offer this permanently, especially those in the technology, retail and consumer goods industries.

According to a new report by Visa, more than two third of customers also indicated they would switch to business offering contactless payment options, with over three quarters saying they have changed how they pay because of the pandemic.

Planning and HR practices are set to change permanently as well, according to Salesforce’s report. In August 2020, only 30% of SMBs engaged in scenario planning. In 2021, 70% have created scenario plans to prepare for future crises. 

SMB operations will be impacted by the new remote working era as well. More than two in five SMBs plan to have employees working remotely at least half the time, with those in the technology and professional & business services industry more likely to embrace remote work.