The pandemic created a greater urgency to adopt digital tools, but small businesses are still faced with 2 key barriers – information and cost.
What this means: SMBs need to reinvent themselves to adapt, but they’re often left behind because they’re “historically under-capitalized,” said Jake Ward, President of the Connected Commerce Council (3C).
- 49% of SMBs surveyed by 3C and Google cite information and skills gaps.
- 45% report cost and return on investments as challenges.
The challenge: A majority of SMBs (52%) have had trouble accessing working capital during the pandemic. Without capital, SMBs struggle to innovate and far too many have trouble accessing and adopting digital tools.
A solution: Education and technical assistance.
- The Digitally Driven study showed that only 35% of SMB leaders describe themselves as “very comfortable” with digital tools.
- But a majority of SMB leaders are eager to learn and prefer self-guided learning through step-by step-video tutorials and webinars.
The takeaway: Tech companies need to help SMBs understand how to best take advantage of the digital tools they’re offering, while increasing access to discovery, descriptions and registrations.
- Example: Through its Grow with Google program, Google has helped train over 5 million Americans and has provided more trainings to “help SMBs pivot lost sales from storefronts to online” during the pandemic, said Mistique Cano, Director of Policy & Public Affairs at Google.
Policymakers, on top of expanding access to capital, need to prioritize the creation of public-private partnerships that focus on scaling solutions to the existing barriers for SMBs.
