MSMEs & Retail: From knowing Digital to Being Digital

MSMEs must look at digital from three different quarters- Technology, Customers and Way of doing business. These three quarters must be seen as bffs (best friends for ever) and being inseparables. They may exist but cannot survive without the others. Their co-existence strive to create values indispensable in the business world.

The first and foremost, MSMEs must re-examine their entire way of doing business and understand what and where the new frontiers of values are? It could be developing a new business in an adjacent category or identifying and implementing newer areas in the existing sectors. MSMEs need to understand the behaviour of the customers and their expectations both within and outside the business and also across the industry they fall under. It is crucial for these small businesses to foresee the trends and deliver the appropriate value.

Secondly, MSMEs have to rethink the use of new capabilities so as to improve upon, how the customers are being served? An understanding of each and every step of the customer’s purchasing journey regardless of the channel. It is imperative for them to think about how digital capabilities can design and deliver their customers the best possible experience. Most of the MSMEs have their fixed supply-chain. What is more important is to have a supply-chain that is flexible, efficient and quick in delivering the right product efficiently and in the way the customer wants. Small businesses must also focus on data and metrics which can help them in providing insights about their customers, to drive their marketing activities and decisions regarding sales.

Regardless of their size of operations, small businesses have to consider a cyclical dynamics where in processes and capabilities constantly evolve on the basis of inputs from the customer’s in order to foster ongoing product or service loyalty. This requires them to be proactive in decision making, indulging in contextual interactivities, real-time automation and a vision based ‘journey- focused- innovation’.

Other crucial aspect in becoming digital is the adoption of right technologies. This involves technological and organisational processes that allows the business organisation to be agile and fast so as to respond swiftly to changes. Having a digital mind set will help the businesses to set up cross-functional collaborations, builds an environment that encourages the generation of new ideas based on their needs. Some business may require digital technologies to cater to basic business needs such as having an online presence and enabling business information and checkout, while some would want digital technologies to cater specifically for their marketing activities, while some others for managing inventory or for establishing a smooth supply-chain. So every business has their area concerns and it is very important for them to know what they want to do with the technologies. What is the point of investing in technologies that cannot cater to one’s business requirements? Small business with their limited resources and capacity have to research considerably before investing in the right technologies.

The crux for small businesses is to aim big being ‘SMAL’:

Be SMARTER, with your money and resources;

Be Agile, with the change and capitalize on the your opportunities;

Be Lean, while building, measuring & learning about your business goals.

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