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Many businesses will have felt the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic during the last year – whether through accelerated digitalisation efforts , budgetary pressures or rapid expansion . One element which has always been core to a company ’ s strategic objectives is its customer relationships , with CRM tools helping organisations to keep a razor-sharp focus on this . Industry experts from Salesforce and SAP offer their insights into how SMEs can get the very best out of their CRM tools .

he fourth edition of Salesforce ’ s

Small and Medium Business Trends Report analyses the responses of more than 2,300 small and mediumsized business owners and leaders . Alexis Andreieff , Senior Regional Vice President – SMB , Mediterranean , Middle East and Africa , Salesforce , shares some key report insights :

Business as usual has been anything but ‘ usual ’ over the past six months .

In early 2020 , as the global economy thrived , most small- and medium-sized business ( SMB ) leaders were focused on how to win new customers and access capital . But , the onset of COVID-19 brought new challenges , including a health and economic crisis . As a result , SMB leaders have had to adapt , but a surprising number remain optimistic about the future of their businesses while navigating uncertainty .

We recently released the fourth edition of the Small and Medium Business Trends Report . The report looks at how 2,300 + global SMBs are evolving in the midst of so much change . These include SMBs from the Philippines , Singapore and Thailand . We had the unique opportunity to survey these business leaders in March 2020 and again in

August 2020 . Obviously , a lot has happened during those months .

The report shows how much SMBs have shifted their business operations over the past six months . These insights can help SMB leaders adapt and prepare for the next normal as the business landscape continues to deal with the pandemic . Here ’ s a look at what ’ s changed for SMBs between March and August :

Businesses are doubling down on customer communications

It ’ s more challenging than ever to meet customer expectations . All businesses have to worry more about safety and clean work environments , meeting local health mandates and offering contactless service . Implementing these measures is one thing but making customers aware of them is another . So , it ’ s no surprise that 55 % of the SMB businesses surveyed are more careful about how they communicate with customers – and almost half have expanded the ways customers can get in touch with them .

Unsurprisingly , SMBs are leaning into technology to keep customers close . Over half of growing SMBs say tech drives their customer interactions or customer base growth . SMBs now lean into customer-focused

Alexis Andreieff , Senior Regional Vice President – SMB , Mediterranean , Middle East and Africa , Salesforce