Covid-19 shook the small business community like never before and despite the financial support that was poured in to keep the economy afloat and support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), an estimated 234,000 UK SMEs permanently ceased trading, and only 56% accessed available government support. However, the end is finally in sight and with cautious optimism, we are seeing the SMEs that survived slowly begin to turn their lights back on.
While many SMEs have had to transform their business over the past eighteen months to include online trading, outdoor premises and enhanced cleaning protocols, a few core things did not change – making money and attracting and retaining customers. There was a time when these business objectives were impacted by things like good customer experience and high margins and while that still matters, there is another powerful force at play that SMEs need to take note of.
Rich Lesser, Boston Consulting Group’s Global CEO, summarised it nicely when he said: “For businesses to thrive in the 2020s, they will need to understand the forces that will shape the next 10 years and use them to their advantage. There’s no doubt that sustainability and societal impact issues will be a leading force for driving value creation.” ...