Small businesses account for 99.9% of all businesses in the United States. However, less than half have stayed in business for more than five years. In a competitive market, brands must use every tool at their disposal to stand out and stay open.
In the last few years, customers have become more comfortable interacting with brands online. But, they’ve also grown to appreciate an excellent in-person experience. As customer behaviors evolve, marketers must get better at anticipating and responding to changing preferences and needs.
Thanks to digital tools, small businesses can incorporate shoppers’ digital and physical (“phygital”) preferences into everyday processes. This phygital approach to marketing builds a better customer experience and improves the bottom line.
In fact, small businesses that effectively use technology earn twice as much revenue per employee; experience greater rates of revenue growth; and have above-average employment growth. Despite these benefits, 80% of small businesses still don’t fully embrace digital tools.
Barriers like insufficient broadband or high costs can hamper the digitisation of some small businesses. But others simply haven’t discovered the potential of digital tools.
Technology can make a difference in customer experience and help small businesses compete with large enterprises. This encompasses three key areas:
1. Payment automation
Waiting in a checkout line can be frustrating and quickly sour a customer’s in-store experience. In fact, long lines rank as the top pain point for shoppers. To streamline the checkout process, small businesses can create instant checkout stations at their stores with the help of tools like QR codes. This makes the payment process must quicker and easier.
When customers approach checkout, they just need to scan a QR code and can quickly pay for their purchase with various sources (PayPal, Apple Pay, etc.). This user-friendly solution often appeals to younger generations, who are less likely to carry cash. Customers also avoid unnecessary contact, long checkout times and fumbling through their wallets.
2. Location-based personalisation
Proximity marketing can give small businesses a leg up on the competition. The marketing strategy combines the power of mobile devices with location-based technologies. This will then reach customers at the right time and place.
Those technologies include:
- Beacons — low-cost, low-powered Bluetooth transmitters. Allow businesses to send notifications directly to a customer’s smartphone when they approach their location. Notifications can include exclusive, time-sensitive offers to draw customers in.
- Geofencing uses GPS coordinates to encapsulate a geographic area. It then takes a mobile user’s location data to determine their proximity to that particular area. Marketers can send messages to smartphone users — who have opted in to receive push notifications — when they enter a defined area.
- Near Field Communication(NFC) requires two devices to communicate in short range: NFC-enabled smartphones and NFC tags. Businesses can embed NFC tags in posters or signage, usually placing them at populated places like city bus stops or subway platforms. These tags transmit a signal to smartphones, allowing consumers to access the transmitted message by tapping their smartphone on the NFC tag.
Instead of singling out only one proximity channel, businesses can implement a combination to bridge the phygital gap. Proximity marketing is a cost-effective way for small businesses to court customers without TV, radio or magazine ads. This is all while building loyalty with personalised messages.
3. Inventory management
Small businesses must have accurate inventory visibility. This is to optimise business management processes and reduce unnecessary losses stemming from product unavailability. An organised and precise inventory system improves CX as businesses can fill orders quickly and accurately.
Conventional barcodes cannot store large amounts of data and don’t scan as easily. QR codes are a better alternative as they can automate operations to achieve maximum efficiency with minimal errors or expense. QR codes hold more inventory tracking data and only require a smartphone camera to operate. No third-party app is required.
QR codes are also more user-friendly than barcodes. A scanning device has to be held at certain angles to read a barcode. Whereas, a phone can pick up the QR code from various angles easily — thus, speeding up the inventory process. Using dynamic QR codes also helps track inventory in real-time based on scanning activity or a QR code’s GPS location.
Businesses can also share QR codes with customers to improve CX. Those customers can use the QR codes to track their shipments – allowing for more transparency regarding shipping and logistics.
Adopting digital technologies creates opportunities for small businesses to satisfy customers and grow through new markets. Small businesses must embrace phygital marketing and digital tools. This is to stay competitive in a digital-first world; keep up with changing trends and behaviors; and ensure longevity while contending with large, well-resourced enterprises.