Businesses usually have their own set of demands and challenges which span sectors and industries and are common among different companies and organizations. All businesses strive to maintain a top-quality relationship with their customer base, to keep their brands relevant and to make their employees happy. Small business owners must always find new ways to keep their businesses afloat and relevant to the current market and the ever-changing taste in the customers’ taste and preferences. The challenges for business owners never end, especially in 2022 when many businesses are struggling with digital transformation, finances, recruitment, increasing efficiency and finding new opportunities for growth etc. I believe, Ghana’s post pandemic recovery will depend on the SMEs sector ability to succeed since they are the backbone of the economy. In the business world today, a challenge is a situation that threatens to hinder or derail a business pursuit of success. I would like to take a look at some of the biggest business owner challenges this year and beyond.
Meeting customer needs
The ability of the business owner to be aware of what the customer is looking for and how they want to get it is an important part of being a successful business. It is important for management to continue to prioritize the needs of their clientele and predict their future needs. Business owners need to be present, adaptable, and personal. Maintaining quality customer relationships also involves meeting their customers’ needs and being aware of what the customer is looking for and how they want to get it. The key to understanding customer needs include asking for customer feedback, acting on their suggestions and redesigning the business offerings. Customers will always recommend businesses that are noted for excellent customer service and putting the customer first.
Managing rising costs
With Ghana experiencing high inflation rate, managing cost can be considered as one of the biggest challenges facing businesses especially with the increasing cost of electricity, water, raw materials etc. Rising fuel and utility costs are the biggest challenge, which are followed by increase in taxations (E-levy), labour shortages, supply chain issues and wage inflation. Businesses must cut back on unnecessary expenses such as operations costs, utilities, subscriptions, memberships etc. Business owners should further develop new ideas to drive sales especially since consumers seem to be shifting away from goods-only purchases and making their way back to services. Businesses must change their marketing efforts, adjusting prices, upsell and cross-sell to customers and offering discounts.
Digital transformation
Digitalization offers a wide range of opportunities for SMEs business owners to improve their performance, improve their creativity and innovation, enhance their productivity, and define a competitive strategy. Many SMEs are struggling with digital transformation despite the need for businesses to be online to survive. SMEs in the Agribusiness sector for instance must cope with the rapidly changing socio-economic environment and tackle especially the variety of external shocks and stresses such as climate change. Some of the benefits of digital transformation include traceability especially when consumers are seeking greater transparency and easy access to data about the origin and supply chain.
Maintaining a good reputation
There is easy access of customers reviews and impressions of businesses on the various internet platforms and as this speed of information increases, it can become difficult to stay up to date with the SME business owner reputation. Business owners need to know where they need to be, especially due to the hundreds of platforms where people can share their feedback about their experiences. Business owners need to be responsive to both positive and negative reviews. For example, if a customer is happy, you need to thank them and if they are dissatisfied, you may need to apologize or offer to help fix the problem. Business owners must understand their customer profile as well their journey in order to understand what they want, how they want it, when they want it etc.
Article by: Andrews Ayiku
Lecturer
University of Professional Studies Accra
ayiku.andrews@upsamail.edu.gh
