The economic outlook for New Zealand small businesses continues to be challenging.
The most recent CPA Australia Asia-Pacific Small Business Survey found that only 47% of New Zealand small businesses expect growth this year, the lowest among surveyed Asia-Pacific markets.
Two of the key factors limiting growth were identified as:
- A lack of technology uptake
- A reliance on old business models.
Let’s look at how updating your technology and diversifying into new markets may be the key to a brighter future for your business.
Embracing new technologies, markets and strategies
The world has changed immeasurably over the past decade, with globalisation, new technologies and the growth of e-commerce revolutionising the business landscape.
If you stand still in this environment, the chances are that your customers will go elsewhere, while your competitors stream past and leave you in the dust.
Let’s explore four ways to embrace change and retrieve your competitive edge:
1. Embracing digital technology and AI automation:
Updating the business with the latest digital and artificial intelligence (AI) tools has the potential to transform your operations and cut your underlying costs.
You can streamline the most time-consuming manual tasks, enhance your customer service capabilities and even access deeper customer data to help inform your decision-making. In a market where your competitors may already be forging ahead with the benefits of AI, keeping pace with advances in technology is no longer a ‘nice to have’ – it’s essential.
2. A greater focus on e-commerce:
The rise of online shopping during the pandemic highlighted just how important a strong e-commerce presence is for today’s small businesses.
With an e-commerce shop on your site, you can reach customers who live far beyond your physical location. This significantly broadens your market reach and helps you find new customer audiences – leading to new and more diverse revenue streams for the company.
3. Diversifying your value offering and target customer:
Expanding your product range or service offering means you no longer have all your eggs in one basket. This reduces risk and gives you multiple revenue streams to rely on.
By reducing your over-reliance on a single revenue source, you strengthen the business's ability to withstand market shifts and achieve long-term growth. Agility and awareness of the need for change are essential traits in a healthy, growing business.
4. Exploring new domestic and global markets:
Fluctuating trade tariffs have made the US market more challenging. But exploring other markets is a vital element of any small-business growth strategy.
Think about targeting growing economies that have more favourable trade agreements. The New Zealand-European Union Free Trade Agreement gives excellent trade terms. And export costs to nearby neighbours, like Australia, are worth exploring and costing out.
Let’s talk about new strategies for growing your business
Every business model has a finite life. This drives the need to keep refining and reinventing your business, while updating your business strategy to reflect the changing market.
Book some time with our team to review your current business strategy. We can work with you to update your strategies for growth.
|
|
|
