In an increasingly complex world (e.g., digitalization), competition is even stronger, as these players need to compete with overpowering “global players” in a competitive market environment.
Especially during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, these companies with long traditions in city centers have faced challenges and had to adapt quickly to the changed circumstances. A clear focus had to be on online commerce, which until then had mostly led to a shadowy existence for these business models. Some managed this transformation with more success, some with less, but most with great efforts and high investments in systems, processes, marketing, and personnel.
Now that the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on e-commerce are diminishing, many SMEs are faced with the challenge that the structures built during the pandemic to sustain and grow their businesses, as e-commerce was more or less the only sales channel, represent a significant burden on the income statement. In addition, the return of customers to city centers and shopping malls, as well as the changed expectations of customers regarding a seamless “omnichannel” consumer experience, require a new, cross-channel, and customer-centric view. This has often been neglected in the rush to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a sole focus on e-commerce.
So, how can SMEs compete against the giants? What “tools” do they need to continue to be successful in the arena of online generalists and pure players? Perhaps they can even take advantage of their traffic? How can they sustainably keep or maintain their e-commerce/online business profitable in a market situation where prices for online marketing, systems, processes, and logistic services are constantly rising? What role can and should long-term and loyal customers play in online CRM? How can they be rewarded for their loyalty? Or: What services, tailored to a company, are suitable for binding inclined clientele and their families to a company in the long term? How must SMEs develop their organization and technology to remain future-proof?
At Ohr Consulting, we provide answers to all these questions based on many years of practical experience. From our perspective, the following five core topics are essential for SMEs in the current market situation:
If you are interested in an informal exchange on these topics, we would appreciate hearing from you (Tilman.Galler@ohr-consulting.com).
OhrConsulting, a strategy and management consultancy, helps clients focus on customers across the value chain. In our consulting work, we draw on in-depth strategic and operational expertise, and focus squarely on sales and implementation relevance. Our experiences show that strategies conceived from the customer’s perspective yield the maximum success for our clients. Our ecosystem of experts includes start-ups and innovative agencies in order to offer our clients maximum innovation.