Is Digital Transformation necessary for SMEs

The great resignation, unemployment, stay-at-home moms, or dads… 

Many people affected by the above-mentioned trends are looking to carve out a living through the internet. They start searching for relevant opportunities as the barriers to entry are relatively low. 

Impatience and a get-rich-quick attitude lead them to online “specialists” in training courses, SEO, and Social Media experts. They all sound so convincing and have legions of followers and testimonials – I should know as I have unfortunately fallen for one or two of them. 

A website, social media, and search engine optimization are all just pieces of the much larger picture. 

For long periods of time, big businesses and multinational corporations have been regarded as vital for accelerating the economic growth of a country. While they do make up a significant portion as contributors, the role of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) should not be overlooked. SMEs in developing countries such as South Africa could be responsible for creating numerous job opportunities, which remain key to gradual economic development. 

Impeding factors such as the pandemic, government ineptitude, and corruption, as well as chronic electricity blackouts, are hampering the growth of SMEs in South Africa, but this is not the topic for discussion in this article. 

Challenges faced by SMEs 

Initially, SMEs work on a physical model with manual control over the labour, employees, operations, and marketing. The owner typically takes on most of the important tasks and they find themselves working in the business, instead of working on the business. 

But the recent pandemic drained the cash flow of these companies with a sudden decline in sales. Many small businesses had to shut down their operations due to a lack of contingency plans and emergency funds. 

The workforce employed in many SMEs is mostly hired for menial labour positions such as cleaning services, reception work, or the packing and unpacking of stock. This does not leave any room for innovative practices which could propel the business forward. 

Large companies had sufficient funds to transform and adapt to the new normal, but smaller scale enterprises lost most of their reserves. The staggering, ongoing lockdowns proved catastrophic for local SMEs, especially those that relied heavily on customers visiting their physical business. 

Adding to that, the consumers changed their approach rapidly to adjust to the new situation. Online shopping in South Africa grew by 66% in 2020 compared to the year before and demand for a short delivery time made it imperative for SMEs to adopt technology and embrace the digital approach. 

This, unfortunately, has not been the case with many SMEs, and we see that during 2022 many of these companies are trying to catch up and transform at least some of their activities. 

Digital transformation according to Salesforce.com is the process of using digital technologies to create new – or modify existing business processes and customer experiences to meet changing business and market requirements. 

The COVID pandemic was such a drastic change in market requirements. Lack of funds and technical know-how prevented many SME owners from transforming their business to some extent. 

SMEs need to embrace digital transformation to give them better access to their business operations (stock levels, outstanding payments, client details) generate better leads, and improve their brand recognition. The statistics indicate that this transformation is not only a phase but a crucial business strategy for every SME to incorporate. 

The Future of SMEs is Digital 

Small business owners are too busy, or perhaps lack the skill required, to implement the digital transformation required for their business. It would perhaps serve them better to engage a digital agency that can implement the most effective strategy which will future-proof their business. 

Setting up a website is relatively easy these days. There are many cookie-cutter approaches available on self-help sites. Who, however, is going to maintain the site? Who will implement the required marketing tools such as SEO, email marketing, or social media for the SME? So many small business owners reach out to digital agencies after these ready-made websites fail to deliver the number of anticipated visitors to the site. 



Artificial Intelligence (AI) Websites are completely automated and have the ability to convert site visitors into leads using cutting-edge business driving features. The business has the opportunity to stay in contact with their site visitors and communicate with them after they have left their website. 

SMEs need to adapt to digital transformation now. They need to ensure stable connectivity in order to remain relevant and competitive. An increasingly connected world has resulted in more elevated customer expectations than we have ever seen before, and this is changing the business rules of engagement.