Why financing your bank’s small businesses matters now more than ever

It’s no surprise that the SMB segment has been growing exponentially. In the USA alone, they make up 99% of all businesses. As Small Business Saturday approaches, we typically think about customer spending behaviours and buying patterns. While that’s important in terms of financially driving a business’s success, we want to take a look at another aspect of small- and medium-sized businesses’ (SMBs’) success: how financial services can provide support to their SMBs behind the scenes.

When it comes to SMB finances and accounting management, business owners are turning to tools that offer the best user experiences; ones defined by deeper financial insights and rich data capabilities that allow them to more quickly adapt to changes in their business.

The more financial institutions (FIs) understand what’s important to small business owners, the more you can understand and anticipate their needs. When FIs invest in services that support SMBs, it is a win-win for everyone. Here’s why.

Small- and medium-sized businesses are looking for in-house financial services

The events in the recent year have pushed businesses to innovate and adapt all aspects of their business - their accounting and finance tools are no exception to this. While 37% of small businesses continue to outsource accounting tasks, more SMBs are continuing to adopt software that enables them to simplify accounting tasks and keep them in-house.

Personalization is at the forefront of customer experiences

People have more options than they ever had before, and this is leading to decision fatigue, information overload, and more critical purchasing behaviours. According to Salesforce, 76% of consumers expect companies to understand their needs, and that number continues to grow as people adopt digital solutions to manage their day-to-day activities.

Business owners are no exception to this. Having access to customer data allows FIs to provide personalized products and services based on how the SMB is using their software, and create a great user experience that is truly customer-centric.

Small- and medium-sized businesses want to invest in technology

While the beginning of the pandemic showed a spending decline alongside a hurting economy, it is bouncing back as businesses adapt to the new realities and customer demands. TrustRadius reports that 56% of business owners will continue increasing their spending on business tech throughout 2021 and beyond. SMBs often have no choice but to adapt to changing landscapes, incentivizing them to leverage tools and tech that help optimize their operations as new needs and changes arise.

Your financial institution needs deeper data and insights

Data and insights are crucial for small businesses when making important financial and operational decisions. Think about the receipt management, expenses, taxes, payroll, and other duties SMBs have to undertake to run their businesses. Data that dives beneath the surface of purchases and sales can reveal a wealth of insights into how SMBs spend, where they can save, how they can optimize their finances, and what changes they need to make to streamline everything from auditing to taxes and more. Accounting tools that offer richer, contextual data analytics will outpace those that don’t.

How your financial institution can support your small businesses

SMBs are turning to accounting tools to simplify their operations and help them make financial decisions, large and small, that shape the future of their businesses. Have you invested in the right tools and technology partners to be able to support the new reality of SMB accounting?