In a constantly changing market, SMEs must perpetuate their image and their activities. Thanks to the multiple advantages it offers, digital communication can, in this sense, play a crucial role and constitute the ideal way to not only win new customers, but also to retain old ones. In this interview, Nizar El Bez tells us about the advantages of digital communication channels which have become essential tools for companies.
why most SMEs are struggling today to develop their business? Is it due to a lack of resources or their low capacity for development?
A lot of Tunisian companies are suffering to develop their business or sustain their activities. Since the revolution, communication solutions provided by the Internet have increased competition. There are fewer barriers to entry for certain activities. Digital means of communication are more efficient and less expensive and allow a young company to position itself in a few months and take market share from icons that have been present for decades. The challenge is daunting to move from archaic communication to developed digital. Businesses that want to stay the course need to appropriately transform and adapt to new communication channels that deliver better results today. Just like the means of communication, the customer has evolved. He is more open to the world, more demanding and adopts new behaviors, such as the search for comfort (delivery, information, listening, etc.). Customers increasingly seek to be spoiled by brands, have less and less time and want to be served. He compares a lot before launching. Yallafid now provides a turnkey solution so that each company, whatever its size or budget, can adopt digital communication with its customers through the online store, but also through the notification system.
What are the main obstacles What do SMEs face?
Currently, the real difficulty with VSEs-SMEs is adapting new communication channels to the company. Resistance to change is the real obstacle facing the majority of businesses. Adopting digital communication is not limited to a decision or a will of a manager, it is more profound, it is a change in behavior and attitude of the entire entity. This is a change that must arise at the very heart of the company. With the evolution of digital channels and the speed of information circulation, turnover should no longer be a company’s only key performance indicator. Customer loyalty must win the first rank of the KPIs to follow. A company that evolves is a company that is able to keep its customers before thinking about winning new ones.
What are the support strategies to successful SMEs?
Depending on the size and activity of the companies, one can choose the policy to adopt. There is no miracle policy that works every time, you have to analyze the existing situation, set “smart” objectives, reviewing your positioning, your context, the target market… and adopt the personalized strategy. Despite appearances, the majority of SMEs Tunisian women need more technical assistance to guide them rather than financial aid. The most important thing in this phase is to question yourself and analyze your position as a customer loyalty point of view instead of focusing only on the ability to generate a turnover which is likely to be volatile. From the launch of Yallafid, we thought of listening to the customer, and this, thanks to the opinion that he can leave following his experience with the brand. These opinions, formulated in this way, allow partners to improve their quality of service. They also allow future customers to make a more considered purchase decision, based on real experiences.
Can digitization be a means for Get out of the crisis economic situation in Tunisia?
If SMEs are in crisis, it is because Tunisians consume imported products. We can clearly see this in our country’s import-export ratio. The Tunisian consumer has changed, and it is up to SMEs to win them back through a good product, of course, but also through two-way communication. The Tunisian seeks to criticize, to claim and wants to be listened to. Today, digital means make it possible to optimize a close relationship with the customer and improve their user experience. Through precise indicators, digital communication channels now allow companies to orient their strategies and draw the path to follow to develop their sales.
Will the new generation of entrepreneurs be able to provide the appropriate solutions to boost SMEs?
The new generation of entrepreneurs are adopting digital channels in their communications in a spontaneous, even natural way. I suspect that in the years to come, thanks to the new generation, we will be able to win back international markets with products with high added value. The new generation of entrepreneurs is aware of the challenge ahead and the their business structure is more flexible than a few years ago. The mutation is very favorable and the adaptation is almost total. In my opinion, the next few years will be very opportune for the export of Tunisian products and services. Currently, there is no lack of creation, we just need to adapt to globalization and take advantage of our geographical position and our intellectual and cultural proximity with other countries. It is time for the “Made in Tunisia” label to rise from the ruins of Carthage and reclaim the world. At the end, I invite Tunisian entrepreneurs to trust the new generation, to listen to them and involve them in decisions, especially when it comes to communication. Let’s give more importance to our new generation and give them more freedom to create. Before, the oldest company was the strongest, now the company closest to its customers is the most sustainable. The digitalization train is already underway and it will not wait for us! I take advantage of this interview to ask financial institutions to invest more in digitization, training and business restructuring programs. Nowadays, SMEs have other difficulties that are not always related to production and operating equipment, but which are more related to strategy and communication. Sometimes training is more profitable than rolling stock for the company. It is always preferable to perpetuate the existing one.