Soapbox: Rethinking SaaS product access for SMBs during the COVID-19 crisis

The way of life and business was already changing with the introduction of 5G and will continue to change in the coming weeks and months during the COVID-19 crisis. One thing is certain for the technologies and services that support SMBs and franchises – now is the time to step up your game versus battening down the hatches. With social distancing and even stay-at-home alerts now a mandated necessity in almost every state, SMBs that rely on local commerce to stay afloat now more than ever require technologies that can help push out their goods and services as well as communicate with their customers. This requires a rethinking of how the production and delivery of high-value products and services are offered.

For SaaS technology and service providers supporting the local business community, this is the time to think about how SMBs can trial, access and use your products quicker and more efficiently. As an example, pre-pandemic, a software company may have offered a 30-day trial to allow a local business to determine if the service was a good fit. That time window has now shrunk as franchises and SMBs needs to market, maintain operations and communicate effectively have shifted dramatically.

With more than 70 percent of SMBs utilizing at least one cloud-based service to manage a critical business process on a monthly basis, according to our own research, modern local commerce is upon us and the rate of this adoption will skyrocket exponentially as local businesses look for creative ways to deliver a better customer experience to drive revenue. As local businesses are re-inventing themselves and looking for solutions to support that, the window for them to engage, onboard and implement SaaS services is now days not weeks. SaaS providers must adapt accordingly.

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About The Author

Bill Dinan

Bill Dinan is president of Localogy, a not-for-profit trade association comprised of technology, marketing and media service providers and multi-location brands that help small businesses thrive in an increasingly localized world. Bringing deep expertise on how local commerce industries are evolving with new technology and business approaches, Dinan has successfully led and grown companies over the last few decades, including WEB.com, Acquisio, Telmetrics and others.