DNA SNAP Week of May 9, 2016

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Friday, May 13, 2016

SMEs are laggards, but with good reason

AS we see increasing signs of life around us going digital, it can be easy to get swept up in the belief that everyone will soon learn to ride the wave, if they are not on it already.

Yet clearly, one of the primary movers of any economy, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which typically make up 99% of all registered businesses in an economy and generate over 50% of employment, are digital laggards.

We ran a number of stories about businesses, not just SMEs but even large enterprises, lagging in digital adoption over the past week, but the SME challenge is real and I even spoke about it on DNA’s fortnightly slot on Bloomberg TV Malaysia. You can watch that segment here.

The real pain point for SMEs in adopting digital is not that they don’t realise how important it is. They just cannot find the right people to manage their digital presence, be it on social media, their website, or most importantly, in marketing themselves to the right target audience.

When even startups whose founders and teams are digital natives are struggling to find growth hackers/ digital marketers/ performance marketers, what hope for the typical SME?

This lack of real experts in digital marketing is a real pain point in the entire ecosystem. with one leading VC admitting that he was frustrated with how his own investee companies struggle with managing their digital marketing efforts.

SMEs, especially manufacturing focused ones, do not have the intense marketing needs of your startup. But the SME owner still wants to see an ROI from the money invested in this busy and confusing online world.

Finally, let me welcome big data and analytics expert Fusionex International Plc to What’s Next: The Business Impact of Disruptive Technology as Supporting Sponsor. And if you haven’t booked your seats yet, please do so at our microsite.

Have a restful weekend and productive week ahead.

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