Our SME customers are telling us they expect strong revenue growth and opportunities to grow their business. Still, some challenges remain for them. These include start-up businesses trying to manage tight cash flow, establishing a customer base, and marketing themselves. It also includes companies experiencing high growth. Many SMEs tell us they need help with the right advice across financing growth, accounting, hiring staff, and having an active online presence to find and prospect customers. SMEs have a growth agenda that will propel New Zealand forward and Westpac is alongside these companies providing tools and advice to facilitate growth.
In recent years, small to medium enterprises and smaller exporter businesses have been focused on reducing debt and getting through tougher economic conditions. With the current growth climate, small businesses are faced with new challenges. This change in outlook puts a positive pressure on businesses as they strive to meet expectations for customers in the market for increased goods and services.
Arguably, the most important element for business success is the quality of their people. Fostering the development of talent and retaining these individuals is pivotal to the success of small businesses. Often referred to as the "corporate currency", high quality people are valuable and have the ability to assist in the growth and ongoing achievement of businesses. We recognise that SMEs are the engine room of the New Zealand economy. We recently held forums throughout New Zealand and we listened to what small business owners need help with, in order to grow their business.
The strength and expertise of the people at Westpac are fundamental to the support we can provide to SMEs. Westpac is intent on delivering practical and easy to use solutions for time and resource constrained SMEs. Our "Managing Your Money" workshops target three key areas including funding and financial management, sustaining cash flow and managing for growth. These workshops are available nationwide in local communities.
As a business owner you can up skill your financial knowledge and at the same time get to network with other small businesses.
In the constantly evolving digital economy we live in it is vital for businesses to have a solid online presence. In 2012, Westpac launched an initiative with MYOB that enables New Zealand businesses to get online for free. Most New Zealanders now research online before purchasing products or services, yet an incredibly large percentage of New Zealand SMEs have no internet presence. Our Get Online campaign signals our commitment to helping businesses grow by enabling them to have a presence online, including e-commerce facilities. The offer is available to all small businesses, regardless of whether they are Westpac or MYOB customers.
Westpac has released digital systems for New Zealand's small-medium businesses providing practical support in two key areas that are critical to business success - cash flow management and customer experience. Get Paid supports real time payment processing with no need for extra hardware or plug-in devices. Get Feedback allows SMEs to track their customers' satisfaction levels, interaction scores and verbatim feedback via an online dashboard.
Internally as management and externally as customers, people are fundamental to the success of any small business. Through the Get Feedback application, SME's can capture and analyse their customer feedback and build better engagement. They will be able to track, in real time, how customers feel about the service they offer, manage customer interactions and receive valuable verbatim feedback.
Get Feedback gives SME's access to the kind of tools that help organisations significantly improve customer experience, growth and retention. Westpac sees huge opportunity in helping SMEs drive their customer experience and this initiative was the first of its kind for a bank in New Zealand and Australia.
Financial institutions like ours are working closely with customers to prepare them for growth. When we've been in a hunker down environment, and all of a sudden demand for goods and services lifts, we must re-gear businesses to prepare for that growth. It is a different phase, but it is an exciting phase, because it means jobs, it means good wages, it means communities and towns around New Zealand are on their feet and doing business.
SMEs are a major contributor to New Zealand's current economic upward trajectory. It is important that we recognise this and foster the growth and development of small businesses. Westpac is actively working with SME's to provide them with the tools and support necessary for them to flourish in the current growth market.
• Simon Power is General Manager, Business Bank & Wealth - Westpac NZ
