Over a quarter of Canadian SMEs had no digital strategy before COVID-19

CANADA, November 2022 - In the 2½ years since the pandemic began, companies have made a range of investments in digital strategies to adapt their operations. To learn more about why, how, and the types of tools implemented in these digital strategies, GetApp Canada conducted a study of over 300 employees of SMEs in Canada that had a digital strategy in place. Highlights from the report include:

- 25% of SMEs adopted a digital strategy to stay competitive, while 31% did so to meet client demands
- 27% cited that their company did not have any digital strategy in place before 2020
- Over a third (34%) of companies said their digital adoption strategy led to job losses
- The most recruited job profiles for companies implementing digital strategies were developers (54%), digital marketers (46%), and web designers (45%)

What are the most common digital strategies post-COVID?

Prior to COVID, the most widely used digital techniques were Email marketing (50%), CRM (46%), and Social Media (41%). 53% of respondents in our survey said their companies expedited their current digital strategy during COVID because it was insufficient to rise to the new challenges. As far as how companies changed their strategies during the pandemic, here are the main takeaways:

- 42% of respondents implemented Cloud Software during the pandemic, while 36% used it before
- 41% launched a Digital Design department, while - 41% used the help of a Digital Marketing specialist
- 40% created an eCommerce website during COVID-19, which 20% of SMEs surveyed have yet to do
- 38% began using a Search Engine Marketing (SEM) to reach customers via search engines

Has digital adoption affected employment?

Although a quarter of SMEs hired and fired people as they adopted digital strategies, fewer than one in ten businesses solely fired employees due to it. Most businesses needed to look for additional assistance, either by hiring (58% overall) or outsourcing (2%). Just under one-third of the businesses were able to finish the process using the knowledge and expertise of their current staff.

"Whether driven to digitalization by competitors or their own clients, companies have adopted a plethora of digital strategies. Even new trends like omnichannel platforms have been implemented by two-thirds of respondents," explained Tessa Anaya, analyst for this study. "Many of these SMEs have been able to incorporate new technologies using existing staff, showing digitalization may not be as inaccessible to small businesses as it was thought to be prior to the pandemic."

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Media Contact
Palash Bhattacharjee
Marketing Specialist (Canada)
palash.bhattacharjee@gartner.com

GetApp is the recommendation engine small businesses need to make the right software choice. GetApp enables SMEs to achieve their mission by delivering the tailored, data-driven recommendations and insights needed to make informed software purchasing decisions. For more information, visit www.getapp.ca.

This release was published on openPR.