For small and medium-sized enterprises, the first thing is to meet the needs of business data processing. Because the fundamental point of the informatization demand of small and medium-sized enterprises is that the business has developed to a certain amount, manual accounting and statistics can no longer meet the needs of bosses to manage enterprises. Therefore, small and medium-sized enterprises began to introduce information systems.
Two: most concerned about the return on investment.
Small and medium-sized enterprises are faced with the problem of survival first, followed by the lack of funds, which requires that informatization must really solve some urgent needs of enterprises and get obvious returns. Therefore, when investing in information projects, they will pay more attention to cost-benefit analysis, that is, what can be obtained through information enterprises, whether it is cost-effective, whether the functions of information solutions are complete, and whether they can solve some specific practical management problems of enterprises. Small and medium-sized enterprises are unwilling to bear the sunk cost brought by informatization. Usually, they want to reduce costs and enhance competitiveness through informationization, rather than reducing profits to optimize business processes, not seeking big and complete. In a word, enterprise informatization, they want to do great things with small money, and they are most concerned about the return on investment-the actual improvement of product sales, the reduction of production costs and the growth of market scale, and they will not engage in some vase projects.
Third, product price dominates information demand.
Small and medium-sized enterprises are small in scale, lack of funds and unstable in survival. Business owners are relatively strict in cost control, generally pay attention to short-term investment returns, and are very cautious about information investment, which makes them very sensitive to the price of IT products and services, demanding "low price, good quality and high cost performance". No matter how good the product is, they would rather give it up if the price is too high. Therefore, the price is the main consideration factor in the informatization construction of small and medium-sized enterprises. And those IT products with low price and high performance-to-price ratio occupy the vast majority of the market share.
Fourth, the demand for personalized applications is strong.
Small and medium-sized enterprises in different industries, regions and levels have differences in information application. Small and medium-sized enterprises of different industries and sizes have different needs at different stages of informatization construction, and each unit has different personalized needs in different management modes and different processes. In addition, small and medium-sized enterprises lack funds and talents, which leads to the need for practicality and flexibility in IT product investment and solutions, as well as the overall implementation of informatization. Individualized demand is becoming more and more obvious, which cannot be realized by applying standardized products of large enterprises.
Five: more inclined to full value chain solutions.
Small and medium-sized enterprises in China generally have the characteristics of insufficient understanding of information technology, lack of professionals, lack of network applications, and complicated information implementation process. Therefore, in order to better adapt to the impact of informationization and the challenges of the market, SMEs not only hope that manufacturers can provide single products and technologies, but also long for comprehensive solutions with high cost performance, which can not only provide them with practical and easy-to-use solutions.
Cost-effective products, but also to provide complete and good after-sales service, consulting and training, to buy packaged products and value-added services as the main demand characteristics. Of course, product quality, manufacturer's reputation and service quality are also reference conditions for purchasing.
Six: "Fool safety products" are the most popular.
Whether the product is simple, easy to use, fast and safe is an important concern of information selection of small and medium-sized enterprises. In fact, small and medium-sized enterprises do not need to be equipped with "IT products" with complex structure and complicated use. What they need most is IT products with low initial purchase cost, stable performance, easy use, universality and easy maintenance. Generally speaking, it is necessary to make IT products "fool-like" and get it done with one click. Especially for key customers such as the boss, the simpler the software, the better, and the dumber the operation, the better. The boss is always busy and has no extra time to face the full-screen button operation in the software. Even if the software is fully functional, if he can't find what he wants to see quickly, he will feel cumbersome and refuse.
Seven: first make the products that the boss needs.
The informatization project of small and medium-sized enterprises is the "number one project" and "boss project". If we want to do a good job in the information business of small and medium-sized enterprises, we must serve the boss (board of directors) well. The informatization of small and medium-sized enterprises should start from the boss's desk and be the IT product that the boss needs! If the boss thinks it is unnecessary, it will be very difficult to promote the products in small and medium-sized enterprises, let alone invest in construction. So first of all, let it (mainly software) meet the requirements of the boss and convince the boss to apply it; Secondly, to ensure the smooth promotion and adoption of IT construction, it is very important to do a good job in public relations marketing. Start with the relatives and friends around the boss, do a good job in customer relations, get the boss's good opinion, and the rest will be solved.
Eight: IT outsourcing is becoming more and more popular.
For small and medium-sized enterprises with simple process, single application and lack of funds and talents, it is impossible to choose products and services with high system complexity, difficult use and very expensive. They are more and more inclined to rely on socialized and specialized IT outsourcing services provided by IT vendors to carry out IT construction, so as to reduce IT procurement costs, management costs and maintenance costs, and carry out information construction "quickly and economically". Therefore, IT vendors should go deep into small and medium-sized enterprises, carefully understand the actual needs, and provide targeted solutions that can be implemented quickly.
Nine: gradually pay attention to whether it can bring lasting competitive advantage.
For small and medium-sized enterprises, they gradually hope that informatization is an essential tool for enterprises to achieve rapid development, and the use of information technology can bring sustainable competitive advantages to enterprises. However, it is not only informatization that may bring lasting competitive advantage. Small and medium-sized enterprises are also very concerned about whether the information strategy is consistent with the enterprise strategy. Once the strategic goal of informatization is inconsistent with the enterprise development strategy, it will have a major conflict with the production process and management mode of the enterprise, and the enterprise will pay a heavy price. Therefore, small and medium-sized enterprises do not want too much information construction to be opposed to the original management system of enterprises, or even become "troublemakers", but want to live in harmony and eventually bring lasting competitive advantages to enterprises.
In short, the so-called "people have no great ambitions", SMEs will pay more attention to immediate interests, and most of them will be eager for quick success. Unlike some large enterprises, they will be "far-sighted and strategically positioned" when considering their business. Their core needs are total cost of ownership and return on investment, which is the main focus of informatization. Therefore, IT vendors must change their service consciousness, and truly focus on customer enterprises, rather than their own products. As consultants or partners, we should help small and medium-sized enterprises outline the recovery mode, cycle and benefit of IT investment, correctly guide and help enterprises straighten out internal management and production processes, provide customers with the most suitable products, and let small and medium-sized enterprises truly realize the tangible benefits that informatization can bring, which is the premise for small and medium-sized enterprises to successfully realize informatization and win-win situation for both sides.