Many Swiss SMEs are still Digital Dinosaurs

The "Digital Switzerland" SME study, conducted for the third time, examines the goals and challenges of digital transformation for Swiss companies and comes to the conclusion that a majority of 87% of the respondents can be classified as digital dinosaurs. The so-called digital dinosaurs are disproportionately represented among microenterprises (1-9 employees). "The study shows that a lot of potential remains untapped, but at the same time there is precisely a resource problem to drive digital transformation," says Manuel Nappo, head of the Institute for Digital Business at HWZ, which is responsible for the study. Stefano Santinelli, CEO of localsearch, is not surprised by the study results: "With 40 years of experience, localsearch knows SMEs in Switzerland inside out. Microbusinesses in particular often have neither the time nor the know-how to deal with digitization. In doing so, many are in danger of losing touch, because: Anyone who is not present online today is simply no longer noticed and the competition is just a click away."

Lack of resources is key challenge

General challenges in the course of digital transformation are a lack of financial resources, insufficient technological equipment and a lack of expertise. For companies with more than 100 employees, the biggest challenges include a lack of expertise, a non-existent culture of change and unclear responsibilities.

Goal customer loyalty and cost reduction

Customer loyalty, cost reduction and increased reach for new customer acquisition are cited as the most important goals of digital transformation. For companies with more than 100 employees, improved customer experience also plays a central role. However, 54 percent of the companies surveyed do not have a strategy for digital transformation, and 71 percent are not even planning to introduce such a strategy in the next two years. Thus, little is likely to change for these companies in their "digital dinosaur" status.

Potential not exploited

For the future development of the companies, digital security is rated most important by the respondents, followed by social media and digital marketing. Asked about knowledge, the survey participants state that they are most familiar with social media, wearables and e-commerce.

In day-to-day business, however, the digital possibilities are still hardly being exploited: for example, 77% of the companies surveyed with services that can be scheduled - such as hairdressers or physiotherapists - it is not possible today to book an appointment online. 60% accordingly also do not have a software solution to manage the appointments. Microbusinesses in particular struggle with online marketing: only about a third of respondents contact customers online with personalized offers, and just 11% use a digital loyalty system. There are also still deficits in the area of social media and ratings. 74% of the survey participants have no mechanism or process that informs them about online reviews and only 34% actively respond to reviews and experience reports on the Internet. 78% therefore also refrain from actively asking customers to rate the company, products or service online.

Carried out for the third time

The Digital Switzerland study was conducted by the Institute for Digital Business at the HWZ Hochschule für Wirtschaft Zürich and localsearch. The study looks at digital transformation, its current status, and opportunities and threats for Swiss companies. 1,294 companies took part in the online survey. The survey was conducted from October to November 2017.

The Institute for Digital Business at the HWZ is the place to go for application-oriented digital knowledge. It runs research projects, offers degree courses, supports SMEs with consulting and project services, and provides knowledge on digital topics free of charge. The institute is headed by Manuel P. Nappo, "Digital Mastermind" 2015. localsearch, in turn, says it is the leading marketing and sales partner for Swiss SMEs and markets with local.ch and search.ch the widest-reach Swiss information and directory services for easily finding addresses, phone numbers and detailed information on companies - on the web, on the mobile app and in the printed phone book (Local Guide).

Sources: www.fh-hwz.ch and www.localsearch.ch