It’s crucial for every organization to stay abreast of their customers’ changing needs, pain points, and expectations. For companies that serve small and medium businesses, that means keeping your finger on the pulse of evolving SMB goals and concerns.
But according to the survey that we ran in 2024, SMB service providers struggle to get a handle on their audience’s motivating issues. Large enterprises told us that limited understanding of SMB needs is one of their biggest challenges when it comes to developing appropriate SMB offerings.
As a company that has a strong relationship with the SMB world, we want to help.
Every year, we survey 500 SMB owners across the US to find out what they’re focusing on, worrying about, and aiming towards. This year’s survey delivered fascinating insights into what SMBs really want in 2025.
In this article, we’ll present our leading findings and reveal the trends, anxieties, and goals of SMB owners.
SMBs are in it to win it with digital tools
One standout result is that SMB owners are fully aware of the power of digital tools in helping them to grow their business and compete with their much larger rivals. They want to take advantage of this capability, so they are steadily adding more tools and extending their digital footprint.
Well over half — 59% — already rely on between two and four digital tools to manage core business functions. This doesn’t include platforms like Gmail, social media, and messaging apps, which are considered basic life tools. Sixty seven percent have adopted as many as four new digital tools in the past year alone.
When we drilled down to explore which tools they value the most, we found that tech which streamlines operational activities is the most prized. Tools to collect payments came top of the list, with 41% of SMBs agreeing that they use them, followed by billing and invoicing automation (32%), and client information management (28%).
Their top three preferred automated features matched the same pattern, with SMBs prioritizing capabilities for billing and invoicing, collecting payments, and marketing their business. None of this came as a surprise to us, because we received the same answers in last year’s survey too.
So, what are they looking for in 2025?
Like every business of any size, SMBs are looking for tools that solve their primary pain points in 2025. According to the participants in our survey, their top concerns include keeping on top of their cash flow, which was cited as a primary issue by 47% of respondents; attracting new customers, cited by 40%; and effective time management, mentioned by 28%.
But they’re also seeking solutions to a bigger challenge which goes deeper than any single task or pain point: app fatigue. SMBs are discovering that when it comes to business tools, sometimes less is more. With limited employees and resources, they rely heavily on apps, platforms, and digital tools to punch above their weight, and that’s taking its toll.
Switching between multiple tools disrupts their workflow and reduces productivity, while more apps means more alerts, more notifications, and more interruptions. Given that our survey revealed that the typical SMB uses anywhere between 2 and 8 core apps, not including supporting tools like email, social media, and messaging platforms, it’s no wonder that 91% of respondents said that they’d be highly interested in an all-in-one solution.
When asked about the top three features that they would look for in such a solution, 64% told us that they prioritize billing and invoicing capabilities; 57% said payment collection; and 54% want email and SMS marketing functionalities.
What’s more, ease of use continues to outstrip price when SMBs weigh up digital solutions. We discovered that 44% of survey participants value ease of use above every other factor, while just 22% cited price as their top consideration. Integrations with existing systems was mentioned by just 16%. It was a similar story the previous year, when 52% put ease of use at the top of the list, 17% said price, and 12% said integrations are their biggest concern.
What about AI?
We’re glad you asked! Artificial intelligence (AI) is a phenomenon that’s sweeping the world, but few SMBs are taking full advantage of the benefits it offers. In last year’s survey, only 31% of respondents told us that they are using AI to impact their business, and that rose only slightly to 33% by this year’s survey.
That said, change is in the air. Thirty nine percent of SMBs said that they intend to begin using AI this year. What’s more, the reasons given for not using AI have shifted significantly. In both years, we asked those who aren’t using AI for the reasons why they hadn’t adopted it for their business processes. In 2023, the top answer was “I don’t feel it would help my business.” In 2024, that had been replaced by “I don’t understand how to use it.”
Large organizations should pay attention to this shift, because it points to the best ways for them to support their SMB customers. Today, SMBs understand the value that AI can provide for their business, but they need education and guidance to help them implement and utilize it successfully.
Their lack of education around AI also causes trust issues that hold SMBs back from adopting automation. Only 25% of SMBs said that they’d allow AI tools to carry out tasks on their behalf. Another 29% said that they want to experience AI before they permit it to automate tasks, but 32%, or almost one-third, said that they would continue to control and approve tasks before a tool executes them, which removes much of the value-add that automation can deliver.
Getting inside the SMB head helps you expand your SMB customer base
In summary, our end-of-year survey about SMB pain points, goals, and trends shows a community that’s aware of their weaknesses and is actively seeking ways to address them. They know that the right collection of apps can help them hone their competitive edge, but they also want an end to app fatigue. Their dream solution is an all-in-one platform that hits every major pain point. At the same time, they’re desperate for guidance to understand and make the most of AI.
To help SMB-serving organizations support their customers more effectively, we’ve compiled all these statistics, together with the rest of the results of our SMB survey, into a handbook. It includes four winning strategies for you to expand your SMB offering and create a unique solution that answers SMB needs, to help you gain and retain SMB customers.
