Business travel expertise is vital to SME growth
Small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are a large contributor to a growing globalised workforce, with SMEs collectively representing approximately 90% of all businesses and more than 50% of employment worldwide, according to data from World Bank.
SMEs have the ability to grow their business at a faster rate than large companies by adopting the tried and tested strategies, technologies and practices of successful larger organisations.
In the post-pandemic environment, SMEs have also resumed their business travel activity at a faster rate than large organisations because they are not subjected to the approval processes, travel policies and compliance mechanisms of larger, more complex travel programmes.
The ‘fear of missing out’
According to McKinsey & Company, this early resumption of SME business travel is likely to cause a ripple effect within the segment, with competitors taking to the skies to retain their customers and prospect new ones. This ‘fear of missing out’ (FOMO) segment of business travel made up 60% of corporate travel expenditure in 2019. “SMEs are likely to trigger a domino effect where one company’s resumption of business trips will catalyse its rivals’ return to work-related travel. Faced with intense competition, different players in the company (leadership, management, staff) coalesce to reinstate corporate travel at scale to seize the first-mover advantage over rival businesses.”
Despite the ‘fear of missing out’ fueling the SME market, not all SMEs utilise the services of a professional travel management company (TMC) and those that don’t may be missing out on other significant competitive advantages; cost savings through global buying power and internal efficiencies, and risk reduction through the duty of care solutions.
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Travel solutions drive speed and efficiency
A pre-pandemic study conducted by YouGov, an international research data and analytics group, revealed that the average small business took 88 minutes to plan and book a business trip, and even longer for those companies with more than 50 employees. Medium-size enterprises were spending an additional 12 minutes, with individual travel bookings taking 100 minutes to complete on average. In the post-pandemic environment with more complex travel requirements and considerations, these booking times could be significantly longer. CTM’s proprietary online booking tool, Lightning, consolidates corporate deals on flights, hotels and car hire in a single, intuitive booking platform, enabling users to book their entire business travel itinerary in less than 90 seconds.
For SMEs, understanding the savings opportunities and ancillary advantages that a managed travel programme can offer is now more important than ever, according to CTM Northern England Glasgow General Manager, Michael Healy. “We know the key business travel driver for the SME market is to grow their business. They value the importance and understand the long-term gains from face-to-face engagement and if they are not in front of their customers their competition will be. What is not always understood is the value a TMC can bring, as strategically managing a travel budget is not something small business owners always have the time or the resources for.
“Reducing the time taken to make business travel bookings can return immediate benefits and savings to small businesses by enabling their internal resources to spend more time on their operational duties. This can be done by giving employees access to intuitive travel tools that put the best-negotiated rates on flights, hotels and car rentals all within one single booking channel. When you work with a global travel management company, even small businesses get to benefit from significant consolidated global buying power that can return significant savings.”
Resources at many SMEs may have been stretched by the impacts of the global pandemic. Finding time to explore travel expenditure and strategise savings opportunities is not often top of mind for small businesses. A travel programme that’s designed and optimised to drive savings and efficiency by streamlining and simplifying the travel management experience, supported by user-centric technology, 24/7 travel support and a dedicated Account Manager is a simple way for SMEs to achieve savings, efficiencies and risk mitigation for their business and employees.
Juliet Reffold, CTM Southern England Head of Account Management explains “Our customers are at the heart of what we do and we ensure a thorough consultation to unearth their key travel objectives and how best to manage their travel programme. No two businesses are the same and we understand for smaller businesses that it may not be necessary to have all the ‘bells and whistles’ however, it is important that they are aware their travel programme can evolve alongside their growing business. Working with a travel management company that offers the right blend of technology and service expertise makes all the difference to small businesses in today’s environment, as it enables small business employees to make travel bookings via their chosen device whenever and wherever they need to and get the support they need when things don’t go to plan to ensure their trip is as productive and effective as possible.”
Travel solutions designed for small and growing businesses
CTM offers a range of travel management solutions designed specifically for small and growing businesses. Self-service online travel booking platforms and mobile apps enable small business employees to book their travel anytime and anywhere via their preferred booking device, providing centralised access to an extensive range of travel content and travel insights (including health, travel restrictions and sustainability) all in one place. Additionally, businesses can tailor their travel programme and tools to suit their business needs and objectives, with access to centralised and integrated travel reporting, spend optimisation reviews, trip approval, traveller tracking and duty of care solutions and carbon offsetting under one roof. CTM’s solutions drive savings to your travel budget while delivering efficiency and safety for your travelling workforce, ensuring your team has time to focus on your business.