Small, yet mighty: how Canadian SMEs are driving post-pandemic growth
Brian Rosentreter, CEO and CTO at Global Analyzer Systems.
June 27, 2023
Mount Royal University’s Growth Compass, in collaboration with BDC’s Research and Market Intelligence team, has published results from a national survey on the drivers of growth for Canadian Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SMEs).
Over the past two years, business growth has been heavily impacted by the global pandemic and SMEs have faced several challenges. The study’s objective was to explore these challenges further and to identify and understand the drivers of growth for Canadian SMEs.
“The 2022 Growth Compass Survey provides valuable insights into the strategic actions that business leaders are deploying to respond to the global pandemic. We found most companies are eager to grow, and market conditions seem ripe, but a majority have not lived up to their growth aspirations, particularly small companies,” said Simon Raby, PhD, Associate Professor in Entrepreneurship and Principal Investigator for the study.
While some actions taken by business leaders were in response to COVID, such as working longer hours and increasing their debt, considerable effort was taken to drive new forms of growth. The study reveals a recipe for greater resilience and success. Those companies who have ‘bounced forward’- experiencing performance better than prior to COVID - operate in growing markets and have deployed a range of innovative actions, which the study team label the 4Ps:
- Purchase: Reduce buyer friction in the sales process
- Product: Innovate products and/or services to generate greater customer value
- Process: Deploy reliable, repeatable and scalable processes and people systems
- People: Implement effective recruitment practices and nurture leadership and culture
Brian Rosentreter, CEO and CTO at Global Analyzer Systems, a Calgary-based environmental technologies firm, explains “While COVID brought us many challenges, it also provided considerable opportunity. It forced us to develop the business with a renewed focus and invest in those things that drive growth and resilience. We are now a stronger team and business as a result.”
Peter Fenwick, Director for Scale-up and Growth Programs said, “This study shows that those business leaders who take an offensive approach to their markets are more likely to achieve better performance over the longer term. Indeed, companies with better revenues now than before COVID were less likely to have frozen salaries, extended payment periods with suppliers or reduced investments in marketing and general business activities”.
The full survey results titled Growth Compass Survey 2022 can be downloaded.
The Growth Compass survey was developed collaboratively with Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta. Results will help both BDC and the team of researchers there to better understand the current environment for SMEs across Canada.
For further information, please contact:
Peter Glenn, Senior Media Relations Officer
403.463.6930
mediarelations@mtroyal.ca