This morning we kicked off L23 with a panel discussion featuring leaders from two brands closely associated with the pulse of local and small businesses — Yelp and Thryv. We asked leaders from these two brands how they view the recent evolution of SMBs and their use of technology.

This panel, featuring Yelp’s Chad Richard (Corp. Dev.) and Thryv’s Ryan Cantor (Product), immediately followed a presentation of highlights from Localogy’s latest Modern Commerce Monitor Research showing 89% of SMBs use SaaS tools in some form or fashion to run their businesses.

Cantor pushed back a bit on that figure, arguing that tech adoption is closer to 100% among SMBs. This is especially so when one considers that productivity tools like G-Suite exist in the cloud.

Key Takeaways

Here are a few other key takeaways that we gleaned from this session.

• Pressure to Build. Demand for product innovation for SMBs is as intense as it has ever been. Cantor Noted that Thryv has 3X’d its engineering team since 2021 and expects to grow it another 50% this year.
• Self-Service to the Rescue. Self-service has long been the holy grail for those selling digital tools to SMBs. The dream hasn’t died. Both operators say they remain focused on enabling SMBs to do more and more via self-service interfaces. One reason? “Small businesses are tired of sales and marketing,” Cantor said.
• The Tried and True. The two execs were asked to talk about longstanding digital solutions that continue to to deliver bot both buyer and seller.  Cantor pointed to websites. Richard cited “request for quote” as a tried and true product for Yelp. Richard also noted that Yelp’s SMB customer base is now 60% in the home services category.

Meet the New SMB, same as the Old SMB? @Yelp @Thryv

#L23 #Localogy2023 pic.twitter.com/F3E5hgUzPe

— Localogy (@think_localogy) April 17, 2023

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Meet the New SMB, same as the Old SMB?