Monit’s latest Quarterly Small Business Pulse Survey captures Small and Medium Owner sentiment about their operating environment and how it influences their priorities.  The Q4 2023 survey was conducted January 4-5, 2024 and included 300 SMB owners from across the United States.  
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Key Highlights:
• A slightly less optimistic view of the economy was held in the second half of 2023, with 45% of Business Owners reporting a “Better” or “Significantly Better” operating environment, down from the peak of 68% in Q1 ‘23.

• Continued evidence of an emerging “new normal” with increases in the percentage of business owners noting “No Change” increasing across survey questions.

• The strength of the competitive environment has increasingly risen among the rankings of the top concerns of business owners. The economy and stability of buyers/supplier still ranks at the top.

• When asked about how their bank can best support them in 2024, concerns about Interest Rates, Interest in Advice and Tools to support growth, Lending availability for smaller balances, and improvements to Customer Service were the most popular topics

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Key Considerations to Banks:
• Business owners remain optimistic and are looking to grow, but face competitive and cost headwinds. Banks that can help owners improve efficiency have a chance to differentiate with their SMB clients.

• Business owners have clearly indicated they’ve made improvements in their receivables management and adoption of new payments channels. Banks – and particularly those focusing on deposits, need to review potential disintermediation risks if third party providers were selected.

• While interest rates (and loan pricing) will be top of mind for many owners, banks that offer differentiated services have a chance to win with
clients. This includes expanded digital tools, tailored advice, and product innovation to extended needed capital to smaller companies.
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To get a copy of the full report, please contact our Chief Customer Officer at ryan@monitapp.io

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