Published by Jessica Weisman-Pitts
Posted on October 14, 2022
5 min readLast updated: February 3, 2026
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By Stacey Hill, Director of Sales and Operations, Sky Connect
Like the businesses it supports, the business broadband market is also experiencing an enormous amount of transformation. From the rising costs with network providers to the risks of unexpected downtimes, sitting at the heart of this transformation is the demand for constant connectivity to keep your business functioning and your customers happy.
Whilst for small business owners, keeping themselves connected might feel like the priority, as they look to grow exponentially and continue to recover from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic connecting customers is one of the best methods for growing revenues and keeping costs down. Why? Because a more connected customer is a happier customer. And a happy customer, is a loyal and retained customer.
So, how can putting customer connectivity at the heart of your business strategy, keep the customer retention rate high for SMEs?
The importance of reliable connectivity
For small enterprises, it is essential to have an ultra-reliable and flexible broadband connection. Whether online-only or based on the high street, businesses need to make sure that they are seamlessly accessible online, especially to minimise any hiccups when communicating with customers. The last thing you want to do is keep a customer waiting. According to a study which surveyed 2,000 adults in the UK, 78% of Brits expect companies to provide multiple channels to contact their customer service team on, such as phone, email, web chat, and social media. With Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) services and 4G backup, companies will benefit from protected browsing and consistent speeds, even during peak times. During such a period, steady connectivity is crucial. 4G backup acts as a connectivity segway so that even if the connection drops, your router will switch seamlessly to a 4G mobile network connection, keeping your online engagements uninterrupted. This will ensure day-to-day business operations won’t be disrupted because of internet delays. Having this online efficiency can have a positive impact on a company’s customer relationship.
Small businesses need to remember that customers expect their connectivity to be highly reliable too. Remember, it’s all about delivering a smooth user experience including multiple ways of contacting their favourite stores. Making sure that all employees who deal with customers directly, whether through email, online video chats, calls or messages, are empowered by reliable connectivity at all business operating times. It can be challenging for SMEs to meet these consumer expectations. One way they can do this is by providing a watertight back-up service in the event of any issues with primary broadband connections. Doing so could pay dividends. In fact, according to our recent survey of SME owners, some 74% of smaller firms would be more likely to recommend a business broadband provider to another organisation if it offered a 4G backup connection.
Failure to focus on reliability could be costly. Our survey also shows that more than half (51%) of SMEs are already planning to leave their current business broadband provider, with reliability and connectivity cited as a core reason. This statistic serves as a stark reminder that SMEs understand what their customers want, and they aren’t afraid to go and get it if they’ll reap the reward.
Seamless Connectivity
Like with anything, there are of course often obstacles that get in the way of customer connectivity. One of these obstacles takes the form of clearly signposting how customers can contact and engage their favourite stores, without long-winded information booklets and member or sign-up processes.
In my view, it is possible to overcome these challenges by understanding what your customers are looking for. Customers are attracted to clear and simple steps – using commonly known prompts such as scannable barcodes that can lead to website pages clearly visible in and outside of your shop, as well as ensuring that customers can identify the name of your broadband service when searching for it. A good way to do this is simply name it after your franchise, signposting towards password locations and removing complicated gateway forms. This saves the customer needing to ask any awkward questions.
Doing this can also help to attract new customers. In such a rapidly growing digital world, having a digital presence is an effective way of reaching prospective customers.
Is your business searchable on google? Do you have active social media accounts which show what your business is all about? Are you contactable by phone, email, or live chat? Are customers happy with your level of customer service?
These are the questions SMEs need to consider when looking to attract a vast number of new customers in a modern, cost effective and organic way. According to content marketer, Michael Glover, 74% of consumers identify word of mouth as a key influencer in their purchasing decisions and 88% of people trust online reviews written by other consumers as much as they trust recommendations from personal contacts. Therefore, having an online presence whereby you have good searchability is important in supporting not only a high customer retention rate, but in growing your existing customer base too.
As we move into a post-pandemic world, where the status quo for small businesses has permanently changed, it has never been more important for businesses to be able to keep up with the rapid changes and stand out against competitors. One of the best ways to do this is by ensuring the customer is happy, and that your business doesn’t have to worry about broadband headaches when it matters most.
Broadband is a high-speed internet connection that is always on and faster than traditional dial-up access. It allows users to access the internet and stream content simultaneously.
Customer retention refers to the ability of a company to keep its customers over time. High retention rates indicate customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) is a broadband network architecture that uses optical fiber to provide high-speed internet directly to homes and businesses.
4G backup is a secondary internet connection that uses 4G mobile networks to maintain connectivity when the primary broadband connection fails.
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