Running an SME means solving problems constantly.
Sales slow down. A process takes too much time. Costs increase. A new system is needed. An idea keeps getting postponed. A team spends hours every week on something that feels unnecessarily complicated.
Usually, the problem itself is visible.
What is less obvious is what is actually causing it, and what should be done about it.
This distinction matters. Acting too quickly on the first apparent solution can lead to unnecessary costs, additional complexity and, ultimately, a problem that still hasn't been solved.
For SMEs, effective problem solving doesn't have to be complicated. It starts with understanding the business, identifying the real problem and testing the simplest solution that can produce a meaningful result.
Here is a practical framework.
Understand the business before trying to fix it
A business problem rarely exists in isolation.
Before looking for solutions, start by understanding how the company operates today.
Some basic questions can reveal a lot:
- How does the business make money?
- What does it already do particularly well?
- Where are the main weaknesses or bottlenecks?
- How is the relevant work currently done?
- Who is involved?
- What has already been tried?
- What does the company actually want to improve?
This context is especially important in an SME.
A theoretically perfect solution is of little value if it doesn't fit the way the company actually works, the resources available or the people who will have to use it.
The objective shouldn't be to redesign the business around a solution.
The solution should work for the business.
Find the problem behind the problem
One of the most common mistakes in business problem solving is confusing a symptom with its root cause.
Imagine an SME saying:
“We aren't getting enough sales.”
There are dozens of possible responses.
Hire another salesperson. Increase advertising. Start outbound prospecting. Change the sales process. Hire a marketing agency.
But none of those answers makes sense until you understand why sales are too low.
Perhaps there aren't enough leads.
Perhaps there are enough leads but they aren't converting.
Perhaps existing customers aren't returning.
Perhaps the offer isn't clear.
Perhaps potential customers simply can't find the company.
The visible problem may be the same (insufficient sales) but the appropriate solution changes completely depending on the cause.
A real example
A company we worked with believed it needed to increase its marketing and actively approach more potential customers.
Looking at the business more broadly revealed something much simpler.
Its website existed, but it was barely visible in relevant search results. Potential customers who were already looking for the company's services were finding competitors instead.
Rather than immediately investing in a larger outbound marketing effort, the website was rebuilt and its search visibility improved.
The result was a significant increase in inbound enquiries, to the point where managing demand became a greater concern than generating it.
The original problem was real.
The initial diagnosis wasn't.
That is why finding the root cause should come before choosing the solution.
Look at the problem from 360 degrees
SME owners and managers usually know their businesses extremely well.
That can be a major advantage but occasionally it also makes certain problems harder to see.
When you work with the same processes, customers, systems and constraints every day, some inefficiencies simply become normal.
“We've always done it this way.”
A problem in sales might actually originate in marketing.
An administrative problem might be caused by the way information is collected earlier in a process.
A reporting problem might not require better reporting software at all. The underlying data might simply be poorly structured.
Looking at a problem from different perspectives helps avoid jumping directly from:
“This hurts” → “Let's buy this solution.”
Instead, ask:
What else could be causing this?
Sometimes a different perspective leads to a much simpler answer.
Estimate what solving the problem is actually worth
Once the problem is understood, the next question isn't simply:
Can we solve it?
It is:
Is this solution worth implementing?
For an SME, four factors are particularly useful:
Money
How much revenue could the solution generate or protect? How much unnecessary cost could it remove?
- Time
How many hours could it save the owner, management team or employees?
- Growth potential
Could solving the problem allow the business to handle more customers, increase capacity or unlock a new opportunity?
Strategic importance
Some problems need solving even when the immediate financial return is difficult to calculate. Compliance, management visibility, customer experience or a critical operational dependency may have significant strategic value.
These potential benefits then need to be compared with the other side of the equation: cost, implementation time, complexity and risk.
A solution that could theoretically save CHF 10,000 per year probably shouldn't require CHF 50,000 and six months to implement.
The best solution isn't necessarily the one with the most features or the greatest theoretical impact.
It is the one that makes sense for the business.
Consider more than one way to solve it
Once the root cause is clear, avoid falling in love with the first solution.
There may be several ways forward.
A company might:
- change an internal process;
- redistribute responsibilities;
- introduce a simple tool;
- automate part of a workflow;
- implement new software;
- bring in a specialist;
- work with an external provider;
- develop something specifically for the business; or
- combine several of these approaches.
Each option comes with a different balance of cost, potential benefit, implementation difficulty and time.
This is also why starting with a technology can be dangerous.
If the question starts with:
“How can we use AI here?”
you have already limited the possible answers.
A better question is:
“What are we trying to improve?”
AI might eventually be the right answer.
So might an Excel template, a clearer process, a new website, a specialist or simply removing an unnecessary step.
Start with the problem. Let the solution come afterwards.
Start with the simplest version that can work
Once you've identified a promising solution, there is another temptation to avoid:
trying to build the perfect version immediately.
For many SME projects, a better approach is:
Start small → test → learn → improve → scale
Think of it as a V1.
If a workflow can first be improved with a relatively simple change, test that before investing in a complex automated system.
If a new reporting structure can be tested with one department, don't necessarily roll it out across the entire company on day one.
If an idea can be validated with a small investment, validate it before committing to the larger one.
There are two advantages.
First, you reduce the financial and operational risk.
Second, you learn whether you actually identified the right problem.
Real-world use will almost always reveal something that wasn't visible during planning.
A simple solution that works can always be developed further.
A complicated solution to the wrong problem is much harder to undo.
Decide who actually needs to solve it
Understanding the problem doesn't mean the SME needs to do everything internally.
Depending on the situation, the right answer might be:
Internal team
when the necessary expertise and capacity already exist.
Specialist or freelancer
when a specific skill is needed for a defined task.
Technology or service provider
when an existing solution already addresses the problem effectively.
External project support
when several people, providers or areas of the business need to be coordinated.
Or some combination of these.
The important distinction is between expertise and ownership.
An SME may be perfectly capable of making the necessary decisions but simply not have someone with the time to research providers, coordinate specialists, follow deadlines, manage implementation and keep the project moving.
That is often where external support creates the most value.
Not because the owner couldn't solve the problem.
Because the owner already has a business to run.
Don't stop at the recommendation
A good idea is not the same as an implemented solution.
Many business projects get surprisingly far before getting stuck:
- Problem identified.
- Solution selected.
- Proposal approved.
And then everyday business takes over.
Implementation requires ownership. Someone needs to coordinate people, answer questions, manage providers, monitor progress, solve unexpected issues, test the result and make sure the new solution is actually adopted.
For SMEs with limited management capacity, this step can be more difficult than finding the solution itself.
So when evaluating how to solve a business problem, ask one more question:
Who is going to make sure this actually happens?
Test whether the problem has actually been solved
Implementation shouldn't end simply because something has been delivered.
The solution needs to work.
That might mean checking whether:
- employees actually use the new process;
- the promised time saving exists;
- leads have increased;
- costs have decreased;
- reporting has improved;
- errors have been reduced; or
- the original bottleneck has disappeared.
The appropriate measure depends on the problem.
But the principle is simple:
Go back to the result you wanted at the beginning and check whether you achieved it.
If the V1 works, improve it.
If it doesn't, learn why before investing further.
A simple framework to remember
The entire process can be summarized in seven steps:
1. Understand the business
Know how things work today before changing them.
2. Identify the root cause
Separate the visible symptom from the underlying problem.
3. Define what success looks like
Know what should improve and why it matters.
4. Compare possible solutions
Consider cost, benefit, time and complexity.
5. Start simple
Test the smallest useful version before building the perfect one.
6. Implement properly
Give someone responsibility for moving the solution forward.
7. Measure the result
Make sure you solved the original problem before scaling.
Business problem solving doesn't need to be complicated
SMEs don't necessarily need more elaborate solutions.
Often, they need clarity.
Understand the problem properly. Look at it from more than one perspective. Consider different solutions. Choose one that makes economic and practical sense. Start with a manageable version. Test it. Then build further if the results justify it.
The objective isn't to find the most impressive solution.
It's to find the simplest solution that genuinely moves the business forward.
Facing a business challenge?
You don't need to know which consultant, technology, provider or specialist you need before asking for help.
Tell MAST what's going on. We'll start with the problem, look at the possible ways forward and help you determine what makes sense for your business.
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