Australian SMEs face their toughest test yet. Marketing director Samantha Sakr shares insider tactics from hundreds of businesses navigating rising costs and shifting expectations.
What’s happening: Australian small businesses are entering a critical 12-month period where rising energy prices and rent costs are squeezing margins, whilst consumers become increasingly selective about personalised experiences and value.
Why this matters: This convergence of economic pressure and technological disruption represents a defining moment for SMEs, with strategic decisions made in FY25/26 determining which businesses emerge stronger and which become casualties of this challenging environment.
Rising costs, shifting consumer expectations and AI pressure mean FY25/26 is make or break. Energy prices and rent are continuing to climb, squeezing already tight margins, while consumers are becoming more selective, favouring brands that offer personalised experiences, sustainability and better value for money. At the same time, artificial intelligence is reshaping everything from customer service to marketing, logistics and more.
Samantha Sakr, Managing Director of Taurus, has worked with various business owners and senior leaders who navigate the trenches of a new financial year, and she’s seen a pattern emerging.
Her top three pieces of advice? “Start the new FY with clarity: Define your core business objectives and where you want to be in a year. Set clear, measurable priorities for the year ahead. Build your marketing strategy around your business goals.”
Practical survival strategies
With energy prices and rent continuing to climb, Sakr recommends practical strategies to protect margins. “One of the strategies to consider is shifting into coworking or flexible spaces to reduce rental overheads, long-term leases and remove costs like electricity and office maintenance,” she says.
“These spaces offer built-in amenities, flexible terms, and shared resources, so you’re not paying for more than you need. It’s a smart way to scale as you need, avoid long-term commitments, and stay focused on growth without the overhead.”
Other strategies include mapping out cash flow versus expenses and drawing a line between what’s essential and what’s nice to have. “Then go back to the table, renegotiate everything from supplier contracts, software and subscriptions to office leases and more. Nothing is off limits,” Sakr advises.
“And of course in a world of AI, automation should be on the agenda to move away from any time consuming manual processes that can be automated to streamline time.”
Pricing without losing customers
When it comes to pricing decisions in this challenging environment, Sakr says it’s all about framing value. “Pricing is never just about numbers, it’s about confidence in your offer. If you can clearly show the outcomes you deliver, whether that’s outcome focused, time saved, better results, or a competitive experience, customers will want to work with you.”
She recommends being flexible with tiered options or bundles. “People like choice and feel empowered by choice, without diluting your offer.”
Your frontline team becomes crucial in this process. “They’re your eyes and ears. They know where the value really lands, your customer perceptions and where you might be overdelivering without charging for it. Pricing is strategy but it’s also about value and USP. Make sure yours is strong.”
Hidden money drains
Sakr identifies several areas where businesses waste money unnecessarily. Following advice from her biggest mentors, she suggests calculating costs at a yearly rate rather than monthly or weekly expenses to evaluate the bigger picture and measure ROI.
“Some of the biggest culprits that add to your expense list include subscriptions rolling over and unused. Evaluate what you’re paying for versus what you and your team are using or value,” she explains.
Software spend requires particular attention. “Start with a tech audit and cancel anything you’re not actively using or not serving you daily.”
Marketing spend often lacks focus and strategy. “The right marketing strategy will always deliver an ROI to your business. If you are dipping your toe in several marketing tactics without a strategy, you are better off reinvesting with a third party to set you up with a marketing strategy that is directly linked to your business objectives so you know where to allocate your marketing budget,” Sakr says, noting that Taurus does this for clients every day using their Taurus Bullseye™ methodology.
Time wastage also costs money. “If you’re stuck in endless internal meetings with no decisions or outcomes, it’s costing you. Set a purpose, agenda and set expectations on outcomes and get that time back.”
AI’s personal touch
For small businesses looking to leverage AI without losing their competitive edge, Sakr sees opportunity rather than threat. “This is where small businesses can truly shine. AI can handle the repetitive tasks while you focus on building relationships, taking time to meet up or call to check in on clients and the service they receive from you and your team.”
AI tools, when correctly and carefully prompted, can personalise emails, help with desk research, analyse customer behaviour and automate tasks. “AI can also act as a brainstorming tool, a process to create first drafts or crunch data. At Taurus, we are so focused on how AI can help support, not replace people, brands and businesses. We look at how AI can help clients and how clients can find that sweet spot to create real customer connections and experiences that matter and are memorable.”
She points to recent success stories from Sydney’s hospitality sector, where venues like Alma and St Alma on the Northern Beaches integrated AI powered tools from SevenRooms into everyday marketing and guest engagement workflows.
“AI systems now integrate data from reservations, orders and past visits to recognise returning guests, recommend their preferred wine, assign their favourite table and trigger smart promotions during slow periods, translating walk-ins into loyal customers,” Sakr explains. “Nothing brings back returning customers like a five star service and experience.”
Routine tasks like phone bookings are handled by AI, freeing staff to focus on high touch service. Management use AI to summarise guest feedback and identify key improvement areas to enhance the guest experience without losing the warm personal touch.
The economics are compelling too. As highlighted by SevenRooms, AI is often cheaper than staff time or simple supplies like napkins.
Key lessons for success
The hospitality success story offers clear lessons for other businesses. “Experience, experience, experience, the more memorable, the more loyal your customers are,” Sakr says.
Other key takeaways include leveraging AI to personalise at scale using fragmented data to create memorable, tailored guest experiences, automating administrative tasks without replacing human warmth and talent, and using insights to deepen loyalty by sending offers only when relevant and based on real data.
“Start with affordable tools,” she advises, whilst emphasising the importance of spending time on training staff to serve and preach the brand core values.
“This example shows that, even in traditionally human centred sectors like hospitality, AI can support deeply personal experiences, enhancing, not replacing, the relationships that define small business success.”
Keep up to date with our stories on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
