McKinsey (2022, ~3,500 US SMBs) — SMBs use digital channels 20-30% more frequently than analog; "assisted" channels (chat, email) beat pure self-serve; <15% want phone/voice

Claim: McKinsey, "Winning the SMB tech market in a challenging economy" (~3,500 US SMBs, March-Nov 2022 panel): "Small businesses now use digital channels… 20 to 30 percent more frequently than they do unassisted 'analog' channels… 'Assisted' channels, such as chat and email, are even more popular among SMBs than pure self-serve options, like company websites." <15% want phone/automated-voice.

Source: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/technology-media-and-telecommunications/our-insights/winning-the-smb-tech-market-in-a-challenging-economy

Confidence: Verified (primary research, independent).

Caveat: McKinsey sells consulting but is not a portal vendor. This is the strongest independent demand evidence — and it cuts both ways: yes to digital, but assisted (chat/email) over self-serve.

Why this matters for Candid: The polite anti-portal data point. SMB customers prefer email and chat to pure self-service. A portal that asks them to switch behaviour fights this preference. Pair with Gartner (Aug 19, 2024; survey of 5,728 customers Dec 2023) — only 14% of customer service / support issues are fully resolved in self-service; even for "very simple" issues only 36% resolve fully.