How to drive the development of small and medium-sized businesses

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are crucial to the economy, accounting for almost half of Poland's GDP (almost 47%). Microenterprises are at the forefront of the entire sector, accounting for the largest share of corporate GDP (almost 28%), according to the latest data from the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP, "Report on the State of the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Sector in Poland 2025").

Small and medium-sized enterprises are the primary suppliers of products and services to local communities. They are also crucial to the local labor market. SMEs employ a total of 6.9 million people, including over 4.3 million in microenterprises alone. These entities create a staggering 42.2% of jobs in the entire SME sector.

At the same time, according to the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP) report, small and medium-sized businesses face numerous challenges. They face, for example, the need to quickly adapt to changing consumer habits and advancing digitalization. Increasing their customer base and expanding their business, including successfully expanding abroad, is also crucial.

To make this possible, promotional activities are essential to reach consumers with information about products and services. However, advertising campaigns in the media and traditional media are often unattainable for SMEs, especially when we're talking about microenterprises, which constitute over 97% of all businesses in Poland.

In this context, the opportunities offered to entrepreneurs by the internet and the tools available there can provide support. Practical data on this topic is provided by the latest study, conducted in August 2025 by FocalData on behalf of TikTok. It covered both consumers and advertisers from the SME sector.

Development support

The study's findings show that companies are increasingly embracing the importance of platforms like TikTok, which enable them to effectively scale their businesses without having to allocate significant advertising budgets. Nearly half of the surveyed SMEs (49%) already perceive TikTok as an effective promotional tool. As entrepreneurs point out, the platform has gone beyond being merely a social media platform and has become a crucial business tool, significantly impacting the development of Polish companies. Companies that actively leverage this potential are seeing significant benefits in key areas of their operations, from customer acquisition and product development to international expansion.

One of the immediate and most important effects of a company's presence on TikTok is the ability to effectively expand its customer base and reach audiences that were previously beyond the reach of traditional marketing methods.

According to the study, over half of the surveyed SMEs (51%) who use TikTok said the platform has allowed them to reach entirely new customers or a completely new demographic. Moreover, the support offered by the platform is proving effective in practice. A full 75% of SMB owners agreed that TikTok's advertising tools have helped them find new audiences.

This is confirmed by consumer research data: over 70% of TikTok users have discovered a small or medium-sized business on the platform in the last six months. This result places it at the top of all popular digital platforms for discovering SMEs. This increased visibility isn't just a statistic—it translates into concrete and measurable business results. The study found that over a third of small and medium-sized businesses on TikTok have acquired new customers or experienced a real increase in sales thanks to their activity on the platform.

When asked about the platforms they used for advertising in the last six months, SME representatives ranked TikTok on par with other, much longer-established social media platforms. At the same time, nearly half of respondents (49%) said TikTok was more effective for their business than other platforms.

"Although TikTok has been on the Polish market for a relatively short time, it is already becoming a crucial sales and promotion support tool for Polish entrepreneurs. The effectiveness of our platform plays a significant role here: every second SME surveyed assessed TikTok as more effective for their business than leading digital platforms that have been on the market for much longer," comments Rafał Drzewiecki, TikTok's country manager for Central Europe.

Responding to consumer needs

At the same time, entrepreneurs admit that the platform has become a source of current knowledge about dynamically changing consumer needs and preferences. This allows them to effectively adapt their strategies and offerings to current trends, without the need to invest in expensive and time-consuming market research. This thesis is again confirmed by the data. 46% of surveyed entrepreneurs admitted that they have used customer feedback from TikTok to create new offerings or update existing products.

Moreover, trends and creative concepts emerging on the platform are driving innovation. Over a third of SMEs surveyed (33%) admitted to having created a specific product or service based on inspiration or a trend they observed on TikTok.

Companies are also modifying their communication efforts. 38% of companies are doing so to more effectively reach Generation Z and Millennials, who make up a significant portion of the platform's users.

"TikTok allows companies to monitor user reactions, gather feedback, and adapt sales strategies to current trends. This is especially important for small businesses that can't afford to invest large amounts of money in expensive advertising campaigns or market research. TikTok provides them with this information in real time," notes Rafał Drzewiecki.

Towards new markets

As the study shows, TikTok can also play a significant role in opening doors to international markets for Polish companies. Considering 2023 data from the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP) and the Central Statistical Office (GUS), which show that a negligible percentage of Polish SMEs export (only 4.9% – 112,100 – sell products outside of Poland, and a mere 0.8% – 18,500 – provide services abroad), the platform proves to be a tool for reaching a global community of consumers.

The opportunities it offers are reflected in the actions of entrepreneurs. The study revealed that nearly one in three SMEs surveyed (30%) decided to start selling their products internationally, inspired by TikTok.

"TikTok can be a great complement to successful international expansion for any type of business. When entering new foreign markets, we've always actively used TikTok as a channel for gaining traffic and generating sales," says Piotr Szyszka, CEO of Tortli.pl, a company that creates personalized gifts.

"There were markets where TikTok was able to generate much better results faster than other marketing channels. And most importantly, it was also very effective in terms of profitability. Thinking about TikTok in the context of your marketing strategy and potential international expansion is a must these days," says Piotr Szyszka.

The platform has also become a key place for consumers to seek reviews and recommendations before making purchases. Nearly 90% of TikTok users in Poland admit to checking other users' reviews before making a purchase. And for over two-fifths of users (over 40%), reviews and ratings are the most important thing when shopping online—even more important than discounts or flexible return options.

Measurable impact on the economy

In addition to the previously mentioned aspects of small and medium-sized businesses' operations on TikTok, their activity on the platform also translates into a significant and measurable contribution to the economy. This impact was examined in the January 2024 report "The TikTok Effect," which analyzed data from five European countries (Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Belgium).

In 2023 alone, SME activity on TikTok contributed €4.8 billion to the GDP of these countries. This activity also had a direct impact on the labor market, creating over 51,000 jobs in the five countries studied.

Equally significant is the direct impact that companies' use of TikTok has on their bottom lines. In these five countries, TikTok helped small and medium-sized businesses increase their sales by €3.5 billion in 2023.

Entrepreneurs also highlighted the relationship-building benefits of using the platform. Seventy-three percent of SMEs using TikTok say it has a positive impact on their ability to build closer relationships with customers and gain direct feedback on their products and services.

The material was created in cooperation with TikTok