This week Salesforce Research released a special report on benchmarks for small business growth. The report is based on surveys of 3,800 small business leaders around the world, including sales, service and marketing teams, to discover commonalities for success. Here’s a quick look at some of trends revealed and results uncovered.

1. Boosting productivity with mobile

Mobile is no longer restricted to big businesses. It’s a must-have for sales and customer service reps who want to deliver swift, seamless customer experiences. Small businesses expect usage of mobile apps to ramp up in the next two years: mobile app usage for salespeople will grow 140% and customer service roles will see an increase of 219% in usage.

2. Using data and analytics to drive customer decisions

Many small businesses are already leveraging analytics to make data-driven business decisions. The emergence of more user-friendly analytics tools is making it possible for employees of all levels to access reports and dashboards that provide real-time insights. The report finds that 53% of high-performing sales teams are using analytics versus 42% of moderate and underperforming teams.

3. Scaling with marketing automation

Small businesses don’t have the luxury of big marketing budgets, so they need to be strategic in the tools and trends they invest in. Although only 20% of small business marketers currently use marketing automation, another 29% planned to use it in the next twelve months, demonstrating 143% growth. Of those marketers that do use marketing automation, 67% rate it as very effective or effective.

4. Prioritize employee retention

Having a happy workforce is a real priority for small businesses. Companies actively takes steps to ensure they are supporting and engaging their talent, and place a higher value on retention and satisfaction than larger companies  In fact, 42% of small business sales teams report employee retention and satisfaction is extremely important, versus 35% of enterprise.

5. Gaining the competitive edge with new tech adoptions

Having small, agile teams lends small businesses the opportunity to test new technologies faster, without all the headaches of integration. Companies can quickly discover solutions that drive efficiency. It also turns out that marketers are paving the way for tech adoptions at small businesses: 34% of small business marketers identify as heavy tech adopters, versus 29% of sales and 22% of service.

6. Keep the customer at the center of your business

All companies strive to keep customers satisfied across multiple channels and functions. Many small businesses pride themselves on delivering a more personalized experience than their larger competitors. As they grow, they want to maintain that same level of service. High performing small businesses recognize that and empower their service teams to make customers happy by giving service reps an easy way to triage cases, view customer history, and find answers.

Check out some highlights from the report here: