Does your business feel outdated? We live in the digital age, and employees and customers expect a certain level of modernity. Lagging behind the times is not merely an inconvenience to the people who work for and transact with you, but it can cost you new opportunities.
While technology can be convoluted and is frustrating at times, implementing new tools in the right ways can dramatically improve your business operations and the number of customers you connect with. Are you ready to step up to the next level? Here’s how you can use technology to do so.
Make your employee’s lives easier
Are your employees stuck carrying out tedious tasks? These tasks might be necessary, but your employees’ talents are being squandered when they could be learning new things and helping you improve the business. Activities like bookkeeping, emailing, posting on social media, tracking inventory, and more are all processes that can be automated now, so why not let technology take care of these aspects while your employees supervise the tools and interact with customers?
For example, there is software available that makes accounting easy. Instead of relying on outdated paperwork and calculating everything manually, using online tools can track your sales automatically, calculate your net gain, make projections for the future, help you navigate your tax obligations, and monitor your expenses.
You and your employees don’t have to bang your heads against the door anymore in frustration; technology frees up your time to focus on other things.
Improve customer service
Technology can impress your customers, both online and in-person. Most people don’t carry cash on them anymore, so consumers appreciate it when they can pay with credit cards, digital wallets, ACH payments, and other methods. Using an ePOS system at checkout gets people in and out faster, and no one likes having to wait to pay.
Another example of using technology to improve customer service is integrating chatbots into your website. Many people prefer not to call a business when they have a question or request, so chatbots can answer those questions and perform basic tasks on your behalf.
When people visit your site, they will see a small conversation box that they can interact with. They’re quick, easy, and can be programmed to sound friendly, so customers will feel welcomed.
Retaining customers is essential for any small business’s survival. While you want to reach new ones, of course, you want to cater to your reliable and loyal regulars. Asking them to fill out paper surveys is inconvenient; instead, send them a link to an easily completable survey and ask them to write an online testimonial.
Make data-driven decisions
Data tools can provide you with unprecedented insight into how your business is performing. When you know what works, you know what to keep doing—and when you know what isn’t working so well, you can adjust your business strategy accordingly.
For example, ePOS systems don’t just make checkout easy; they collect data and can compile them into digestible reports. They can track sales patterns, how many people enter the store, how many items each of them purchase, and other metrics that will help you understand what your customers want.
Don’t run your business with guesswork. If something is wrong, management tools will help you understand the problem fast. Your perception of something might differ from what the numbers say.
Enhance your security
How safe are your virtual assets? Cybersecurity is an area you can’t afford to be behind on. Your finances and data could be at stake—and more importantly, depending on your business type, your customers’.
It’s imperative to continuously improve your cyber infrastructure to protect yourself from potential attacks and to assure your customers that transacting with you is safe. Both you and your customers deserve peace of mind.
Your cybersecurity infrastructure will also help bring you more opportunities. Consumers are rightfully wary of doing business with companies whose security is lacking, so they gravitate towards those that take extra precautions. Information security is an investment as well as a safeguard.
Invest in the best possible IT support
Hand over the IT hassle and free up your valuable time to do what you and your company does best. Every successful business, small, medium or large, needs professional IT support that solves issues efficiently and with skill.
With the right IT firm on board, technology can actually become a true asset to your business by helping to increase productivity, enhancing customer service and ultimately reducing your cost base.
Spread the word
Marketing is an essential part of running a business, but it’s a very nebulous practice. There’s no tried-and-true formula to spread the word that you exist and are better than your competitors – but there are a few strategies and practices that have proven effective, and most of them involve technology.
Upgrade your SEO strategy so that you appear on search engines when people look for keywords related to your industry. Automate social media posts so that you can catch people’s attention without sitting on different platforms all day.
Curate content that you are interested in and share it with your followers so that you establish your presence in your field’s online space. TV commercials and print ads aren’t as effective as they used to be; you need to adapt.
The world is changing, and your business will suffer if you don’t keep up with advancing technology. You do not have to overwhelm yourself with the fanciest new tools, but technology in the right places can take your business to the next level.
