In a world filled with apps, “likes” and an increasing quantity of viral videos, it’s tempting to brush off everything as a phase. After all, brick-and-mortar businesses have been around since the days of chariots. Who really needs fancy gadgets or social networks to make a sale?
The truth is that technology can be a huge boon to your business. From overseas communication to digital marketing strategies, technology can boost your revenue, increase your customer retention and generally just make your business run smoother.
Here are six ways technology can help your business. It isn’t an exhaustive list, of course, but it should be enough to make you reconsider your position on tech.
1. Automation
Whether you’re weary of logging payroll hours or tired of doing all your tax calculations by hand, technology can take some of the drudgery out of your day. There are hundreds of computer programs out there that are specifically designed to make life easier for the busy professional, and that isn’t even counting all the industry-specific software designed to move fast and process faster.
System and application monitoring is one area of a business that can be automated. Having an automated process monitor a system for downtime and then alert an administrator, means that a company does not need to employ someone to just sit and monitor a system, but instead can have that person do other productive tasks.
2. Advertising
If you still look at social media as the domain of teenagers, you’re in for quite a surprise. According to a recent study, more than 70 percent of business-to-consumer (B2C) brands have secured customers through Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Successful businessmen like Ehsan Bayat are signing up for Tumblr. Even Instagram, once considered a network for young people, is turning into a thriving platform for corporations!
3. Accessibility
The Internet has completely changed the way people do business. Instead of being stuck at a desk all day, professionals can now roam freely while still being connected to the office through text, email, video chatting and remote file sharing. They can hold conferences from thousands of miles away; they can sift through documents uploaded to cloud networks. They’re never more than a click away from their company.
4. Communication
Globalization is spreading by the day, and communication is more important than ever. From person-to-person phone calls to machine-to-machine (M2M) data transfers, technology of the 21st century is dependent on the sending and receiving of information. You’ll need to take advantage of this if you want to become a truly modern business.
5. Productivity
Are your employees stuck in a slump? Are you trying to wring more efficiency out of your work day? Consider things like customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise risk management (ERM) software. These are just two ways that technology is improving productivity in offices from New York to New Guinea, and they’re used by businesses of all types and sizes. Both CRM and ERM allow their users to set goals, make strategies and streamline processes that would otherwise slow down their work.
With cloud-based computing, and mobile devices, your employees can now be productive anywhere in the world and at any time.
6. Analytics
If your business has a website, you’ll want analytics software to help manage it. Analytics will tell you who’s visiting your site and where they’re coming from. It will also provide information on demographics, target markets and user statistics. You can then take this data and compare it to your competitors to see which one of you is coming out on top.
When it comes to analytics, just remember that “you can’t improve what you can’t measure.” With analytics you will be able to improve the online strategy for you business based on your visitor information.
These are just six ways that technology can help your business. Whether you’re a traditionalist struggling to catch up to the times, or a young up-and-comer who just needs guidance before creating a startup, these ideas should be enough to start a spark for your company.