Living in a digital age where the pace of technological growth is staggering, it also has a powerful and transformative impact, particularly for small businesses. Quite recently, small businesses would not be able to afford high-end equipment or software maintenance. Fortunately, today’s technological advancement and innovations help to level the playing field for small business owners and streamline their daily operations.
Take a look at these areas where technology can optimize your business, increase productivity, and drive growth.
Cloud work
Forget expensive IT servers, on-premises software and bulky hardware. Cloud computing has now become a popular model for small businesses. Increasingly, software vendors no longer even offer a desktop version. Their products are now mostly only available in the cloud, so you just need to sign up online. This inexpensive and flexible method makes them ideal for small businesses. You don’t have to pay for installation, for someone to come and update the software, for expensive backup systems and servers. It is flexible and scalable, which is paramount for small, growing businesses. You can access it from anywhere, anytime, and from any device.
There are other one-stop solutions, such as Google’s G Suite, which will provide you with a package of standard and advanced features: Email, Drive, Calendar, Docs, Sheets and Slides. You might also consider Microsoft’s Office 365, which gives you cloud-based access to Office, Outlook, and OneDrive.
Use Social Media
It is imperative for any business to develop an effective social media strategy. It can help you build brand awareness, build connections, engage with your current customers, and grow your customer base. Social media can also help you drive traffic to your website and provide a platform for selling and advertising on all major channels. For example, the Facebook Shop will allow you to publish a product catalogue on your page, whereas Facebook Messenger can be used as a means of communication with customers. On Instagram, you can post for sales in the same way. So, perhaps reading this and wondering if you need a website if on social media you can advertise, sell your product and interact with customers at the same time.
Our answer is yes. You need a website.
Create a Great Website
It is incredibly important to have a “home base” from which all your social accounts can link back. Your website is the backbone of your business, which could put you a step ahead of your competition.
You will ask why?
Having a well-made website gives the impression that you are credible, professional and ready to do business with all kinds of customers. If your business sits in a particular niche, having a website is an excellent opportunity to build your reputation as an authority and expert in your field. It improves your SEO ranking! When you search through sites like Google or Yahoo, you will be given a list of websites upon your request. You can apply SEO tactics to your company website to improve its rankings on those search engines and increase your website traffic. Indeed, the rising number of website visitors is good, but gaining customers is even better! Having a well-optimized website, you can promote the growth of potential leads to call, sign up, or purchase your service.
Email marketing
A well-executed email campaign can raise awareness of your brand, personalize your sales message, attract new customers, retain the ones you already have, and increase your sales.
First, you need to find email marketing software, as these programs will enable you to create and send professional emails to your customer database. Many of them will be integrated with online shopping platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce. And some, like ActiveCampaign, will also be involved in marketing and CRM automation.
Nurture Your Clients
Not so long ago, CRM systems were available only for strong and large companies. They were pretty expensive and difficult to use. But today, thanks to the cloud, companies of all sizes can take advantage of the benefits of CRM.
So what do CRM systems do? This is not just your electronic notebook where you can record your customers’ names and emails. Instead, it helps businesses keep customer contact details up to date, track every customer interaction, and manage customer accounts. These systems offer complete mobility and help you maximize and optimize your interactions with your customers, build more effective relationships, and improve your customer experience.
Collaboration
A recently published report by McKinsey & Company concluded that effective collaboration could increase business productivity by 20-30%. Luckily for entrepreneurs, there are many technology tools for small businesses to help make collaboration more manageable and convenient.
Communication apps like Slack allow people in your organization to chat and share files. Project management tools like Trello make it easy to collaborate on multiple projects. You can organize and track your work, assign tasks, receive notifications, and more.
Video conferencing applications such as Skype, Zoom, Google Mitsubishi are perhaps the main communication tools, especially recently due to the increasing popularity of remote work. You can record calls, collaborate on documents, create public and private group chats, and much more.
Improved Customer Service
Customers are vital to the business. Therefore, it makes sense to do whatever you can to improve their experience.
You probably already have a Facebook business page, but have you considered Facebook Messenger a communication tool with customers? Messaging is the second most popular form of communication for customers when interacting with companies.
You can use it to raise awareness and provide responsive customer service, and for this purpose, worth mentioning the rising popularity of chatbots today. These new conversational bots communicate like real people and respond to a specific customer request. They are programmed with emotional intelligence, and therefore, they can show empathy and even sympathy if the client is dissatisfied with the product or service provided. They are so smart that they can even adapt their choice of words, expressions and tone of voice to any situation.
Manage your money
As an entrepreneur or small business owner, you understand all too well how vital cash flow is to your business.
Today’s industry provides access to easy-to-use, affordable solutions to help you manage your cash flow, grow your customer base, and ultimately grow your business. Now you can manage your money as your larger competitors do.
Small business technology tools like QuickBooks and Xero give you a complete picture of your financial performance. A single app to help you manage your accounts payable and receivable, create invoices, view balances, profit and loss, and view complete transaction history.
Since cash flow is a significant concern for small businesses, the importance of financial software cannot be overstated.
Let the Small Business Technologies Work for You
Today’s digital age provides many technology tools and optimal solutions for small businesses that can truly help you grow. From chatbots to finance and email marketing. Whatever your problem areas, there are likely to be technological solutions to help you.
Small business technology is great, but if you need help from the outside in any of the above areas, it’s time to consider looking for a virtual assistant!
