Are you looking to improve your business technology?
In this modern age, having the right technology can be a huge boost to your sales, and your operations. But once you’ve gotten the basics, it can be hard to know where to improve from there.
Don’t worry, we’re here to help! Read on for 5 ways you can improve your business technology today.
- Use Email
When it comes to email, it seems we all have a bit of a love-hate relationship. Especially when it comes to business email accounts.
But, whether we like it or not, email is the number 1 way to communicate across our businesses. Whether that’s with our other office across the country, or to our colleague down the hall from us.
It can handle more than communication too. You can use it to set up your diary and organize meetings. It’s also going to be the key tool you’ll need to use for your marketing efforts.
Marketing For Small Businesses
Email campaigns are still the king when it comes to marketing strategies. Marketing is your golden goose, so don’t let it get away. It’s still even more important than social media. Without an email strategy, social media campaigns won’t have as much follow-up reach.
It’s not the spam “buy our product now” emails we’re talking of. It’s about building brand awareness, trust, and a relationship with your audience.
You do this by getting people to provide their email. They sign up for updates, or newsletters, and other fun, helpful campaigns. It’s all about providing useful, relevant information your target audience wants to see.
Use Email to Stay in Touch With Your Staff
You’re a small business now, but I bet you don’t want to be forever. Set yourself up for growth while you’re planning for it.
The best way to grow your small business right now is to engage with your employees. This means you want to get them to connect and invest on an emotional level. A staff that feels involved, as invested in the success of the company will have the drive to get you to your goals.
A great way to achieve this is to email out a monthly staff newsletter. You can share new product/service information and new company updates.
Introduce new staff and have a “get to know” section where you highlight a staff member. Have a monthly activity or competition even and share recognition of employee achievements.
- Conference Calls
In the modern world of business, conference calls are a vital tool at your disposal. Especially as more people are working from home. It’s a cost-effective way to coordinate with colleagues, clients, and partners.
It’s easy to set up and very simple to use. With a few clicks of a button, 30 or more people can link together for an important virtual meeting.
You can access conference suites using any online platform. So, you must have an internet connection. For any unforeseen circumstances, you can reorganize meetings on the go.
With there being no need to travel, there isn’t a chance traffic jams or transport issues will affect them. For those businesses operating in a city, this is often a common delay and disruption. Travel issues are a big cause of productivity loss.
- Data Analytics
Another small business technology you don’t want to miss is data analytics. Data analytics is where you look at the information generated from your business.
It helps you discover customer behavior patterns, market trends, and other non-obvious data. It’s got similarities to big data, but it’s smaller and more focused.
You’re looking at tighter, smaller, more specific types of data. For example, it’ll take 10,000 online purchases and buyer information. It’ll focus on what information these 10,000 entries can tell you.
It provides recommendations on how you can be more efficient and make more profit. The data you’re generating is free. It’s an insight into buyer habits, your target market, and what you’re doing right/wrong. By learning how to use and read this data, you’re making use of a valuable asset you already have.
- Mobility
The days where a 24-48 hour response was the standard practice are over. Consumers now expect a response immediately, wherever you are, whatever the time.
By not being mobile, you’ll likely miss out on time-sensitive opportunities. Invest in small business tech that lets you track staff and business performance on the go.
Most consumers now will use their mobile devices to make online searches. This means their online experience should be seamless on any device.
Your website should have a fully-optimized mobile version that’s easy to use. This will maximize your chance of doing more business.
Whether they’re shopping in-store or on their phone, they should be able to find what they need with ease. And they should get the same level of service.
- The Cloud
Cloud computing lets you access software over the internet. There is no need to develop your own or install anything. It’s also a safe storage place for your data.
For example, take the traditional way of planning for business growth. You buy extra storage, servers, and licenses that you won’t be using straight away. It could even be years before you’re using any of these extra resources.
Scaling your cloud services is simple, easy and you can do it as and when you need it. You’ll get access to extra storage and features when you need them. And if you need to scale back down for a while, you can do that too.
Your provider upgrades or downgrades your package. It’s done in a matter of minutes and the only thing you worry about is meeting the cost. There is no longer a need to pay for services you don’t need or won’t make use of right away.
Business Technology You Don’t Want to Miss
So there you have it! Now you know 5 ways to improve your business technology you’ll be well on the way to improving operations.
Make sure you’re making the most of what you have available. The data you bring in, with the right analysis, can be a huge boon to improving sales and service.
And your emails are more than a communication tool. They’re the key to generating and nurturing leads. It’s important you’re using technology to set yourself up for the future and make the most of today.
If you found this article useful, check out our other posts today.