It’s already well-known that technology is improving lives across the world, lifting millions out of poverty, and helping people to work together, communicate and collaborate. In business, there are hundreds of technological tools and solutions to issues that have affected workers and managers for years – but choosing the right software can still be difficult. That’s why this guide looks at the 6 ways in which technology can boost your business, making it more efficient and increasing your profit margin while reducing the amount of dull and unrewarding work performed by your staff.
1. HR
In smaller businesses, there’s often no HR department. That’s understandable, seeing as HR tends to be something that’s only required if a firm has a certain number of employees. Those firms that lack an HR representative tend to overlook certain tasks and responsibilities that workers appreciate – like support, the organization of paid leave, and other internal services. So technology that manages all of these HR tasks can be a huge help for the morale of your team while giving you more time to focus on management and less focusing on paying wage slips and green-lighting vacations. Search for this technology to make your firm kinder and more responsive to its employees. You can also use a simple CRM software to effectively manage your team and increase productivity.
2. Customer Services
Most firms require a customer service professional, and larger firms tend to require an entire team to manage their external communications with clients and customers. This is a normal aspect of running a business, but it tends to be one that’s both time-consuming and costly. Instead, technology can help you save cash on wages while providing a better experience for your customers. A virtual receptionist can help you answer and manage incoming calls, while a chatbot on social media or on your website can help direct customers to the correct worker who will then manage or answer their query in far less time.
3. Finances
If you’re running a startup or a small business, you’ll know that the management of your finances is everything. Without a sound financial plan, including provisions made for cash flow and liquidity, you might find that, in tougher months, it’s difficult to access the finance you need to run your firm. There are plenty of apps and software solutions in this space to take advantage of – including virtual accountants, who will help you to take a real-time look at how your finances are looking while setting aside cash for tax payments, loan repayments, and wage obligations.
4. Marketing
The world of marketing has changed dramatically in the past 20 years. A couple of decades ago, digital marketing hadn’t even been conceived. Now it’s the dominant form of marketing. As such, in this space, there’s a great number of technological tools that’ll help you automate or arrange your marketing output. There are automated email providers that provide analytical reports of their progress and impact. Targeted advertising firms help show your messages to the customers that mean the most to you. Meanwhile, simple yet impressive design apps can help you create compelling marketing materials online without the need to hire a professional designer or animator.
5. Website
All businesses need a website in order to generate more customers and build brand recognition and reputation. Not all websites are created equal, though, and some firms are still running with clunky websites that feel as if they’re relics from the internet’s early, less aesthetically developed days. If your website is due a rehash or a total redesign, look to tools that’ll help you build one yourself. Templates and click-and-drag elements are incredibly easy to implement on website-building platforms, enabling you to create a stunning website without breaking the bank by hiring a web developer of your own.
6. Remote Work
As we’ve all discovered in the pandemic, it’s perfectly possible to run a profitable enterprise without ever meeting your workers or colleagues in person. Remote work is now something that many firms are adopting as a cost-saving strategy, seeing as it negates the need to pay for office space. All this remote work, or hybrid work, is enabled itself by technology, which has for years helped firms communicate and collaborate across space and time. Whether you’re interested in using the most modern co-working apps, or you’re looking for the best conference-calling software, there’s plenty of technology out there to help your team connect and collaborate when they’re working from home.
Technological change is one of the main drivers of business productivity. Harness the above tools in order to grow your business, making it more efficient and competitive in your given market.
