Growing, adapting and changing are key ingredients to business longevity. If you stay the same, keep your business running as it always has, then eventually it will become outdated and indeed outmatched by other businesses in your area.You need to keep changing and keep moving with the times. Only this way can you ensure your success. A key example is of the internet. So many companies didn’t use it and were destroyed by those who did, with online companies taking a huge share of the market, just look at Amazon, they have changed the business world. You can ensure your business survives, but only by staying abreast of what is going on. There are all kinds of ways you can do this, some easy, others less so. This article, in no particular order, highlights some of the technological innovations out there that can drive your business forward to success, and also some ways in which you can benchmark yourself against others out there too. You may already have some of these installed, but they could give you further ideas to streamline and optimise your business, if you haven’t used some of them consider them and how they can change your business. You could be missing out on a great revenue stream ripe for plucking.
Cloud Computing
Cloud Computing and Is it Really All That Beneficial?
Cloud computing has made leaps and bounds in the last few years, so much so that you are probably using it without realising. Look at things like one drive, google docs, you may even listen to your music from a cloud based provider. Businesses using the cloud have surged too. The benefits are huge and it really puts you in line with the modern world and modern computing. If you use a VPS Server the first benefit you’ll notice is that there is no longer any need for the cumbersome and annoying server tower anymore. You can use the space for something else. You also won’t need to pay people to maintain it or pay the huge fees needed to upgrade it. Everything is stored in the cloud so you don’t need it. It can also help your security. Cloud based servers are harder to hack than physical ones, and are particularly good at protecting you from DDOS attacks. Though there is an issue with people working for the provider being able to access all of your client information. Cloud based servers also increase workforce productivity. This is a major plus because you can access all of your business files from wherever you are. It is great if you are often going out to client bases to do business as you can access everything from wherever you can get the internet. The cloud may not be entirely right for your business, so see how they are compatible before jumping in and signing up. It can be a huge boost, but one that needs to be measured properly.
Exploit The App Market
Here’s Why Your Business Needs Its Own Mobile App
If your business does not yet have an app you should strongly consider it. It can be changed and moulded to suit whatever kind of business you operate. For example, if you own a restaurant customers can use the app to look at the menus on offer and book a table if needed. It is great. It also takes some of the burden off yourself because less people call the business directly and can instead focus on the app. You’ll reach a whole new market of app savvy customers. Make sure the app is developed with a quality development firm. You don’t want it to be glitchy or anything, because you could end up driving customers away and them losing some respect for you and what you do. The app needs to reflect your business perfectly. From the branding, to the colouring. Make sure it is recognisable. Get some people in to test it before you launch it and take their feedback on board. There may be one or two things you had not yet noticed. Once it has launched, pay attention to the reviews. They may highlight issues such as navigation and broken links. You can act on this and make it better. An app will mark you as a forward thinking business who is in touch with the modern market and consumer needs, giving you the best chance of success and keeping you in line with your key competitors.
Social Media
The Top 10 Benefits Of Social Media Marketing
Though not strictly technology, social media can be exploited for your business success. You have probably seen dozens of local and multinational businesses active on it, and you should be too. It can do many things for you. First, you need to create your business page. Upload a picture of your logo and make it the profile picture. Make sure it looks good and not too tacky. From this business page you need to interact with those around you. Post quality content that people can read and get to grips with. In this content there should be links back to your website or specific pages on the website. Ensure the content is good and relevant. Don’t make it similar to clickbait because your reputation will take a hit. If you’re not good at writing and can’t craft quality articles consider hiring a freelancer to do it for you. Using social media gives you a marketing tool while also showing people that your are there, improving your visibility. Millions of people use it, so you can really make the most of it. Don’t forget to use multiple platforms too. Facebook and Twitter are two starting points but you can use sites like linkedin too if you think you can make it pertinent and write good content for it.
New Payment Options
Digital wallets and vein scanners: How we’ll pay for things in the future
If you run a physical company from which people purchase from, like any kind of store or a place where physical payment is exchanged then you should be investing in the newest business software and technology. You should accept all kinds of payment to suit the differing customer bases. The older generations still prefer cash for example, whereas the younger ones are using things like contactless. Make sure your systems enable you to use mobile pay, which caters for people in a rush. You need to use the highest quality of the most modern machines for these facilities, but they are not as expensive as you would have thought and are made affordable by monthly payments or payment upon each usage. The benefits come in other ways too, not only are you keeping the customer base happy with multiple payments, but your workforce will appreciate it because it is much faster. It means they can move to different customers with ease and not have to wait for payments to be processed. Customers will of course like this because of the lack of queues. If you are only accepting chip and pin and cash, then you need to reevaluate and see what you can do to bring your business forward into the modern age.
Stock Control
Advantages & Disadvantages of a Computerized Inventory Management System
You can ensure your stock and inventory are all up to date using inventory management systems. These are useful if you operate out of a warehouse, or if your business is based solely online and you need space to keep your products. With new things coming in and products going out as sales they need to be recorded. As do the mistakes such as unrecorded outgoings or broken products that eat into your profit. With a bespoke inventory management system you can properly record everything and limit the space taken up by paper which you likely used to make your notes on. These systems can save you huge amounts of time and let you see with stunning clarity where the issues are occurring and where you need to focus on to stop profit loss. There are many systems out there, so choose the one that best suits your needs and business.
Analytics
Using Big Data & The Internet Of Things (IoT) to Revolutionize Your Retail Business
Being able to see exactly who is coming into your website is great. It means you can target your advertising. Platforms like Google analytics allow you to see from where people have clicked in from. This means you can see which online advertising is working and what is not. It allows you to pull the advertising that isn’t working and focus on what is. The technology gives you power like never before and stops you wasting torrents of cash on streams you don’t need. It can also tell you from which country people are coming in from, showing where advertising opportunities are. By landing on specific places, you can see what content is working on social media and blogs, so again you can adjust and target your content creation to suit what the analytics are telling you. The control here is huge, and more and more companies are using their own analytics to give them the edge over their rivals. If you use this, you’ll see exactly how you can make a difference. You need your advertising to be on point for the best chances of success otherwise you’re wasting time and money.