The economic climate has been tough recently for businesses with the pandemic and associated recession. While the big fish in the pond – like Amazon and Google – are mostly unscathed and have even thrived, small businesses are still recovering and have their work cut out for them. Fortunately, technology is the great equalizer, as the Guardian can concur, and can give your business a much-needed shot in the arm.
Below, the expenseRegister team – behind the simple but powerful business accounting utility of the same name – offers 4 tech tips to give your business a boost. Don’t worry – you don’t need to be a tech genius to implement any of them. All tips are easy to use and beneficial to everyone, regardless of your tech comfort level.
About 30.8% of business is now happening online, reports IBISWorld , with a 27.9% rate of growth in 2020. In the future, it could well be the majority. And frighteningly enough, less than 64% of small businesses have a website right now!
Your first step should be to set up (and polish) your virtual presence. It’s a basic but necessary first step – and a surprisingly effective one at that. It allows you to both be more accessible and find more customers. For best results, try to make it so customers can do business with you fully online, from payment to after-sales support. They’ll love you for the convenience and for saving them time.
Technology can be used to automate some work tasks, boosting efficiency and saving you significant time and money. Automation doesn’t necessarily have to be complex – it can be as simple as having your computer email a response to customer inquiries or having a virtual "bot" answer frequently-asked customer questions.
Some must-have automation tool ideas:
Tech can be as much about form as it is about function. It can make your business look good and more professional, and thereby more appealing for customers. Some ways to beautify with tech are creative web design, setting up a virtual office (and phone number), uploading high-quality photos and videos, and branding.
Your brand is your calling card and the face of the company. As such, it’s important to get the theme right to project a credible image. A beautiful logo is the key to your branding efforts. To save costs, you can design logos online free yourself (using technology!). It’s as easy as picking a template, typing in some text, adding in colors, and customizing it to your preferences.
One of the biggest advantages of technology is lightning-quick communication. It can facilitate instant interaction with customers externally and employees internally, allowing for smoother interactions, location-free connections, and time saved for everyone.
Simple tools like email and social media can allow you to network, find more clients, and interact with them. An email marketing campaign can be a powerful tool to find new customers or to engage with existing ones. A customer management system (CRM) allows you to organize and optimize customer interaction. Lastly, collaboration tools allow you to work with your team and stay on the same page seamlessly.
You must make it easy for people to find you, trust you, and do business with you before you concern yourself with complicated tech-related technologies and strategies. Having a firm foundation in place is everything, and even the basics can give you terrific results when leveraged correctly.
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