Technology is playing an increasingly important role in every area of our lives. For good or for bad, it is almost impossible to remain unconnected or digitally invisible without affecting your daily life. This is an important factor to consider when looking at your business and trying to find new ways to boost productivity, sales, and profits.
The truth is, technology can be of use to you and your company in such a wide variety of ways that it would be blinkered thinking to assume that it’s not for you. With competition high in every business sector, and the growing ability of consumers to purchase products and services wherever they are in the world, it would be ill-advised for business leaders to neglect to look at the possibilities of technology when it comes to streamlining and improving their business potential.
Here are the best tech resources that you can use right now in order give your business a much-needed boost.
Reduce your travel costs
No matter your industry, chances are that you are going to have to travel on occasion. Whether it’s to discuss setting up a new supplier or to discuss terms of a new business contract, a face to face conversation is much more beneficial than a simple phone call. However, with modern video conferencing resources, it is now possible to have that face-to-face chat without ever leaving your office. This can reduce your travel costs considerably, and if your weekly tasks take you out of the office regularly, then the savings could be huge.
From Skype to iMeet, and even simple Facebook Video Messaging, how you decide to communicate with your business contacts is now your choice.
Your online presence
It can be alarming these days to find a business that doesn’t have a strong online presence. Some companies are still managing their daily business strategies without the benefits of a website.
Although it seems like a basic requirement of a company hoping for success in the digital age, a large number of small businesses still lack a basic website that allows potential customers to view their products. A website is essential, and if you don’t yet have one then now is the time to consider what you want from one. Every business can benefit from a well-designed and easy to use a landing page, and it’s not as difficult as you think to start an online store and attract customers to your product.
A website is no longer a recommended tool that you should be using; it is an essential one.
Going Paperless
You’ve probably already looked at your printer costs and complained. However, even the financial savings made by going paperless can pale into insignificance when you look at the potential time-cost savings as well.
Having a work environment that is dictated by a traditional paper trail is not simply a matter of ink prices and printer maintenance, an office that still uses paper is restricted by the time it takes for an individual to receive, read and sign off on every sheet of A4. The best way to tackle this issue and reduce your running costs is by making the change to document sharing services such as Dropbox or Google Drive. These allow for the instant sharing of word files, spreadsheets, and presentation slides, meaning that your staff and colleagues have immediate access to first drafts, and can even collaborate and edit in real time.
As we all become more aware of the need for sustainability, you can work that to your financial advantage by losing that outdated paper trail that is keeping your business running slowly.
Marketing
You’ve got your branding campaign running smoothly, but it doesn’t seem to be reaching the right people. Perhaps the reason is that you’re not trying to reach those new potential customers in the best way.
You may love or hate social media, but for business owners, it has become one of the most essential tools of their marketing strategy. Social media offers huge potential, and whether you’re aiming to create quality content that encourages sharing, or simply opting to use the social media platform that your target demographic is most likely to be using, your marketing reach can be given a massive boost by a well-planned social media strategy.
