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Technology has become a large component of growth in many aspects of our lives, and utilizing technology is only becoming more important over time. The impact of technology can be seen across industries, from home appliances to communications and much more. Growing a small business is also now easier than ever thanks to small business technology. Through this technology, some small businesses no longer need to rent a physical office or business center to transact business, negotiate, or sell. The only true requirements for all small businesses these days are a good online presence and online strategy.

The use of social media, yet another product of technology, has now evolved beyond personal communication. Smart business owners are beginning to take advantage of the fact that a good percentage of their prospective clients are online, and as such, are moving their sales and marketing strategies to online platforms in a bid to attract the relevant audience.

Branding and marketing have always been the best bet for business owners who are looking to attract a large number of potential customers. Digital technology has made this easier by concentrating these customers on a single platform. This concentration gives business owners an opportunity to sell their brand and market their products to specific, carefully selected audiences who are most likely going to be interested in purchasing them. These digital platforms are cheaper and easy to utilize and manage, and they improve brand visibility, so they generally produce more results than traditional methods.

If you’re a business owner and you haven’t considered taking advantage of technological advancements via digital platforms to improve business growth and brand visibility, you’re missing out on something really big.

Ways in which technology has transformed small businesses for the better

We have taken time to outline the various means by which technology has helped (and is still helping to grow) small businesses. We hope that you find them useful:

  • Cloud-based inventory: Once your business begins to gain traction, you may find you need to run a lot of computer applications to keep things going. Operating and maintaining these applications can be tasking as well as mentally and financially draining. However, thanks to the technological intervention of cloud features, small businesses can reduce the number of software applications they have to operate while experiencing ease in collecting, storing, and backing up data files. Cloud features also help businesses access and transfer data from any geographic location within seconds. A few of our favorites incorporate point of sale and inventory capabilities, and they are:
  • Business Analytics and Planning: Technology has also provided a means for businesses to analyze engagements and gain insight into the performance of a business over a certain period. This, in turn, helps the business owners to understand the efficacy of the business strategies employed, aiding them to plan better and re-strategize for better results.
  • Time management: Technological innovations have made business operations less time consuming, thereby giving business operators the opportunity to channel their time into more productive activities. With technology, businesses can be more efficient, getting more tasks done in less time. A couple of great options:
  • Ease in Communication: This is undoubtedly the most glaring importance of technology in business. Technology has drastically improved communication so much so that some employees now work remotely from the comfort of their homes and no longer need to commute to collocated business locations all the time. Communication between customers and businesses have also been made easier. You can communicate with your clients about new products and services by simply sending targeted emails and newsletters to them.  Some great ways a good unified communications system can help your business:
    • Utilizing an auto-attendant to connect customers or let customers get information without talking to a live person (such as hours of operation or current promotions)
    • Voicemail to email so you can manage your business on the go
  • Digital Marketing: One area that has also been touched by technology is the area of digital marketing. Digital marketing has proven to be more beneficial in aiding brand visibility and sales than the traditional methods have been. Through the use of social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, among a host of others, business owners are able to strategically narrow down their audience to target those who are in need of the products or services rendered.

This ensures that products and services are marketed to specific people who have a higher tendency of becoming customers in the long run rather than marketing to a crowd of people who may not need your products. Some great ones to try are:

  • Cloud Applications: Today’s cloud-based applications allow users to access powerful tools without having to spend a lot of money upfront.  In most cases, you can pay by the user. These applications cover everything from payroll, HR, storage and virtual servers, and more.  Here are a few that we like:
    • Gusto:  www.gusto.com is a turnkey benefits and payroll solution
  • Guest Wi-Fi: Perks like guest Wi-Fi are offered to clients and potential clients to ensure that they are connected to the Internet whenever they are within the vicinity of your business. Internet connectivity is important to everyone in this age and time, and it serves as a very good incentive and bait to ensure that your clients visit your premises often, thereby increasing sales.  Make sure you get a good wireless router that will make all the difference in the strength of your network, ability to setup multiple networks, and connect as many devices as you need.
  • Cost effectiveness and Revenue – Maximization: Technological advances are relatively cheaper than traditional methods, and help businesses to achieve more with less expenditure. Money that would have otherwise been expended in more operational activities is saved and can instead be reinvested into developing business potentials and improving growth.
  • Security: New technology helps to prevent intellectual property and copyright theft that many business owners have had to deal with in the past. Business owners can now take active steps to limit plagiarism. With encryption, two-way authentication features and installation of application software like firewalls, you can rest assured that sensitive business data will be kept private and protected from the prying eyes of black hat hackers. New technology also provides a shield from other vices of modern-day computing such as Trojans and viruses.  A few good ones:
  • Implementing Communication Technology in businesses helps foster teamwork: Various activities can now be carried out at the same time through the help of technology, which also helps to build a good business culture among team members. Technology is very important today and its benefits are exhaustive. Serious-minded business owners must consider various technological solutions and utilize their choices to achieve business growth and development as well as maximize profit.

Some other things to consider:

Expanding your small business will require intelligence and perseverance, of course, but we truly believe the technology we’ve listed will aid in your growth efforts and make things that were once extremely complicated quite simple. From helping you manage your time to keep your network secure, proper utilization of business technology will give you the best foundation on which to succeed.

Published On: December 9, 2019

About iRis Networks

We deliver the fiber-based, next-generation network and infrastructure businesses need. We’re bringing ultra-high-speed voice, data and Internet solutions to over 250 communities, reaching across Tennessee and parts of Alabama, Georgia and Kentucky.

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