In this digital age, it’s amazing how technology can help level up and boost your business. But the sheer number of options available might make small business owners hesitate whether they should switch to digitizing parts of their business operations. If using a pen and paper to keep track of certain things has always worked (albeit rather messily at times), why change, right? If you’re on the fence about exploring the digital world and how technology can help make things easier for you, think of the following benefits of digitizing your business.
Using digital tools such as Google Alerts can help notify you when people give online feedback regarding your business, be it negative or positive. Having an online platform such as a website allows you to interact with a broader target audience. Using project management software ensures you and your people manage your responsibilities well, meeting target deadlines on time and improving internal processes. Having an online space to collaborate and share files means no more searching for a specific document and wasting time and resources on contacting people and playing detective. Knowing how to utilize social media could mean leveling up your marketing strategy to a whole different ball game.
If the reasons above have piqued your interest and you’re wondering how exactly you can achieve these business upgrades, consider the following tips.
Ensure You Have an Online Presence
First and foremost, you want people to be able to find you—online. Even if you have a minimal target audience, people may not be aware you exist if you don’t show up on Google. This means making a website (if you don’t have one already) or modernizing your pre-existing website. You will also want to make sure people can actually reach you via the contact numbers or email addresses you’ve posted. Answering promptly will also help keep your customers and potential customers happy and satisfied. If you haven’t already, make social media accounts so people can find and contact you more conveniently. If you want people to avail of your services, you have to put yourself out there.
Upgrade Your Communications
Quick question—how much are you spending on your phone bill every month? If your business-related calls are costing you dollars, perhaps it’s time to try something else. Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP is a technology that allows you to make calls over the internet, drastically lowering call rates and saving you from a ton of phone bills every month. Another perk of shifting to a VoIP service is that these providers allow you to have multiple calls at once, such as group calls or conference calls. Additional services such as fax, voicemail, call waiting, and call forwarding can be added to whatever package you decide to avail of.
Make an App
If you’ve already gotten your website and social media up and running and are utilizing them very well, it’s time to consider the next step—apps. Creating your own business app allows you to build your brand, helps you interact even better with customers, and encourages customer loyalty through special promos and discounts you can offer via your app. Partner up with an Android application developer, level up your digital marketing efforts, and broaden your business horizons.
Streamline Your Processes
A lot of time (and money) can be wasted when tasks and schedules are not organized. Deadlines are missed, deliveries delayed or misplaced, services not delivered as promised. And all these minor delays can build up into one big snowball that ends up with negative feedback and your business getting a bad reputation. Since customer trust is an integral part of ensuring your business succeeds, it is vital to ensure that everyone working with you is on the same page. This is where technology can help. To make everything more organized, utilize project management software with built-in spreadsheets that allow everyone to know where everyone currently is on a project and what the next step is. Make use of cloud software to ensure that all the important files and information needed can be accessed with the click of a button.
Invest in Cybersecurity
Lastly, make sure to protect all the data you have online. This means investing in cybersecurity to prevent security breaches, system failure, or data loss—all of which will cost you money. Take precautions against hackers, phishers, and other people out to get your digital information or that of your customers. Develop an effective IT risk management plan that can identify and assess risks, develop ways to prevent or minimize these risks, and then have an incident response and contingency plan in place. Use a virtual private network (VPN) for your business to ensure you have a secure network connection even while using public Wi-Fi.
Final Thoughts
In a world of constant digital transformation, businesses need to level up and invest in the latest technological innovations to keep up with the cutthroat competition. With the tips mentioned above, you can rest assured that your business stays ahead of competitors and that your investments yield high returns.