The internet has created a new world for businesses, one that is more connected and gives smaller businesses more opportunities to expand. The market is no longer dominated by big corporations and the increasingly connected landscape has encouraged SMEs to think bigger and better.
Here are ways that SMEs can utilise the internet to grow their business. In the second point, it will focus particularly on how logistics companies are using the internet/technology to think bigger.
Meet Clients Worldwide and Internationally
If you plan to expand your business internationally, you can save time and money on business travel by meeting your potential clients via an online video service such as Skype. With this, you can hold meetings and conferences over the internet, as well as sharing files and sending instant messages. Business communication is now easier than ever and can be accessible from any of your mobile or desktop devices.
With video calling, small businesses now have the opportunity to break into international markets, even if they don’t have the same resources as large corporations.
Work More Efficiently
The internet has provided businesses with the tools to cut their costs and run more efficiently. They can using the internet to simplify processes within their business, whilst also cutting costs. For example, your business can easily calculate any postage costs with an online calculator, such as the one from My Parcel Delivery. Then, delivery all around the world can be arranged and paid for at the click of a button.
How about moving your everyday business to the cloud? As well as helping to decrease the power-usage and the maintenance required on your business hard-drives, moving to the cloud gives will give your business increased flexibility and better collaboration. Your employees can all access the same files and information, from across different offices in different countries.
Telematics. GPS and satellite tracking is a great tool being used by companies to optimise their delivery fleet’s performance. Tracking your delivery fleet will help your business cut costs, monitor drivers for responsible driving, and cut down and optimise on delivery routes. Allowing for higher efficiency on performance and quicker turnabouts. This also can benefit customers too! As it means delivery companies can provide customers with a more specific ETA and can pick up and address any last-minute requests or queries.
Put Your Customers First!
In a customer satisfaction survey held by the Institute of Customer Service in 2016, consumers across all age ranges said they were willing to pay more for higher levels of customer service.
You can utilise your business’s website and social media channels to improve your customer service offer. By having this direct link to your customers, you can answer queries and respond to complaints easily and immediately. Using emails/texts to keep customers informed of their order’s delivery status. You can let them know when the order has been processed, shipped, and the estimated time of delivery. Some couriers even let you know the name of the driver who will be delivering. Additionally, if an item must be dropped off and no one is in, you can send a delivery notification of where the item has been left or, whom to contact. You can also advertise any promotions or offers on these platforms and potentially reach customers from all over the world. On the back of this, apps have been set up and developed to allow customers to have this level of control and say in their delivery.
Set your sights high when planning to expand your small business. There are a number of tools that you can utilise on the internet that will help you to think big and give you the means to expand your business into other countries. Be sure to keep in mind that technology and the use of the internet will continue to play a key role in business expanding and going bigger.
