Technology has become one of the key elements in business. Increasing competition for customers and resources increase becomes more intense daily, making the use of technology in a company to be more important than any other factor in promoting business sustainability. Technology therefore needs to be at work in all areas of operation – from production to financing, planning, customer service management, and marketing. However, many small businesses try to manually carry out some of the necessary functions that many of these operations require, leading to a lack of realisation of the business goals or to getting slower, less precise results unlike what use of relevant technology would provide.
Technology cannot simply be used as a one dimensional tool, but this is very often the case within small businesses. Employing the benefits of technological breakthrough for both daily and once-off events needing major innovative thinking, must be a continuous occurrence to inject constant improvement and support structure for a small business. Therefore, rather than regarding technology as a complex thing, hard to understand and employ in your small business, it is more purposeful to consider it as a necessary process to provide a competitive advantage.
Beneficial Technological Advantages for Small Businesses
On a daily basis, technology has roles to play in supporting and growing your small business. Depending on factors and conditions such as business goals in place, preferred products in use, level of adaptability of both entrepreneur and employees to new systems, technology continues to influence a small business in positive ways. From internet-enabled laptop computers to printers, web-based applications and online file storage.
Important operations such as keeping track of projects, updating team members and clients, delegating tasks, tracking time and sharing real-time documents can be easily carried out using web-based project management programs such as Zoho Projects or Basecamp, for instance. In addition, technology offers the ability to connect instantly, send and get information, the use of e-mail and instant messenger, all beneficial technological advantages for small businesses. More beneficial advantages include:
- Flexible work environments
- Fast connection with employees and customers alike
- Online stores
Flexible Work Environments
The advancement of technology makes it possible for small business owners and their workers to enjoy flexibility of workspace. For employees, they can work from home, on the road or from anywhere in the country. Small business owners have unrestricted access to talent from around the world and are spared the expenses of transporting them to an office for work. A flexible work environment means that employees can work at their own pace, which is beneficial for business because the workers are able to put in their best effort.
Fast connection with employees and customers alike
It has become outdated for business owners to mail customers survey and wait for weeks or in certain cases, months to get feedback from them. Calling customers with information about new products and services is also dated. Small business owners can take advantage of technological platforms such as blogs, social networks, forums and e-mail to reach out to clients fast.
Online Stores
Online shopping increases daily with the possibility of purchasing a variety of goods and services. Technology makes it possible for small business owners to set up online stores where they can market their goods conveniently and also to a much wider range of audience than they can simply with a physical storefront. Online stores can also be used by businesses already set up with storefronts to improve their visibility to their target markets.
Improve your Small Business with Web Based Apps
With advances in technology, businesses are benefitting from different choices as involving the needed resources. Some of such resources include web based apps. Web based apps are computer applications that make use of website in their functioning and these applications can be leveraged to provide effectiveness in different operations necessary for the success of small businesses. With web based apps, employers and employees can have access programs, data and files they need for their work without having to physically go to the office.
Getting Funding
Acquiring capital through loans is one of the keys to the growth of a business. With the growth of technology, a variety of funding sources can be gotten online rather than going from one finance house to the other in order to get funding for your business.
Communication Operations
Every business, both small and large needs communication in order to function properly. Videoconferencing is a great way for small businesses to host online meetings, transmit photos and other important files. Fuze is a good videoconferencing app that can be used with iPads and tablets like the Samsung Galaxy. It is free to download, and easy to setup. Custom pricing can also be negotiated with the company. Another video conferencing app that remains effective and popular is Skype. Small businesses can incorporate it into their communication operations as a way to improve their business.
Time Management
Good time management results in higher effectiveness and productivity. Great time management is probably one of the most useful concepts when it comes to running a successful small business. Bigger companies might enjoy the luxury of time as far as selling products or closing accounts are concerned, but a small business which is just getting started can break down as a result of poor time management. Spending more time on one thing than on another could make the difference between whether a client chooses to stay or go with another company. A small business might not be as able as a large business to take such a loss in stride.
Using technology to make more effective use of time in a small business has never been easier. With efficient web applications such as RescueTime, you can accomplish more in a shorter period of time.
Technology greatly simplifies all the processes involved in operating a small business. Applying the appropriate systems will provide needed support and growth.
Contributed byhttps://www.lendgenius.com
