Streamline your business using smart systems

< back to all business news articles

26/03/2018

Like most small business owners, you probably wish there were more hours in the day. Or that you didn’t have so many admin tasks to deal with. If you feel like you’re spending more time IN your business rather than ON your business, it could be time to look at how technology could streamline your processes.

Technology’s increasingly essential to business success these days, especially in such a fast-paced, media-driven, online-focused world. Using the right technology can help put you on equal footing with your competitors, and even with big business.

Getting the right technology for your business doesn’t have to be an expensive project.

Getting started

One of the first things to do is ditch any old, out-dated and un-used hardware you might have sitting around. And get your software up to date – forget those old discs lying around and get an online subscription. These solutions are more flexible, sit in the cloud so you can access them anywhere, and if you’re paying a subscription, you always have the latest version.

Then consider the following:

• Social media’s an absolute must. Everyone uses it, it’s cheap (often free), effective and a great marketing tool as well. If you’re not making use of a social media platform, now’s the time to investigate Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and the many others that are available.
• Develop a customer database so you can effectively make use of your sales data. It’s important to track customer behaviour, so that you can predict their needs and tailor your products and services accordingly.
• Consider a virtual workforce, especially if your business isn’t client-facing and your employees could work from home. You might be surprised at just how effective the work-from-home option is, especially as it dramatically cuts down on overheads. It means that you can employ people globally, which is especially helpful if you’re exporting.

Make the move to mobile

People are using their smartphones for everything these days; some business owners run their whole operation on them! This is especially true of their financial records, since cloud-based accounting is so easily accessible through their smartphone. That’s why it’s essential that your website is mobile-friendly. Since April 2015, websites that aren’t mobile-friendly won’t appear in Google listings either. And there’s a simple test you can take to find out if your website meets the relevant criteria. If it fails this test, it’s time to talk to someone about getting your website optimised for mobiles.

An attractive, efficient website

It’s also important to look at ways you can update your website. Your social media should be used to drive traffic towards your site, which promotes your offering. Look at ways you can offer your products via your website, such as an online store. If your business is service-based, consider adding an online booking service to your website.

If you have the necessary skills and experience, you can save money by designing your own website. However getting a professional on board is always a good investment, because they’ll not only design a website that’s professional, attractive and easy to navigate, but they’ll set it up so that it’s just as easy for you to update in the back end.

Summary

Technology in business is constantly evolving – and keeping up with this continual progression is a challenge when your time is at a premium.

Rapid technology change has opened up so many new opportunities for businesses that the task of keeping up can seem quite daunting, but once you’ve identified the best ways to use technology, you’ll find that everything becomes easier, not more difficult.

Not only will making the most of technology streamline your processes and reduce costs, but it’ll also boost credibility in the eyes of your customers.