Innovate, automate, improve. It sounds like the modern-day mantra of any business that aspires for growth or a clear and dynamic direction toward that goal. Technology aims to easily fill the gaps and streamline the process for the people who will help steer your company on the right path.
The word technology conjures concepts like artificial intelligence, big data, cloud, and other buzzwords, such as cutting-edge, industry leading, and state-of-the-art when referring to software and the like. Given such an attractive language, you need to look beyond the industry-speak and filter the exact purpose of each innovation. More importantly, you have to understand your business’s current needs with a forward-looking stance.
With an understanding of what technologies do and what you need to do, you can unlock tools that produce results and spur growth in the years to come. Here are essential tech trends worthy of investing your business resources into.
Data Repository
Imagine the time and energy spent, as well as the multiple documents or spreadsheets maintained, when you don’t have a centralized database. This single repository can thus manage data and help in reporting and analysis.
For example, in lead generation, the platform can collect data without manually typing anything, provide alerts when a new lead comes in, and assign it to an agent. You can also isolate data about lease and utility costs to make business decisions. Whichever way you develop your data repository, ensure that the contents are secure with a reliable backup.
Live Chatbots
As of July 2019, 4.33 billion people, or 56 percent of the world’s population, were on the internet, according to Statista. You can run your e-commerce and messaging app with chatbots to provide support to site users and visitors.
Chatbots can cover while human personnel is away or between office hours. They can be trained to answer 80 percent of routine questions and reduce service costs by 30 percent, per this IBM blog post. With such “conversation agents” around, customers get a faster response, and human agents focus on the more demanding customer-support queries.
Quality Website
Google remains the best search engine in the world and sets the rules for user experience, including a responsive website. With more than 5 billion people on their mobile devices, primarily smartphones, according to GSMA, your website has to fit their viewing needs or risk a high bounce rate.
Aside from its mobile-friendly design, you may have to look into certain aspects of your website so that users stick around for longer:
- Page load speed
- Content and SEO
- User interface
Apps for Small Tasks
You’d think that no time or energy is wasted in a highly modern office where everything is almost automated or digitized. However, some tasks still slip through the cracks and need intervention:
- A password manager to help keep track of an average of 191 passwords per business employee
- A time-tracking software to account for where the time goes
- An online calendar to plot appointments and meetings
- A to-do list or board to manage tasks on a day-to-day basis
- An app that can connect to other applications to build a workflow
Videoconferencing
Today’s ease of communication is a boon for businesses with an unconventional setup like a remote workforce, investors, and associates. One of the most popular ways to collaborate and interact with anyone anywhere in the world is videoconferencing. You can equip your meeting room with videoconferencing equipment from reputable brands online.
The quality of the video in these conferences is a top consideration. It’s possible to run into other difficulties during the call and waste everyone’s time. Accordingly, brush up your skills on how to set up a videoconference like a pro.
More Tips for Tapping Technology for Business Growth
- Never stop learning and reading up on technologies that will improve and streamline business processes and interactions with your customers.
- Consider the cost of implementation, such as when you adopt AI to your organization and whether the benefits outweigh the cost.
- Cost versus control: develop your website or database scratch for more control, or leverage existing platforms, such as this for selling products, to save on costs.
- Find new ways to sell your products and services while still sticking to your value proposition.
Indeed, it’s no easy feat to grow and sustain a business. The deliberate adoption of technology, however, can move things around faster and connect more profoundly to customers living in the digital age.
