Technology investments to consider as you grow your Business
Building your team:
Investing in the right technology at the right time is crucial to the successful development of your company. From improving the efficiency of day-to-day tasks to aiding your growth and success – your small business can truly flourish with just
a few simple changes.
Ways to develop technology as your business grows
1. A smooth website
Having a first-class website will do wonders for your business. It presents your business as legitimate and professional, allowing customers to place their trust in your product or service, and helping to build a trustworthy reputation.
Regardless of what sort of product you’re selling, or what kind of business you’re running, a user-friendly site is crucial. How many times have you been on a website and become frustrated at how confusing the layout is? Or when you’re bombarded with popups every five seconds? An intuitive website must be simple, clear, and look good and be easy to use on mobile devices – enabling customers to navigate smoothly on whatever device they’re using. It’s wise to regularly take a step back and consider if your website is representing you in the best light or if it’s time for an update. Compare it to your competitors’ sites to see how your website stacks up.
2. Embrace social media
Whether you love it or hate it, social media is here to stay, and for many businesses it is an excellent tool to drive traffic to your site and increase those sales. By using Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or even TikTok, you can create a loyal brand following by simply posting engaging content, such as sharing customer reviews or competitions. You can even post about your latest flash sale or any new products available; it’s a quick way to get the word out there. Plus, a social media presence humanises your brand, and allows you to connect to a global audience.
It’s not right for every business and can require a lot of time investment but you need to be where your potential customers can see you and for many businesses that means having a presence on social media.
3. Develop an app
Apps have the potential to reach millions of users on both Android and smartphone devices. Not every business needs an app when a good quality website would do the job but designing your very own app for your business scan be a critical step for digitising your services. Not only that, but an app will also give you more information about its users (your customers).
Once your app is installed on a smartphone or tablet, a user can allow ‘push notifications, which means you can send information directly to their mobile devices such as promotions or discounts. This can motivate customers into purchasing and increase conversion rates. Conveniently, a customer wouldn’t necessarily need to be connected to Wi-Fi to receive notifications – so they won’t miss a thing.
4. Make remote working permanent
As you’ve probably found in the past year remote working has a lot of advantages and if you’ve had empty workspace, you’ll be more aware than ever of its expenses. Even if you work in a small office space or share a larger one, costs can take a chunk out of your yearly earnings. Being flexible with mobile working long-term could help lower office space rent and office furniture fees which could be especially useful for smaller businesses in their first few years.
Courtesy of the flexible nature working from home offers, you may even find that there’s an increase in productivity. A Global Workspace Survey confirms they found an 85% increase in productivity in businesses.
Knowing when to upgrade your internet connection
If you and your staff are working remotely you should strongly consider implementing a cloud storage solution, these facilitate collaborative working and easy shared file access. And if you’re making more video calls, and uploading and downloading large files upgrading your broadband is an easy way to make an immediate impact to working efficiency which impacts every employee. Meaning quick, reliable communication with your customers and a better level of service for them.
We help over 25,000 UK businesses get the most out of their broadband. If you think it is time for an upgrade visit our business broadband page.
Planning your business tech strategy
There are plenty of tech avenues to go down, and planning what you do next can be a big decision. Make sure you know what your business needs, and understand your brand’s tone of voice. The last thing you want to do is misjudge a social media post
or develop an app that’s less convenient than your website.
Be conscious of how your customers behave and how they can benefit from your strategy. What can they gain from this? Hopefully, the technology you decide to optimise will not only streamline your working life, but also improve customer feedback.
We have business experts on hand to help you determine how technology could help your business take the next step. Call us on 01706 902 000 and we’ll be happy to help you assess what you need and propose the best solutions for you.
What next?
Already found some issues you’d like to resolve with your business’s broadband, connection or network? We’re here to help. Take a look at our helpful article around switching your digital services - or get in touch with a member of our team for free advice and a tailored approach to your business’s digital requirements. For more information about tech and business, you can find plenty of other useful resources at the ThoughtHub.
