5 technology areas which have the potential to grow your business

Added by Love Business East Midlands | 6 February 2016

UPDATED: 10 February 2016

Businesses today have an unprecedented array of technology tools at their disposal which can help them to grow. Whether you’re a fledgling start-up or a well-established firm looking for cost-effective ways of growing your business and expanding influence, digital technology has provided businesses with smarter ways of working and evolving. 

 

 

1: Get organised with productivity tools

How many work hours are wasted a week because you can’t find the information you’re looking for, or because you have to navigate through endless files and directories to reach your end goal. Distractions not only cost your employees the time that they spent, but also in diminished concentration and productivity when they return to the task in hand.

In fact, according to David Rock, author of ‘Your Brain at Work’, “distractions eat an average 2.1 hours a day…after an interruption it takes [employees] 25 minutes to return to the original task.”

Everything from notes, sales statistics and the contact details of customers and suppliers and the latest version of your business plan- should be accessible in seconds. By getting better organised via digital tools you can increase the productivity of your organisation, and the time you save can be spent on growing your business further.

2: Digital Marketing

Today though it’s not enough to simply have a website, and by tapping into social media, you can reach your customers directly and build valuable relationships with them. Email marketing has the power to reach directly into people’s inboxes and communicate your brand.

Target communities online, trust and awareness is built over time and over a breadth of channels. Digital marketing lets you measure just how effective your efforts are. E.g. where do your website visitors come from, and how can that information help you tweak your SEO and ad campaigns to get better results? Search engines, social media and email marketing are the main ways in which digital technology has enabled businesses to grow. Giving you the power to market to all corners of the planet at a relatively low cost. 

3: Data is key to effective marketing

Use large public data sources to figure out where (what demographics, countries, etc.) your company has the most potential. This can inform your branding, product design, market positioning, etc. And digital marketing lets you measure just how effective your efforts are. E.g. where do your website visitors come from, and how can that information help you tweak your SEO and ad campaigns to better target potential customers?

4: E-commerce is about simplicity for the customer

Make it as easy as possible for your customers to buy and pay. The number of sites that contain too many attempts to up-sell or make the checkout process difficult. If your customer has started the checkout process you want to put as few barriers as possible in front of them that could cause them to leave.

5: Learn how to automate

If too much of your time is being spent on tasks that could be automated, it pays to figure out a technological solution. Technology can empower your organisation, helping you improve efficiencies and even expand operations. But use technology that speeds you up rather than slows you down. A good example is integrated cloud based accounts with automated bank feeds and invoicing. So can quickly and accurately run  weekly and even daily profit and loss statements, see how you’re doing in real-time and make any tweaks.

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