Businesses provide modes of earning to several people associated with it, including the owner. If you see around you, virtually everyone is associated with one business or the other, including yourself. You may not directly be running a business, but you might be assisting someone else conducts theirs. Businesses can range from multinational corporations to a small food outlet in your street. Whether small or large, both would always want to expand to increase their profit unless they think they are earning enough, well, which is rarely the case. There are various methods used around the world through which businesses can expand themselves. This is why people study for business-related degrees in college, right? To help a business grow not only requires following the same old entrenched standard operating procedures but also demands innovative ideas. As technology has taken over almost every aspect of our lives, businesses have to procure them too to exploit the endless opportunities they now present. As not everyone is “tech-savvy” or in other words able enough to use the technology, these ideas have to be introduced to business owners to help them thrive.
Nobody can disagree that expanding business has the most rudimentary requirement of investing more money. And unmistakably, when you do not have the capital for investment, you will go for acquiring business loans. When you think about business loans, your mind instantly thinks of a bank, right? But behold! As technology has progressed, there are many online options accessible too, and they give an option to compare business loans and choose the one best suited for your necessities. However, this is not the only use of technology that is available. Sometimes, even doing little things that would not require you to invest too much will take you a long way. Keep reading to know more.
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Increase social media presence
Starting with the basics, social media presence is the absolute requirement for businesses nowadays. As common people are the customers, and they have their smartphones with them almost 24/7, businesses would do well to make themselves available online. Besides, now apps like Twitter and Facebook also provide targeted ads through which businesses can reach their customers based on age group, region, gender, etc. Several studies now support the notion that social media helps small businesses incredibly. Many businesses now employ Search Engine Optimization (SEO) experts who help businesses appear better in search engine results such as Google. The common saying goes that the best place to hide anything to put it on the second page of a search result, so everyone wants to target the first page. SEO helps businesses achieve a more visible presence online.
Increased productivity through software
As you would have seen at the malls, the point of sale where you pay your cash has a barcode reader and a machine that notes all the items and prints invoices. Now imagine how difficult it would have been to keep track of so many items without the help of technology. Similarly, now other businesses are leveraging technologies like email management software that helps manage the emails of all the employees. There is an option of time tracking software that aids in keeping track of how much time an employee spent working and where. Other project management and task management tools have now made it much easier for employees to complete their work. Not to mention the utility of CCTV cameras that help managers keep an eye on subordinates to see if they are working or not. All of this combined not only preserves valuable time but also enhances the productivity of the business and that in turn helps in expansion by decreasing cost.
Diversify your business
Diversification is a helpful tool to improve and expand the business. As the saying goes that you should never put all your eggs in a single basket. Having only one-sided business puts it at risk of getting bankrupt if something goes wrong. Diversified business, however, can rely on income coming from other streams even if one aspect of a business is not very profitable. Opening several branches of the same business in various parts of the city or the country can also help in reducing the risk. After all, we should take Warren Buffet’s advice that one should never rely on a single source and rather make an investment to create another source of income.
Good customer service
Customers should always have the final say in business as indeed they are the ones who make the business even possible. Now, as technology evolves and with social media presence, many companies deploy reply bots to get back to customers as soon as possible. These are automated replies depending on specific keywords in a customer’s query and can help fill the gap of hiring fewer customer service representatives. This not only satisfies customers by giving them a sense of the importance of getting quick replies but also reduce the customer service cost while making it more efficient.
Remote access
Sometimes you do not have access to your office’s computer, but a customer needs help with some information that is only present on that computer. This dependency on being physically present in the office can be immensely reduced through remote access. Software such as TeamViewer can help you access your office computer from your phone or another laptop available in close proximity without any hassle. Furthermore, many cloud services also provide secure back up for data that can always be accessed anytime on the run. Remote access and cloud service also reduce the usage of paper as everything can now be available on your phone or laptop. This helps you keep your customers satisfied or smooth running of a business even when you are not in the office.
Conclusion
So, as we have discussed, there is not one but many options available that leverage technology for use in business and helps it expand. While acquiring business loans is one of the options, some people prefer to run their businesses loan free. That’s where technology steps in to help businesses which are many a time free for usage. Hence, if you are running a business or working for one, do not worry, technology has got your back. Everything is online now; why should your business not have the privilege.
