Small businesses need to find every edge they can to survive. Every second and dollar saved could mean longevity in the long run.
Businesses are increasingly depending on technology to get those savings. Yet, there are still companies that are behind the times. Did you know that 53% of small businesses don’t have a website?
It can be hard to keep up with technology as it seems to change every day and have your business adapt accordingly. Read on to discover what the emerging technology trends are and how you can keep up with the changing times.
The Importance of Emerging Technology Trends
You need to understand why keeping up with technology trends is so important to your business. It’s not just about keeping up with the competition. There are more reasons why you want to stay on top of technology.
Take the fact that more than half of small businesses still don’t have a website. Most people search online for products and services. They also have social media accounts. If your business doesn’t have a website, it’s considered strange. People won’t be able to find you and you’ll lose credibility with potential customers.
Another reason why emerging technology trends are important is that you need to be able to deliver your products and services faster and better. Consumers have extremely high expectations. If you’re slow to respond to issues or answer pre-sales questions, they’ll go to your competition.
Finally, your business can be better organized. Are you the type of person who shows up at your accountant’s office during tax time with a shoebox full of receipts? There are solutions that will allow you to take a photo of your business receipts, upload them to your accounting software, and categorize them.
The bottom line is that emerging technology trends can keep your business relevant in the minds of consumers and be more efficient as long as you make smart investments. Here’s how you can do that.
What Are Your Business Needs?
How can you leverage technology in your business? It starts with understanding your business needs. You don’t want to invest in technology for technology’s sake. You want to invest in solutions that will make a big difference in your business.
You can start by doing a technology audit for your business. Look at every department and see which ones are still doing things manually.
You may discover that your accounting department is still relying on Excel for all accounting tasks. You might find that your marketing department can’t get the data they need to make smart decisions. Customer service could be very slow to respond to issues because the technology that has is slow and outdated.
All of these things need to be noted so you can find the right solutions to improve those situations.
Look Beyond Your Office
It’s not just office operations that you need to know about. You need to know the technology trends in manufacturing, especially if you have a product for sale.
With some emerging technology, you’ll be able to produce products in a way that’s scalable. You also want to be able to protect equipment using technology like mold coatings.
That’s why doing a complete business technology audit is a critical part of the process. You get to look at the entire business to see where improvements can be made.
Where is Your Business Going?
Not only do you need to consider where your business is now, but you also have to consider where it’s going to be in the future. You want to know what types of products and services you’ll deliver, the growth of the company, and how many more employees you expect to have.
All of these things will help you find the best technology solutions. For example, your business needs more salespeople to grow revenue. Your salespeople currently have to be in the office to prepare for appointments because the customer database software is locally installed.
A great solution to that challenge is to have a CRM system that’s cloud-based. With that type of solution, your sales reps can access customer data from anywhere on any device.
That saves them time and they can be at more appointments throughout the day. More appointments mean more sales.
Know the Emerging Technology Trends
Are you ready to go back to school? This is the part of the process where you get to educate yourself on the latest emerging technology trends. Here are the top trends that you need to be aware of.
Cloud Computing
Small businesses love cloud computing because it’s cost-effective and convenient.
When you’d use a program like Microsoft Word or QuickBooks, you’d have to install them locally on computers in your office. You’d pay a licensing fee to have that software installed on each machine. Every year, you’d have to pay a lot of money for a new version of the software.
With cloud computing, your information is stored on the web. You can access your data from anywhere and you pay a low monthly fee.
Data Security
A data breach can be extremely costly to your business. About 60% of businesses don’t last beyond six months after a cyberattack.
This is a worrisome trend that you have to be aware of. What you can do is work with an IT security company to ensure that your customers’ data is safe and secure.
Be Flexible
You want to make sure that your business can adapt and respond to emerging technology immediately. Taking months to make a decision can be detrimental to your business.
One thing you can do to get ahead of trends is to have a department in your organization that’s devoted to technology trends. That department’s job is to test technology trends and see which ones are a great fit for the company.
Stay on Top of Emerging Technology
Business happens at the speed of light. In a click of a button, customers can decide whether they want to do business with you or not.
That means that you need to be prepared to meet those challenges. That’s where emerging technology can help your business. You can use these trends to stay relevant and trustworthy.
Do you need to be more efficient in your business? Check out the Small Business Assistant and request a form to use in your business.
