Technological advancement has made communication instantaneous; a huge amount of information moves through the web and powerful tools are available to the owners and employees. Technological innovation has improved operations in all companies, big and small, helping local businesses transform into global ones. Let’s talk about a few business segments that have witnessed vast changes via technology over a period of time.
Aids Communication
Cell phones are now indispensable for small business owners and employees. A cell phone is required to stay in touch while travelling and for promptly responding to customer inquiries. Smartphones enhance connectivity by giving access to the Internet, email and business apps. SMS and networking on social media are the other advancements in communication that help small businesses stay in touch with their customer bases. These also help internal communications within a company.
Having an internet site is a really effective real-time communication tool for small businesses for keeping all their employees in the loop.
Instant messaging is often a valuable tool for use in business, and can prove to be far superior to email. An instant messaging program helps managers see which employees are signed in and are present at their desks,which ones are attending meetings and those who have gone out of the office. Employees can seek quick answers that are much needed using an instant messaging system, as compared to conventional modes of communication like phone or email. This helps save time and increase efficiency within an organization; it also helps business owners in finding the right resources when they need them.
Helps in More Effective Marketing
The ambit of internet marketing is wide, ranging from a simple informational website to search engine advertisements and online product sales, making customer outreach more easy and convenient. Email marketing is a cost-effective, yet a very useful method to reach out to many people by way of a newsletter, a coupon, or a business update. Mobile marketing helps reach out to people via text messaging and mobile app ads, informing users about the latest business updates in an entertaining way.
Technology aids us in better interaction with our customers, talking to them, and engaging them in a more meaningful way. Social media channels allow us to have a one on one conversation with customers, giving them a more personalized experience in more ways than one, and that too on multiple devices. Thus, technology helps business owners design an effective marketing strategy on the basis of their grasp on preferences, behaviour, and purchase trends of their customers.
Software, tools, and other technological innovations help marketers in devising new ways for customer engagement. There are billions of devices now that are interconnected, there is user-generated content, and a lot of social interaction happens over computers and smartphones. Thus, the Internet has become like a living entity now, whether it’s giving directions to the people, giving dinner suggestions, providing solutions to life problems, and a lot more.Marketers need to harness the power of the internet for building lasting relationships with their clients.Many old school marketers might be out of sync with these technological innovations, due to the lack of professional intuition on how to make use of and manage it all.
Increases Productivity
Technology tools enhance the productivity and efficiency of employees, thereby helping meet the business interests of a small enterprise. In fact, use of technology helps employees in completing almost all the tasks at a workplace faster and better to the satisfaction of the business owner. Providing employees with the requisite hardware and software helps them work at peak efficiency.
Digital file transfer services, electronic mailing, and the internet accelerate the process of data transfer and reduce costs at the same time. The productivity benefits of information technology implementation in communication are two-fold: while there is a reduction in the time for accessing or transferring data, there is an increase in the productivity of investments with the reduction in costs while communicating.
Information technology simplifies the way of customer interaction with the customer support services. Online chat services for help and support make a lot of searchable information available to the customers, making it less likely that they will need to call an executive for solving a problem.Thus representatives can communicate with customers via more efficient platforms. This results in increased productivity in the office hours, and they can maintain high customer satisfaction levels at the same time.
Improves Customer Service
Technology bridges the gap between the business and customers. Email communication helps businesses answer customers’ questions some even offer live online chat to customers visiting their business website. Business owners can equip their call centres with state-of-the-art equipment to improve the efficiency of their customer service agents.
With the myriad forms of technology available, it’s possible to communicate with the customers using the communication methods they prefer.As an example, the older generation might prefer communication via phone or an email, while the younger people are more likely to prefer SMS or the apps for communication. A large number of customers prefer live chat as compared to other modes of communication, and technology has made this possible.
Makes Telecommuting Possible
Telecommuting and flexi-timings are now offered by many small businesses. Technology allows colleagues to stay in touch irrespective of their locations through emails, online collaboration tools, and mobile devices.While at the workplace, employees are able to share digital documents, do PowerPoint presentations for conveying information, and create training videos for the new employees.
Enables Teleconferencing
Web conferencing creates an extremely interactive environment by bringing together web cams, audio and online meeting spaces. Participants can see each other, work together on documents, and create the feel of an in-person meeting. Through teleconferencing, even a small business can extend its reach to global customers and employees.
Conclusion
Without technology, routine tasks would otherwise have taken massive amount of time and resources. Not only this, advancement in technology has created enormous number of business opportunities and growth possibilities. Technology has improved operations in all companies, big and small, has become a growing need. It provides a fast, easy, and more competent system to perform business operations and relations. In today’s world, our reliance on technology to grow our business is a foregone conclusion.
Image: Author’s Own
