The Expanding Pallet of Technology Services in Business.

Technology is changing the daily operations and processes of businesses, and that is no secret, but perhaps the different philosophies and uses of technology in business is important to understand and may not be universal knowledge. Technology has made business faster, more competitive, and more cost-effective, yet it also has some negative effects. Data management and security is an example of how to prevent these negative aspects from coming into play.

The first major area of concern when discussing the potential benefits of technology is developing a more productive workplace. For example, tools exist that can help manage productivity and track progress in a given timeframe. Perhaps, more importantly, it can be used to see where time is spent, and how to mitigate either wasted time or excess time being spent in certain areas of work. On the same token, businesses can use project management tools in order to help organize tasks and prioritize tasks in order to help facilitate further productivity. Finally, managing emails and files and organizing these two processes is a simple solution that can potentially develop into saved time and a more efficient workspace. Administrative and logistical problems can hamper someone’s ability to do things efficiently and therefore should be managed in a way to save time in these areas.

Technology can also help manage the financial aspect of business by making it simpler, more efficient, and more cost effective. A good example of this is using online invoicing services, tax filing services, or budget tracking. Each of these is cost-effective, and more efficient, ways to deal with finances. Often this category of business can seem time-consuming and often beleaguers employees with pages and pages of documents. Using online services can help in this regard by making the process faster and with better results.

Marketing is a third great example of an area that can be made more effective through the proper uses of technology. Marketing plans can be created using software to better map out plans for the future, and social media, if used properly, can be a very effective tool in marketing to new customers. Recently, many big businesses have taken to sites such as twitter, to reach a younger demographic. Additionally, their ability to personalize a twitter for a multi-million dollar business has proven very effective in getting new revenue. Actively using a website can also effectively market your services or products as that too can show that your business is engaged with customers. An example of this engagement could be a blog that is updated weekly, to show that the community you are in is both human, and engaging.

In any team-oriented business, those teams need to be able to communicate and collaborate effectively. Teleconference calls, and video conference calls (or webinars) can be used to create a more closely-knit community through more face time or talking time between employees who may be at different offices. Online business training initiatives can also go a long way in educating your employees and making them more knowledgeable of the market and the business. Finally, cloud services, or a secure intranet, can be used to make sure everyone has access to the same files, thereby eliminating the problem of missing or accidentally deleted files.

Any viable business needs to have customer service to troubleshoot problems, and help customers come to solutions. Large businesses have taken to social media to help with customer service. By messaging someone on Twitter or Facebook, people can easily get in contact with any business. Additionally, customer service appointments can be made online and that can make it easier for people to come to your customer service representatives for help. Finally, online surveys have been increasingly used recently in order to get immediate customer feedback.

Using online and software services can help any business grow as they make processes more efficient and cost effective. Going paperless and using mobile office services can help save money on those supplies and can make information sharing faster. With the rise of the internet, businesses are on the dawn of a new industrial age, and the expanse of these practices will help thrust our economy into the future.

Source:

https://www.thebalancesmb.com/how-to-technology-in-small-business-2951633