Running a small business is challenging. Trying to grow, it can often seem like an impossible task. After all, there are so many different components and processes to consider – marketing, balancing the books, offering the right products and services…
The list goes on and on.
While the amount of work is bad enough, it’s further compounded by the lack of time, money, and resources available to regular small businesses. How can you hope to develop your brand with these restrictions in place?
One word: technology.
Due to the continuing developments in the tech world, businesses of all sizes have the chance to harness the power of technology. For a few ideas, here are three tech-based techniques you can use to move the needle, boost profit margins, and ultimately grow your small business.
Automation and AI
Ever find yourself not having enough time in the day to complete your daily tasks? Well, there is a solution to this problem: automation. Instead of completing trivial processes which take up time, why not let automation do it for you?
Automation is a technology that is continually improving due to rapid advancements in artificial intelligence. For instance, AI-based chatbots have developed to the point where a customer would struggle to tell if they are talking to a human or bot.
AI also helps in various other fields, such as analyzing data and predicting the future. As an example, the AI experts Xyonix at www.xyonix.com have demonstrated how it’s possible to accurately forecast the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Cloud storage
There is a wide range of benefits on offer for those who are willing to adopt cloud storage.
To start with, you have instant access to every document you store on the cloud. It doesn’t matter where you are or what time it is in the day. If you have an internet connection, you can view a file on the cloud.
It’s not just available for viewing files, either. It provides you with the ability to work on projects. This is particularly beneficial if your business utilizes remote workers, as everyone can collaborate together on the same project in real-time. For e.g. If you`re bookkeeper then using cloud you can easily provide remote bookkeeping to your clients with proper collaboration using cloud based tools like QuickBooks Cloud Hosting etc.
Another advantage of cloud storage is that your documents and data are always backed up. That means there’s no worry about a computer failure wiping them from existence.Microsoft`s Office 365 is the most popular cloud based document and data-driven collaboration application which is widely used by SMEs. Learn more about O365 Migration.
Digital marketing
If your marketing budget is tight, the likes of television and print adverts are generally not feasible. However, you wouldn’t want to splash out on these traditional methods when digital marketing is available.
Nearly everyone is on the internet. That includes your potential customers. As a result, digital marketing is more viable than ever – you are not going to miss out due to limited exposure. As for exposure, there’s a whole slew of marketing options available. These include:
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Content marketing
- Social media
- Pay-per-click ads
- Email marketing
The great news is that the budget for digital marketing can be negligible – to the point where you could even do it without spending a dime.