7 Ways To Grow Your Small Business With The Help Of Technology

When used right, technology can change lives for the better. Its impact is also visible in the business world, to the extent it has the potential to make or break most enterprises.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that tech can magically transform poor leadership or erase the effect of bad fundamentals. But businesses that are at least averagely successful can benefit greatly from the use of tech.

Here are 7 ways that companies can leverage tech for growth.

Communication Technology

Today, communicating with people around the world is ridiculously easy. Technology like Slack, instant messaging, and email has made reaching your peers not only incredibly fast but also very affordable. And this applies to both international and domestic communication.

For business owners, this means removed barriers to doing overseas business, as well as an opportunity to hire remote workers at very affordable prices.

Mobile Apps

If you’re still hesitant about whether you should invest in a mobile app for your business, take a look at these stats:

• In 2018, 42% of small businesses already had an app, and more than 20% of them said they planned to build one by the end of the year;
• By 2021, the global mobile app downloads are expected to reach 284 billion.
• People are spending more time interacting with their mobile apps. The total time spent in apps on Android smartphones grew by nearly 65% in just 1 year.

So, the real question is: Can you afford to stay out of the mobile app game?

Mobile apps are taking the world by storm and the majority of forward-thinking entrepreneurs are taking advantage of them to improve their business. Having a mobile app can help boost your branding, facilitate customer acquisition, improve customer service experience, act as a marketing tool, and generate more income. And the best part is, building an app today is easier than ever – all you need to do is find a good app maker that will develop a beautiful mobile app tailored specifically to your business needs.

Project Management Tools

Having a dozen project managers to cover all your needs sounds awesome, but the truth is that would cost a fortune. Thanks to technology, business owners don’t need an army of productivity professionals in order to make sure their teams stay productive. All they really need is a good productivity app.

Productivity apps like Asana, Trello, Slack, Basecamp, and Podio can be easily synced with their desktop versions. In addition, they’re either completely free of charge or offer simple and flexible pricing to meet the needs of every organization.

By using productivity apps, it’s easy to create a single centralized location where you and your team can get things done. Let these programs do the work, and use the extra time to focus on growing your business.

Social Media

Social media allows businesses of all sizes and industries to do things that were almost impossible to accomplish 20 years ago. For instance, social media allows you to observe almost every aspect of audience behavior; giving you valuable insight into customers’ motivations and, as a result, helping you become a better seller. Using social media also helps you build brand awareness and authority, increase your customer base, and connect with current customers.

This means that even small businesses can wield just as much marketing power as more established companies at a fraction of the cost.

Digital Marketing

Speaking of marketing, today, digital campaigns offer very specific targeting and immediate results. What’s more, they offer a higher ROI than most traditional forms of marketing (TV, radio, print). Other benefits of digital marketing include:

• Reaching a more targeted audience;
• Building strong relationships with customers, which can help create brand loyalty;
• Providing efficient, real-time customer support;
• Achieving higher revenues with minimum cost.

All this makes digital marketing far more accessible to smaller businesses than other, traditional forms of advertising.

Cloud Data Storage

Only a decade ago, businesses that managed big amounts had to invest in high capacity storage devices. Today, popular cloud storage options like Dropbox and Google Drive are widely used by companies of all sizes.

Cloud storage allows you to host the data via an online storage account and simply send an invite link to share it with others. It makes it possible for users to:

• Have easy access to the data from any location in the world
• Store unlimited quantities of data
• Perform automatic backups
• Collaborate on a single document in real-time.

Cloud storage offers a number of benefits for small businesses. It’s reliable, secure, and enables employees from all over the world to stay connected at all times.

Analytical Tools

Data analytics has an almost infinite number of uses and can help small businesses become more efficient and more productive. And when used right, it can create a significant competitive advantage, while at the same time boosting conversions and revenue.

Today, businesses have at their disposal a large number of analytical tools they can use to measure their performance and identify the weaknesses and strengths of their operations. For example, you can evaluate your page loading speed or measure the percentage of mobile visitors to your site – all in a matter of minutes.

These tools provide you with enough insight and information, enhancing your decision-making capabilities.

Final Thoughts

There you have it, these are the 7 ways that tech can help you grow your small business. All of them have one thing in common – they allow you to accomplish more with less, and make your businesses smarter, productive, and efficient.

Looking to start a business on a budget? Be sure to do your research on big ticket items and set up your LLC through ZenBusiness, the #1 Incfile alternative.

John Pearson is a serial entrepreneur and writer who is passionate about helping small businesses launch and grow. His work has been featured in Huffington Post, Entrepreneur, and Forbes.