Small businesses have access to developed technology, which is not only advanced but also affordable. This has allowed areas of the business to gain efficiency and operate at a higher standard, enabling the business as a whole to punch above its weight, so to speak. They are working on a tighter budget but eking every bit of value out of the pennies. Additionally, some of the technology they are utilizing is scalable, meaning it’ll be able to maintain its use as the business grows. Here are a few areas in which it boosts a business.
Privacy and Security
Over the last decade due to major and minor breaches and hacks on businesses, which has resulted in their customer’s data being stolen and sold or leaked, national institutions and global associations have sought to implement and improve data rights and privacy laws, to protect citizens. The US is looking at creating a federal data protection agency to pass and enforce similar laws to the EU. As such, a small business must now comply with relevant laws when handling and/or storing customer’s data, with different policies if it’s paper or digital.
Small businesses can utilise third-party software for automatic billing or customer relations management, for example. This means the data is inputted and shared with another business. All going well, nothing bad happens. However, if it does, the small business must ensure that the security and data practice of the software is up to standard as the customers have agreed to share their data with you. General liability insurance – which supplies coverage for your employees and your property – will help cover legal fees should customers claim negligence.
Administration
After briefly touching on third-party software, it is worth expanding on. These software options – like the aforementioned billing system and customer relations management, but, also, bookkeeping, cloud storage, and project management – can become invaluable administrative tools. One of the key benefits of this software is that it can be accessed from multiple devices: there doesn’t need to be a central terminal. This allows multiple employees to complete tasks via one software from different devices without the chance of working with out-of-date data or losing data.
Also, this software has automated actions. For instance, if a customer emails the company, a contact profile will be automatically created, which means that all their correspondences will be kept within that customer’s contact. Another example is automated billing software, which does exactly what it sounds like it does: issues receipts and invoices after an order is confirmed.
Not only this, but the software of this kind is designed to be user friendly. While it will be capable of more complicated actions, businesses can function without utilizing them.
Marketing
Two words: social media. It’s as good a marketing tool as any in history, but more efficient. It is just a platform, which allows for a variety of marketing approaches to generate new leads. Due to the different platforms available, each one has different user demographics and different content standards (long or short posts, stories, live streams, tweets), meaning each business can target their desired customers. Businesses sponsor influencers to promote their products, adapt the latest meme trends to attract attention, and act as personalities. The chance to go viral, and be seen by thousands and thousands, without spending a lot of money, if anything, is highly appealing.
Photo by Alexandre Debiève