Running a business is no easy feat. It requires constant dedication, research, and commitment to change. In our digital age things are changing faster than ever before. New technologies and social trends require businesses to keep up or fail. The world of business is a competitive one.
One of the most important things you need to do is streamline your business. Streamlining is the process of improving the flow of your business and increasing efficiency. This essentially equates to more money. Streamlining can take many forms. And there are most likely things in your business structure that you don’t even realize are hampering your company’s efficiency.
This guide will walk you through the various ways you can use technology to streamline your business. It will cover a range of different hardware and software options that are available to you. Some of these will be cheaper than others. But it is always worth investing more money into your company. And the benefits will be tenfold in the end.
A Quality Website
One of the biggest issues I always see with a lot of failing companies is their website. A bad website is a poison to the success of a business. The modern consumer has grown accustomed to a certain level of quality with their web browsing. They expect fast speeds. Ease of access. Good UI. And efficient ordering systems.
The first step is to ensure you have a private domain. Running your website on a hosting service like GoDaddy is fine when you are starting out. But you will eventually want to have your own website. It looks more professional and offers you greater levels of creative control.
The two areas that you need to focus on when creating a quality website are displaying enough information and ensuring your customers can make a purchase / place an order with extreme ease.
The information you will want to ensure is front and center are things like pricing, contact information, relevant deals, and any important product information. The ease of purchase is perhaps the most important aspect of your website. If a customer hits a roadblock while trying to order, they are far more likely to just give up. Customers are fickle. They will always take the path of least resistance. And if that is one of your competitors, that will be to your detriment.
The Internet has trended towards a more minimalist approach these days. So your website should reflect that. Try to avoid anything too garish or in your face. More muted and warm colors are advised.
Remote Desktop Protocol
In recent years we have seen a huge shift towards remote working. A lot of offices have gone to a hybrid system. And, if you are running your own business from home, you will want the ability to work remotely sometimes. Which is where a Remote Desktop Protocol comes into play.
A Remote Desktop Protocol is a system that allows you to access your desktop, and any systems connected to it, remotely. For big businesses this is how someone can access all their work files from home. For you it will be useful if you want to work abroad but still want to have access to all your work documents. And, if you have an internal server, a remote desktop protocol makes managing your hosting easy.
Tablets
This is primarily for if you are working in a business that deals with customers in person. Restaurants, cafes, retail shops, anything like this can benefit massively from tablets. The main reason you would want to have tablets on site is to communicate with your till systems.
For a restaurant this is especially useful. The ordering process is one of the biggest bottlenecks in the daily service schedule of a restaurant. And a tablet allows your staff to send orders to the kitchen almost instantly. A tablet will also make it far easier to put in information regarding alterations.
This form of streamlining is not only effective but stylish as well. A lot of companies are replacing their old clunky till systems with tablet systems for the sleek, ergonomic look. And the way your company looks these days is very important. And this leads us nicely into our next point.
Social Media
Social media is perhaps one of the most important aspects of any company’s marketing strategy and streamlining process. Modern social media platforms can even be used as a secondary ordering system for your products. This is a fantastic way to further streamline the ordering process.
A lot of the younger generation will also get a lot of their information from social media as well. Which is why you need to ensure you have an active profile that is filled with all the relevant information. Opening times. Upcoming events. New products. Anything that might help bring in more customers.
You will also want to ensure you are engaging with your customers on your social media platforms. They are great ways to communicate with the public both directly, through messengers, and indirectly through your posts.
Social media is also the ultimate networking tool. Since most businesses will have an active social media profile, you can arrange a lot of great collaborations or joint events. If you are working with various local brands, you will want to do a lot of joint posts on social media to highlight your partnerships. Right now people are more interested in spending their money with companies who are stimulating the local economy.
