Changes in technology can prompt your business to improve its processes and output.
A company that finds itself lagging behind competition can transform to greatness with specific tech changes, especially in software, marketing technology, and digital data.
Although the transition to new tech can cause lost productivity if it’s rushed, many businesses are fully capable of a smooth transitional process if they identify areas that require improvement and implement the tech smoothly.
Here are five tech upgrades your business can implement for improvement on several fronts:
1. Real-Time Inventory Tracking
If your business has multiple locations, it’s worth evaluating the efficiency of your inventory tracking.
Traditional methods of tracking inventory can slow down a company if they engage in constant manual follow-ups with each location. Alternatively, software that specializes in real-time inventory tracking can allow you to manage your inventory from anywhere, on any computer.
Inventory management software like Square automates some critical inventory-based factors, including notifying you or the appropriate parties when an item’s inventory is low or out of stock. Additionally, the ability to download reports on current and updated lists makes bulk inventory management more comfortable, especially when adding new inventory.
Any business that stores inventory should consider real-time inventory tracking software, which can elevate inventory management to be more accurate and accessible thanks to automated features like email notifications saving them time.
2. New or Upgraded Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Software
ERP solutions aid in many processes for running your business, from accounting and human resources to inventory management and customer relationship management (CRM).
ERP can encompass so many aspects of a company that improving your ERP process can seem overwhelming. However, upgrade your ERP system can help you push ahead of the competition.
“There are a few basic signs that can help you recognize it’s time for an ERP upgrade,” says Mike Cutesy, president of apparel ERP company FDM4. “Firstly, if the system you’re using doesn’t integrate with other programs, you’re probably wasting time inputting the same data into multiple systems. Additionally, if your business is in a remote location and doesn’t work great with real-time information among mobile users, a new ERP system can provide a more reliable framework for real-time updates.”
Upgrading ERP software helps businesses better manage order entries, which leads to a more productive process flow and faster turnaround.
3. Enhanced Customer Segmentation
Customer segmentation reigns supreme in modern marketing tech. Analytics services enable your business to segment prospects and lead into segmented groups so you can target them with high precision and personalization. The specific data sets of importance will vary from business to business, though generally data related to location and how they found your business’ website can be useful data sets for greater personalization. Analytics platforms like Google Analytics can provide such data for free.
Customer segmentation helps increase conversions and leads by assisting businesses to refine their offerings, tone, and approach to their target segment’s niche. If your business’ website and platforms aren’t using analytics with segmentation capabilities, you’re missing out on potential leads.
4. Downtime Analysis
It’s not efficient to give an employee the task to continually monitor your website, perpetually refreshing to check its uptime, especially when there are tools that provide real-time monitoring for you. Poor website uptime can give the impression that your business is unreliable, so it’s best to avoid this stigma entirely by using platforms and tools from the likes of Pingdom.
Pingdom offers real-time monitoring of your website’s performance, using more than 60 different servers so they can detect if the issue is geographically based. Additionally, the service ensures essential site interactions like logins, signups or check-outs, which can be the lifeblood of business. If you’re operating an eCommerce site with a broken checkout, then your business is even worse than closed — it’s showing customers that they perhaps should not put much faith in you.
Pingdom tracks the speed and reliability of websites, providing you with real-time alerts if something goes awry. Using Pingdom in conjunction with a reliable IT team who can immediately start solving any tech issues is a great way to ensure constant uptime and a trustworthy appearance to customers and potential leads.
5. Social Media Management
Social media presents an excellent opportunity for your business to engage customers and show off your expertise. Whether it’s posting informative niche-relevant articles or holding a live video Q&A, a strong social media presence helps firmly establish your business’s brand.
An often-time-consuming endeavor is trying to simultaneously juggle all social media platforms, from Twitter and Facebook to Instagram and Pinterest. Manually posting the same thing on each platform can be cumbersome and time-consuming, so using social media management software like Everypost can help save time and even aid in social media marketing with the ability to schedule posts for a specific date.
These five tech changes can boost a business’ profile to potential leads and customers, while also showcasing their reliability, efficiency, and expertise within their industry.
