When it comes to technology, there are always changes and advancements, with new products for us to explore. This may seem intimidating at first, but this is actually good news for business owners. As a business owner, you’ll be able to save yourself a lot of time and money by utilizing what’s out there on the market. However, you need to keep your eye on the ball, or you’ll be lagging behind your competition. Your clients will be wondering why your business isn’t at the forefront when it comes to technological developments. I put together some ideas here for you if you want to make sure your business technology is up-to-date.
Nail your social media
Social media is one of the most important things to any business that wants to maintain an online presence, and keep ahead of their counterparts who haven’t mastered the world of social networking yet. It’s really important to make sure that you have accounts on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and that you’re regularly updating them to keep your clients, and potential clients, thinking about your brand. Keep your marketing strategy, and your look, consistent across all social platforms, and you’ll have a professional looking business, that’s always on people’s minds.
It’s also important to make sure that you put links to your social media pages on your website so that people can access them with ease. They will also be able to follow your business to keep updated on what services you’re offering, and what’s new. To keep people’s attention, make sure that you make everything as simple as possible, and your posts aren’t too heavy and wordy. If you want to, you can also pay for ads, which will mean that your potential clients are targeted and made aware of the existence of your brand. Whatever you choose to do with your social networking accounts, make sure you actually create the accounts so you can stay up-to-date!
Outsource your IT support
When it comes to getting some IT support, you could be making a big mistake by employing your own team to manage your IT. Chances are you just need somebody to get all of your systems up and running, and then they will run without any hiccups most of the time. It’s good to have people looking out for improvements to your technology, but the likelihood is that you’ll save yourself the time and money by getting the right IT support from outside of your own business. Most companies will also help you to develop plans for the future of your technology, and there are a lot of other benefits to this.
For example, there will be a helpline available you can contact, and you’ll get the support immediately, no matter what the time is or what the issue may be. This will be at no extra cost, so paying the initial cost for outsourcing will be the only thing you have to do. You can get on with running your business, without worrying about employing full-time tech staff. When it comes to keeping your business technology up-to-date they will notify you of anything that you can do to advance your technology, and perhaps even automatically make the changes for you.
Make sure that your website is perfect
For most of your clients and potential clients, your website will be the first port of call, so you need to make sure that it looks great, and sells your brand well. As they say, you only have one opportunity to make a good first impression. You will really need to nail this if you’re going to make your clients interested in what you’re offering. If you need to, hire a web designer, so that you can relax knowing a professional will make your website as up-to-date as possible, with a great modern look, too.
There are plenty of ways to make sure that your website is great even if you don’t hire a web designer, and you want to try your hand at doing it instead (this is good for the more tech-savvy). There are some things to make sure that you definitely include, such as an ‘About us’ page to really connect with your clients, and a contact form so they can get in touch with you easily. This will definitely be a lot better than making them search around your website for fifteen minutes trying to find out how to contact you. Making sure that you have these simple things will really be key to having a successful and up-to-date website!
Look out for the latest software
There are so many pieces of software out there in the world, you may be confused about what is going to help your business to succeed the most. This is especially challenging if you’re planning on spending quite a lot of money to have some up-to-date software, and you need to make sure you’re making the right choices when it comes to your investments. The key thing here is to research, and look into what other business owners have said about how well it fits into their business, and whether it works well. Don’t just purchase anything on a whim, as you may live to regret this decision when your software is not giving you what you need.
There are, however, plenty of things out there that will help to save you time and money, such as software packages that will help you to pay your employees, so that you don’t have to do this manually. You can also use software to work out how long your employees have spent on different websites and software packages on their computers, to monitor productivity levels and see whether the IT products that you’re paying out for are actually worthwhile. Whatever it is you’re looking to purchase, there will be something out there that is probably suitable for you, so take time to look into it if you want to have the best technology.
Read about technology as much as you can
The best way to make sure that your business technology is up-to-date is to read about the options out there as much as you can. Look into tech magazines and keep an eye on the latest developments, and follow the news, too. You should ideally be looking at all of the business news and all of the technology news, and even skimming through these things in the morning before you start working will help you to keep in the know. It will ensure that you don’t miss out on any developments that would be helpful to your business.
Not only this, but it is important to make sure that you have contacts within the tech industry so that you can hear firsthand what is going on in the relative fields. Sure, you may have met somebody once at a conference who has a technology-related career, but even speaking to them once will help them to remember who you are. You can also follow people like this on social media to keep on top of their updates. Attend tech-related conferences when you can, so you can have professional insight into what is really out there. It may only be a few hours of your time, but it will really help your business.
There are many ways to make sure your business technology is up-to-date, from nailing your social media to perfecting your website. Try out some of these tips within your company, and you could be on your way to saving yourself a lot of time and money!
Carolyn R. Owens has over 25 years of proven experience and serves as a Career Strategist, Executive and Leadership Coach. She is the President of Infinity Coaching, Inc. where she can help you up-level your skills, so you can up-level your income, career, business or life. Infinity Coaching, Inc. provides one-on-one and group coaching, organizational training, personality assessments, and a signature program, the Infinity Coaching Inner Circle. Carolyn is certified to give both The Energy Leadership Index Assessment and Myers Briggs Type Indicator Assessment. You can find out more about both assessments and other products and services at https://infinitycoaching.net.
