As technology improves and develops year on year, new and better ways for small businesses to find efficiencies and time saving are created. Around 85 percent of small businesses are planning to increase their investments in technology. This can increase revenue and contribute to business expansion. Below are five valuable solutions to tackle common small scale business problems.
1. Mobile apps provide support on the go
Small to medium businesses with staff who are away from the office or permanently work remotely may find it difficult to share data with each other and customers. Around 95 percent of these businesses rely on mobile device apps.
The use of smartphones and tablets is now the norm, with apps like Evernote and Square; Evernote is regularly referred to as “my external brain” and is designed to help you stay organised, it goes far beyond what you’d typically expect of a notebook. Evernote stores anything and everything in one easily-searchable place. Apps like Square and POSable are excellent options to accept payments, managing the sales side of the business. POS systems like these also accept mobile payment method such as Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.
2. Analysing your business
Social media has become one of the most popular portals for both finding and connecting with businesses and customers. Customers love the accessibility social media provides, giving them a personal connection to their preferred products and services.
Today around 2.8 billion people use social media and it has become easier to reach target audiences through online platforms. Social media is popular due to its innovative trends and features which make sharing information more feasible than other marketing mediums. Leveraging analysis tools for business’s web traffic, interactions, marketing performance, and conversions like Google Analytics can be helpful for running your fledging business more efficiently. GeckoBoard and Crazy Egg for website user tracking tool are two must have tools for small businesses. These toolscreate a heat-map of the website to show businesses exactly where on each page their users are hovering over the links to click.
3. Cloud storage can ease your daily business activities
Research has shown 52 percent of small and medium businesses are adopting cloud services to outsource IT tasks. Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive and Evernote are popular examples of cloud storage providing remote and 24/7 access to documents and photos across multiple devices.
4. Mobile security is a must have
Small businesses depending heavily on smartphones and other mobile devices, mobile security for theft or a lost device is vital. Securing mobile devices with encryption or data wiping can save sensitive business data. Enabling users to lock, wipe or locate the device includes apps like; Lookout Mobile Security Premium for Android and Find My iPhone for Apple devices. Securing data on mobile devices is crucial to ensure the safety of business data.
5. Teleconferencing is a low-cost technology
Web-based teleconferencing enables large groups to communicate with video either free or very low cost. Skype, GoToMeeting, Adobe Connect are popular examples of innovative solutions to overcome distance and avoid the tedious travel and related costs. For further advice on Mobile apps, feel free to contact our friendly and knowledgeable staff.
