Technology Tips for Your Small Business

According to the Small Business Entrepreneurship Council (SBE), businesses with less than 20 employees made up 89.4% of American businesses. Years ago, if you started a small business, you needed money, a rental property, some desks, a file cabinet, a phone, a fax machine, a copier, and a couple of PCs with a printer. However, if you have a small business today, then you know… technology is more important now than ever before for the success of your business.

We’ve put together 5 common technology tips that we think are keys to a successful small business:

1. It is important to embrace technology.
2. You should employ the Cloud and make it work for free.
3. You should never underestimate the power of Email.
4. Be Smart…Be Mobile
5. We know it’s tempting, but don’t skimp on your conference area.

These five tech tips are a great way to dip your toe into the world of business technology. Whether you are a current small business owner or looking into starting your first small business, these tips are a great place to get started. So…let us expand on them and allow us to give you an idea of what a small business needs in order to succeed in this technological era.

Tech Tip # 1: It is important to embrace technology

Technology is necessary to keep your small business running smoothly. Not only that, you need to utilize costs and select the right technology for your business. Also, millennial’s have grown up with technology, so if you want to keep them interested, technology is a must. Furthermore, using technology can help your company grow faster and stronger. Rather, today’s office technology integrates everything, and the key is to know what technology to employ and how to maintain it.

Tech Tip #2: You should employ the Cloud and make it work for free

What is the cloud?

In today’s technology-driven world, you hear about “The Cloud” constantly. Working with the cloud is great for small businesses because it allows you to save space in your network, access your work from anywhere and keep your documents safe. Yet, we don’t all know exactly what it is or how it works. The cloud, or cloud computing, is the practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or a personal computer.

The cloud will store all the information you need it to, so that it is accessible from anywhere. Plus, it will free up room on your servers.

Protect Information: Cloud computing is a way to protect your data, and free up space on your computer and your network. These remote servers are located in data centers and accessed via the Internet.  The data centers provide a climate-controlled, secure location with alternate power supplies and 24/7/365 system monitoring. In many cases, there are backup servers at secondary data center locations to endure that minimal to no data is lost in the case of some disaster.

Tech Tip #3: You should never underestimate the power of Email

Whether we like it or not, email is a big part of daily life. Whether we’re communicating across the country or with someone down the hall, email has become the first choice because it’s instant, cost-effective, efficient and provides a paperless trail of communication. In fact, nearly 4 billion people use it worldwide, so it can be an extremely valuable marketing tool for your small business.

Marketing with Email: 80% of professionals say email is a great way to market to your clients.  Experts even say it is more important than Facebook. We’re not talking those spammy ‘buy my product’ emails though. A simple newsletter that’s fun and interesting will help your consumers remember you. Most importantly, using email to connect and develop a rapport with your customers is a great way to stay in their memory.

In this digital age, we’re spending less time on the golf course and more time connecting in other ways.  A simple quarterly business email newsletter can help establish new, and nurture existing relationships and keep your product and service offerings fresh in the minds of your customers and prospects.

Staff Correspondence: Studies show that engaged employees work harder and provide better customer care, which builds better customer loyalty. Similar to customers and prospects, a monthly email newsletter to your staff is one of the best ways to help keep them engaged.  

Tech Tip # 4: Be Smart…Be Mobile

Did you know that 83% of today’s employees work remotely? Weall know how the old saying goes: time is money.       

Therefore, enabling your business to run remotely will save you time and money. Also, offering remote work will attract the best employees in your field, so go for it. With business seemingly booming and not enough time in the day to accomplish everything on the to-do list, every hour during the workday is precious. So be mobile, entice the Millennials that are looking for work and take your business on the move!

Tech Tip #5: We know it’s tempting, but don’t skimp on your conference area.

You really can’t operate a successful business without meetings in some form or fashion. Today’s conference tools make running a meeting from your living room just as easy as running one from the conference room.

Video Conferencing: Video conferencing can connect you to co-workers and business partners around the world. Nearly 100% percent of people agreed that face to face meetings are an essential part of doing business, so facetime is important. Unfortunately, it isn’t always possible to be in person nor at every meeting. When that happens, video conferencing works great, so don’t be afraid to incorporate it within your business model.

File Sharing: File sharing is a great way to make sure that everyone in your meeting is literatelyon the same page. If you are leading the meeting with a slide show, give everyone in the room the option to view the slides on their own computer. Create an editable document that your co-workers can collaborate on at the same time, instead of emailing edits back and forth. Sharing information has never been simpler!

Audio Conferencing: Hosted phones make audio conferencing simple and convenient.  Join in on a phone conference from anywhere, as easily as if you were in the office. Forward all your calls to your cell phone, so that you can conference on the go.

Call Custom Audio Video today to see how we can help your small business!