Growing Your Business: How to Get Started with Tech

Technology solutions are changing the way businesses everywhere are run. According to a study recently published by Deloitte, almost all growth-focused companies are using tech to reach their new business goals. Companies are investing in everything from cloud-based software solutions to deeper analytics.

Why use technology for growth?
While tech as a growth enabler is definitely on the rise, two of the biggest deterrents businesses see in adopting more technological solutions are integrations with legacy systems and security concerns with cloud-based solutions. Despite these concerns, there are many ways employing tech solutions can assist your business while maintaining cyber security.

Tech solutions can streamline operations, increase employee productivity, contribute to business growth, increase employee retention, and create personalized customer experiences. Many also collect analytics that aid in trending and forecasting for better management.

Data, data, data.
No matter which solution you choose, it’s important to avoid data overload. To do that, first, identify the most meaningful metrics for your business and assign a champion of analytics, if possible. Having someone who is responsible for comprehending all that your systems can report on is crucial to identifying which data to pay to right away. Prioritize areas that would benefit immediately from strategic analytics. Need to know how to staff for future shifts? Wanting to keep a closer eye on inventory levels? Tell your analytics advocate the questions you hope to answer and let them tell you how best to do that.

Building a strong customer connection.
Technology can create stronger connections to your customers as well.Implementing a CRM system can tailor customer experiences and offers. A CRM system allows you to keep all the information about a customer–including contact info, previous purchases, interests, and marketing materials seen– all in one place– allowing you to give useful and personalized service. 360° photos are available on Facebook and can be used to give customers a behind-the-scenes look at what you do which will create a stronger relationship with your customer.

Getting started.
To get started with a new technology, write down a list of questions you haven’t been able to answer about your business. To give your customers an enhanced experience with technology you can take their common pain points and look for solutions that would let you solve them. You can also send out surveys to learn what they want out of their experience with your company. Decide what your budget is for technology, and get started researching your solutions.

P.S. You can start with round-ups from places like PC Mag. Like this one from about employee scheduling software. It includes a chart of features and detailed reviews of each product.