The rapid changes in technology are exciting to observe. And small businesses have good reason to both be worried and elated by its prospects.
The gap between Large and Small businesses has been minimized significantly by the flooding of new technologies and solutions to the everyday business questions. These rapid changes are exciting to observe.
After a little observation, I have been able to make certain projections comfortably about how these innovations affect small businesses. Below are five of them:
- Cloud Storage And Its Effect On Long Term Business Integrity
Over time we have watched the volume of computer information and data increase rapidly. We have seen a rapid growth over the years in a need for larger storage systems for businesses.
In response to this we have seen a growth from Megabytes, to Gigabytes, to Terabytes then Petabytes, Exabytes, Zettabytes, Zottabytes and now even Brontobytes. In spite of all this, it is still not enough and businesses still need to sacrifice older data to accommodate new ones.
Cloud Storage provides a viable solution to this storage challenge. By investing in it, small businesses can cut down on hardware expenses and increase their longevity and long-term integrity with customers.
The growth of cloud technology will change just how much small businesses and startups can accomplish. Small companies will get “IT capabilities and back-office services that were previously available only to larger firms—and cheaply, too
- Freelancing, Saas Providers And Their Effect On Job Recruiting.
The number of freelancers has increased in almost every Niche. This increase, coupled with SaaS providers which offer data management services, can enable businesses to “buy” only the amount of a service they need at any one time.
When conditions change, they can “buy” more. If something doesn’t work out, they can dial back how much of the service they are using without suffering the major financial or emotional penalty of laying off regular employees.
This clearly means that companies do not need to recruit so much anymore. That’s especially if you consider the recruitment and health obligations involved under the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) in countries like the USA.
- CRM Systems and Their Effect on Customer Relationship Management
Over the centuries, the world has undergone a historical revolution in communication; from messenger pigeons to all the way to the Social media. But that has not completely solved the problem businesses face with having a complex customer base.
Small businesses have never had such a large customer base as they do now. And if the average small business takes advantage of the advances in technology and social connectivity afforded by the internet, it will have a customer base that is limited only to the number of internet users in the whole world.
This makes customer relationship management a key concern.
In spite of the platforms social media and ease of communication has afforded businesses, businesses are still faced with a varied, widespread and complex customer base. The issue then becomes, reaching out to them and managing them effectively.
The CRM systems that are now becoming increasingly popular go a long way in solving these problems. They create a cohesive system that enables businesses to reach a target customer base and equally help in the management of communication. Lastly, these systems also carry out automated communication tasks such as e-mailing, and storage of correspondence.
With CRM systems such as Salesforce and Insightly, communication for small and very small businesses can be managed through an integrated storage and action system.
- Mobile Marketing and its Effect On Business Presence And Advertisements
90% of American adults own a smartphone, and studies have shown that people now spend more time staring at their mobile phones than watching television. The need for small businesses to take advantage of marketing campaigns formatted for a mobile experience has therefore become imperative.
SMS (text messaging), mobile banners, email, paid search, mobile video, proximity campaigns, sponsorships, coupons, loyalty programs and deals. All of these could be effectively utilized by small businesses to attract their customer base and grow their businesses.
This means that small businesses can now build a massive mobile campaign with low cost.
- Mobile Payment And Its Effect On Speed And Ease Of Business
Owing to the increased use of smartphones in most developed and developing countries, mobile devices have become the computing device of choice for many consumers.
Many businesses currently pay for expensive card readers or bespoke systems which integrate with a traditional checkout system. Still more businesses have to rely on their customers paying by cash or by check, or by credit card transfers, all of which have huge fees. These are obviously complicated and cost more money.
Mobile payment platforms now abound to a degree that the only problem should be choice. Platforms like PayPal, ApplePay and GooglePay has made payments easy. There is no reason Small businesses shouldn’t take advantage of this to increase ease of transactions, speed of transactions and transatlantic transactions.
Small businesses can also use these platforms to pay easily for services of freelancers where they have outsourced work.
The technological advancements are numerous and while they might seem threatening in their Speed and depth, they can be a very welcome breath of fresh air to small businesses if properly utilized in 2016.