Technology is booming. One can actually call this the “Digital Era” with so many technological inventions and breakthrough. It can be used in different industries to leverage optimum benefits. It can be used in Education, Medicine, Construction, Textile, Agriculture and various other industries. It can be used in many aspects of business such as billing and accounting, inventory management and customer relationship management. Technology can be incorporated in a B2B business as well to achieve maximum growth.
The benefits of using technology for business growth are:
- Agility – With different innovations and trends continuously evolving, it is essential for the business to be agile and accommodating to the changing times to stay in the competition and improve business growth. Agile business models generate more revenue and make more profit compared to its non-agile counterparts.
- Decision making – Technology enables the mining of a large amount of real-time data. Companies with access to accurate and effective data grow faster by 35% each year. Real-time data helps to make informed business decisions, which helps make continuous improvements and business growth.
- More Profit – Smart investment in technology is the key to greater business growth. Incorporating new technology automates many business processes like accounting, inventory management and delivery management. This gives the business heads more free time to concentrate on business growth and profit making.
- Increased security – There is a continuous invention of various security methods to protect the organization from hackers and terrorists. From anti-virus to firewalls to digitally linked security systems, digital protection is under continuous innovation to protect the businesses from any unforeseen incidents that could prove to be dangerous for the business.
Different technologies that can be used in Businesses are:
- Cloud computing
Cloud technology is taking over the computing world and proving to be of great benefit to most businesses of various sizes be it small organizations, medium or large organizations. Cloud computing improves productivity and increases efficiency to a great extent. That is why companies are opting for cloud-based eCommerce solutions and billing software, crm, project management hosted in the cloud. The reasons why cloud computing is of such great benefit to businesses are:
- Businesses can be managed from anywhere at any time and not necessarily from the confinements of one’s workspace.
- Availing cloud technology is comparatively less expensive than buying a software.
- Cloud enhances better communications thus increasing work productivity.
- Cloud offers its services in almost all business aspects such as servers, databases and storage.
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
CRM has had an immensely positive impact in various aspects of a business. It is a technological strategy to help understand and serve customers in a better way.
The different ways in which CRM benefits the business are:
- Outbound and inbound call tracking, CRM technology helps the business track calls or route calls pertaining to different products to the correct representative. It helps the call representative prioritize calls and log them which saves a lot of their time.
- Understanding customers, CRM helps to understand the customers and cater to their needs. It helps to understand a customer’s taste, preferences and buying habits and provide the service and products accordingly which increase customer retention and business value.
- CRM can be used in e-mail marketing which helps integration with Salesforce and running large campaigns.
- E-commerce
This is one of the most important technological tools that be used to garner maximum sales and reduce cost. Some of the most important e-commerce technologies that must be incorporated in business are:
- E-commerce platform, with the world going toward digitization, it is imperative for a business to have an e-commerce website. With the website being accessible anywhere, anytime business transactions are increased. Payments are also made easy which attracts more customers.
- ERP integration, integrating E-commerce platforms with ERP (Enterprise Research Planning) can help automate various business processes such as inventory management, supply chain management, pricing and distribution.
- E-commerce integration with logistics helps manage and coordinate customer orders and facilitate faster delivery.
- Social networking
Social networking is no longer just used for making friends and wishing people on their birthdays. It is more and more being used for businesses. This innovation has entirely changed the dynamics of business for better results. Social networking has made the cost of contact developments and communication almost zero. Widespread usage of social media has added some extra pressure on businesses such as:
- Social media has resulted in customers expecting more personalized services. Customers also expect companies to be transparent, open to suggestion and criticism.
- Arriving at solutions for problems have now changed by which one can take inputs and thoughts from a number of stakeholders by innovating new products and solutions.
- Employees now have higher expectations because of new contacts developed on social media. They expect more openness and want to give inputs and contribute to decision making.
- Data Analytics
With humongous amount of data available in the world, it is crucial to analyze and use the data efficiently for business growth. Customer statistics, buying pattern, buying history, products sold are important details that helps business owners make an informed decision. Data available is so enormous and is easily accessible now that it is no longer handled only by data scientists. Everyone in the company can now use data to intensify productivity. Some key uses of data analytics are:
- Customer needs can be understood and it helps optimize customer experience and retain them.
- Data analytics help companies adapt to the growing market changes, anticipate demands and constantly remain in the competition.
Conclusion
Technological innovation has proven to be of great boon to businesses. It has helped improve Employee-Customer relation and has helped bring them closer. But, technology and innovation have no end. With new ideas popping up, the future of both Science and Commerce looks bright.
Author Bio Divyanshu Jangid is a Digital marketing expert with experience in marketing and communications. His interests include researching, reading about new technologies and content marketing. When he’s not working, he enjoys spending time with his family, friends and playing billiards.
