3 High-impact Tech Tools for Small Businesses

Technology seems to be everywhere!

Whether you’re a businessperson or working professional, you’ve probably heard terms like Artificial Intelligence, Marketing Automation, Machine Learning andApplication Programming Interface bandied about at networking meets or even around the water cooler.

Are you a small business owner?

Then you can either shy away from technology and keep telling yourself that you don’t need it; or you can embrace these changes to grow your organisation and make it future-ready.

We suggest the latter.

Why?

Because once you get over your fear, you will realise that technology can actually work for you, rather than against you. If you think about it, since the dawn of humankind, more technological advances have been used for good rather than for evil. Then why should this time be any different?

Here are 3 types of technology that are especially useful for small businesses. They can help you improve workflows and processes, boost employee productivity, enhance your customer service, and lots more!

#1: Marketing Automation

Marketing Automation is the use of technology/software to effectively target customers and generate more qualified leads across multiple touch points. If you don’t have the budget or resources to hire a full-fledged marketing team or agency, try Marketing Automation. It can help you automate repetitive marketing tasks, create personalised customer experiences and ultimately increase marketing efficiency. Because let’s face it – you need marketing!

With Marketing Automation, you and your team will be able to focus on important tasks, instead of wasting time and effort on time-consuming, low-ROI tasks.

You can use Marketing Automation for campaign management, inbound marketing, lead management, analytics and a whole lot more.

#2: Remote team management software

In today’s business landscape, it’s extremely normal to have a team that works from multiple locations. Geography is no longer a constraint when it comes to managing business operations, vendors and even finances.

But geographically-dispersed ‘remote’ teams raise a number of challenges, especially around management, productivity, efficiency, service delivery and motivation. In fact, one of the biggest problems with geographic separation is disengagement of team members. One way to bridge the physical distance and ensure that it does not get in the way of effective operations is to use – you guessed right – technology.

#3: Human Resource Management Software (HRMS)

Old-fashioned pen-and-paper- or even spreadsheet-based HR systems are passé. Whether it’s hiring or appraisals, payroll processing or even retrenchments; traditional HR systems and processes are cumbersome and time-consuming. Even more important, they’re very difficult to optimise – a huge problem in today’s hyper-dynamic business landscape.

Your HR department manages your most critical asset – your people. So when they’re bogged down with repetitive, time-consuming activities; they’re unable to focus on more important goals like employee engagement, upskilling and productivity improvement.

A Human Resource Management System (HRMS) can help you manage, simplify and automate your HR operations. It can also:

• Improve employees’ performance and prevent ‘brain drain’
• Ensure alignment between employees’ career goals and employer’s strategic objectives
• Increase transparency and openness within the firm
• Keep employees engaged and motivated
• Lower attrition rates
• Save time and money on payroll processing
• Secure and protect the organisation’s critical data
• Manage employees’ learning and development outcomes

The right HRMS can make a huge difference to your organisation’s prospects for future growth and success so if you don’t have one already, consider getting it!

To conclude…

To the uninitiated, technology can seem daunting. But if implemented well and with an eye on future strategy, the use of technology can yield a lot of advantages for you and your organisation.