4 Reasons Big Technology is a Must for Small Business

Small business owners wear a lot of hats and have many obligations, that include overseeing all of the technology in the workplace. As important as that task is, it’s easy for it to fall to the bottom of the to-do list.

Staying on top of technology as it evolves is not only the best way to run your business efficiently, it’s also necessary if you want to keep up with – and stay ahead of – your competition.

Despite understanding its importance, many business owners don’t understand the power of technology and just how transformational it can be. Here’s a look at what technology can do for your business.

Find New Customers

Digital marketing can help you attract more customers and raise awareness of your business, and there are plenty of tools available to help you get started, starting with social marketing tools. Nearly every business is using – or should be using – social marketing, and managing your accounts is now easier than ever before. Some of the most popular social marketing tools include:

• Google Analytics – One of the easiest to use, this tool helps you track website traffic, conversions, and opt-ins that came from social media.
• Hootsuite Impact – This tool can measure and improve the ROI of your social media efforts across paid, owned, and earned social channels by optimizing your activity.
• Facebook Pixels – Facebook Pixels allows you to capture the Facebook users that are visiting your site or other landing pages so that you can retarget them later with relevant Facebook ads.

You can also use technology to help you collect information about your potential customers, making it easier to reach them and meet their specific needs. Email marketing is still one of the most effective tools used to build and enhance customer relationships. Build your email list by employ an opt-in form to collect visitors contact information and any other details that will help personalize their experience with your business.

Starting from scratch? Once again, technology can help. If marketing is still new to you, don’t worry. There is a wide range of marketing planning software available to help you create an effective marketing plan on specific to your business.

Increase Your Productivity

Do more with less effort. It’s always the goal, and with the right equipment, it’s both possible and surprisingly simple.

App technology isn’t just for your smartphone anymore. If you’re not employing apps at work, it’s time to start. There’s an app for every virtually every workflow or business need, from helping your employees:

• Translate documents
  Xerox® Easy Translator Service is a comprehensive suite of cloud translation services that are ideal for medium-sized businesses that have the need to translate documents. You can choose from an Express or a Professional translation.
• Easily share files
  Xerox® ConnectKey® for DocuShare® lets you scan and route documents directly to existing DocuShare collections, shared network folders, email, and the cloud, which means fewer steps, potentially fewer mistakes, and much greater productivity for you and your team.
• Scan to the cloud
  Web Capture Service from Xerox cuts your scanning time in half by allowing you to scan directly into web applications like QuickBooks Online, Microsoft Office 365, Google Apps, Workday and more. Best of all? It works with any brand of scanner or MFP. Here’s how and what it can do for your office.

And unlike many other technological advances, app technology doesn’t require a huge investment or a significant learning curve. Explore more business transforming apps and find out how they can benefit your business by visiting the Xerox App Gallery.

Improve Collaboration

Whether your team members are down the hall or across the world, your business’s productivity relies on everyone staying connected and working together. Technology makes it possible by:

• Storing business data in the cloud
  Digitizing your data has many benefits for any business, and with the Xerox® Mobile Link app, your team can digitize data from anywhere in just a few clicks.
• Streamlining your workflows
  Are you still emailing multiple versions of documents back and forth between team members employees? If so, you know the confusion that can arise when four different people are editing a document at the same time. Streamline your workflow with Xerox® ConnectKey® Technology, which lets multiple users access the same document simultaneously for real-time collaboration.

The right technology lets your business adapt to the modern workplace by enabling you to leverage the top business trends of today, from telecommuting and working from home to embracing a fully digital workplace.

Increase Customer Satisfaction

Few factors are as important to a business’s success as customer loyalty. Even the strongest product pales against a poor customer experience. Today, technology exist to support you in what once was exclusively a face-to-face mission by:

• Creating customer loyalty
  To maintain the loyalty of your customers, there are a wealth of effective tools that can be integrated directly into your existing platforms to help you streamline communications, give customers a voice, and address issues in real time, day or night. Take a look at our five favorite tools for building and maintaining customer loyalty.
• Better user experience
  Another place where the customer experience intersects with technology is your website. If your website isn’t providing a fully optimized, intuitive experience for your visitors, then you’re at risk of losing potential customers. Visitors will abandon your site if it’s not mobile friendly or takes too long to load.
• Answer their questions
  You’ll also want to optimize your website for search because customers can’t have a great experience if they can’t find you. Although SEO can be complex, there are simple, inexpensive ways to make it effective for your business. A basic approach to SEO can be as simple as brainstorming as many keywords as you can – anything that applies to your business, area, and the problems you solve – and then incorporating those keywords into your web copy, blogs, and tags. For a more in-depth look at SEO and what it can do for your website, take a look at this piece from Forbes.

Staying on top of small business technology is important because it helps grow your business by generating new revenue and improving how work gets down. For more business tips, subscribe to the Small Business Solutions blog today.

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