Whether you are a small business owner or the leader of a multinational conglomerate, you want your business to grow and expand. Technology is playing an ever increasing role in helping businesses attract new customers, diversify their products, and provide their clients a higher standard of service for less. There is no question that business owners who fail to make the most out of technology get left behind. The following are three technological advancements that are key for the expansion of your business.
Video and Audio Hosting
Video and audio hosting has grown dramatically in the past 15 years. Expanding companies are including sites like YouTube and Vimeo as part of their marketing strategies. Online video hosting allows companies to provide uniform training and instantly update or adjust their training videos across the board when the need arises.
Growing companies have used online video sites to offer their customers a virtual tour of their facilities. On a weekly or monthly basis, they may interview some of the more prominent members of their staff and allow their staff to have a question and answer session with customers using the chat area provided.
Many companies are turning to podcasts as a part of their marketing strategy. Some use episodic, while others use non-episodic, content to discuss their products, interact with customers, build their brand, or address public relations questions. These podcasts allow companies to showcase their star employees and present new products in a way that was not available previously.
Extreme Customer Segmentation
A few years ago, understanding the needs of your customers was a mix of market research and divination. Now that there is a larger flow of data, it is easier for expanding businesses to understand exactly what their customers want. Analytic services allow business owners to break their customers and potential customers down into targeted groups and then create marketing that will get the best results from each group. Simply using Google allows businesses to know where their customers are visiting their website from the browser they use, how long they visit a site, and at which point in their search they leave the site. All of this data can be compiled, whittled down, and use to create a refined customer experience.
Social Networking
It is impossible to discuss technological advancements that help to grow businesses without discussing social networks. If you run your business as if it was in a vacuum, it will fail. Social networking allows your customers to interact with you, praise you for offering good service, and call you out on the mat for less than stellar service. Monitoring your digital reputation on social media is key to growing your business. As they say, what happens on the Internet stays on the Internet forever. This is why businesses, small or large, guard their digital footprint or the identity that they have on social media. By being proactive, they have less potential for bad press and are presented with opportunities whereby they can positively interact with customers.
Expanding Businesses Must Keep Pace with Technology
Keeping pace with the ever-changing world of business technology is exhausting. However, the rapid wave of advanced technology is not going anywhere. Businesses large and small that fail to adapt and that fail to take advantage of technology will quickly find themselves left behind. Savvy business owners learn to keep up and reap the financial rewards.
Some small business owners have seen the benefits of outsourcing the technical aspect of their business. Some have availed themselves of services like those provided by Avanti Workspace. They use virtual offices and have virtual receptionists who are experts in the communication software options that expanding businesses need to thrive. Consider how to implement some of the above-mentioned strategies. Use technology to put your company on the fast track for expansion.
