When it comes to technology, small businesses can’t afford to fall behind. Only 35% of the 699 small- to medium-sized cover story + write for us business owners surveyed by Gartner said that keeping up with technology is a concern. However, according to analyst Anthony Bradley, technology is the only thing that can save the small business sector and make it possible for small businesses to compete with large corporations.
The fact of the matter is that customers have high expectations of businesses, expecting their in-person experience to be as satisfying as their online ones. They need answers to their questions right away, they want to find representatives for goods or services quickly, and they want to choose from quick and flexible payment options.
In the meantime, employees are becoming more and more dependent on being able to leave their desks and quickly access the information they require to respond to inquiries from customers and potential customers. Small businesses must adopt mobile technology as their future technology to meet these expectations. Here are the essential technologies that businesses should think about incorporating into their plans as 2019 draws near.
Wearables A lot of people use Repay a Home Loan Faster wearables in their personal lives to keep track of their exercise and activity and make technology more portable. The same technology is rapidly being implemented in trades and other business fields. A smartwatch, for instance, enables a repair technician to check inventory, receive alerts, and report on the status of the job while they are elbow-deep in a customer’s air conditioning unit.
Unleash the Potential of Mobility for Your Small Business Wearable devices can facilitate business-oriented application access. For example, bellhops and valets at luxury hotels are outfitted with smartwatches so they can receive and respond to notifications without having to reach for their phones. The hotel reduces the likelihood that guests will mistakenly believe that staff members are swiping through Instagram on their phones while on duty by sending alerts to them quickly and in a user-friendly format. Today’s devices make use of a marketplace of apps that may already be in use by businesses on smartphones.
Machine Learning Although machine learning is typically thought of as a technology for large corporations, it can also be beneficial to smaller businesses that produce sufficient data flows. In turn, these analytics assist the company in better anticipating trends and responding to data that suggests consumer intentions. Out-of-the-box machine learning tools have the potential to enhance agility and responsiveness, so any company that generates a lot of data should investigate them.
Patterns such as increases in engagement or shifts in demand for particular goods and services can be identified through the analysis of data streams by machine learning. Businesses become more adept at identifying devoted clients, recognizing opportunities for upsells and cross-sells, and personalizing online interactions. You could, for instance, use information from your email marketing system to determine how frequently a customer opens your email, information from your payment system to determine how frequently they have purchased from you, and information from Yelp to determine whether or not they have written a review.
Chatbots Conversational user interfaces (CUIs), such as chatbots, can help customers find answers to questions like “Where is my order?” by utilizing machine learning and artificial intelligence. Eighty percent of businesses plan to use chatbots by 2020, according to “The Chatbot Consumer Report.” With the option to escalate to a customer service representative for more complex questions, chatbots can enhance live chat operations by first responding to straightforward inquiries.
The performance of chatbots is always a challenge. According to the Chatbot Consumer Report, 71% of respondents are unable to obtain the desired response from the chatbot. Before adding a chatbot to your customer service arsenal, ensure that it is designed to learn effectively. Although machine learning algorithms can assist in training your chatbots to comprehend natural language queries and retrieve the relevant information.
Blockchain Bitcoin is the most well-known example of a blockchain application. Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology that uses individual computers to create records that cannot be changed and go beyond cryptocurrency. Companies that use blockchain technology are developing ledgers that can authenticate contracts and employment applications without the need for middlemen. Additionally, the blockchain can be used to create smart contracts that are incorporated into code and automate transactions to speed up and cut costs.
IDC, a research company, says that blockchain platform software is going to grow a lot. Blockchain will be heavily invested in by businesses in the manufacturing, distribution, and services sectors, particularly for the purpose of tracking and validating products across supply chains. The financial services industry will spend the most on the technology.
Because they will likely need to outsource the construction of a blockchain application, small businesses can benefit from learning as much as they can about blockchain vendors now. Additionally, you will need to examine your processes to determine which ones could benefit from blockchain technology.
Tools for Business Intelligence With cloud-based technology, even small businesses can use their data to gain useful insights. They can use analytics to get a better understanding of the purchasing and payment patterns of their customers by integrating data from financial and customer relationship management (CRM) systems. It evolves into a strategy for anticipating demand and improving product and service offerings.
Mobility IDC estimates that enterprise mobile spending will exceed $1.7 trillion in 2021. Small business owners will almost certainly purchase mobile devices and mobility technology. Businesses can empower employees to succeed on the go while providing the phones and tablets that best suit each role by taking the lead and providing company-owned mobile devices loaded with core applications. Businesses that aren’t ready to provide smartphones have the option of implementing a “bring your own device” (BYOD) policy, under which the company manages individual devices through enterprise mobility management (EMM) software.
Your small business can gain a competitive advantage by preparing now and learning more about these essential technologies. Better customer service, employee engagement, and increased productivity are all possible outcomes.
