Every year when we sit down to work on next year’s budget, we inevitably come to the line item for Technology. Then we skip over it because of course our technology is fine – it works, doesn’t it? Time passes and suddenly we find ourselves behind the technology curve and desperately trying to keep up. This is when Technology becomes a cost center… Rather than taking an initiative to stay abreast, the company is now strapped with trying to figure out when their technology became defunct. After all, they just had a new website built five years ago… what could be wrong? With proper planning, technology can easily become a revenue generator and expense saver for your business.
How can it generate revenue you ask? Quite simply, actually. As consumers, we utilize technology daily for all sorts of commerce. If I am going out for the evening with my fiancée, you can be sure that I’m not only checking out the restaurant’s website on my phone but their Facebook, Yelp, or Foursquare reviews well. If your site isn’t mobile friendly (AKA: optimized) or (worse yet) you don’t even have one, then odds are I am taking my business elsewhere. And I’m not alone in this. According to Constant Contact, 81% of consumers have searched for a restaurant via a mobile app – 92% through an actual browser. In fact, 75% of consumers will choose their dining destination based on what they find (or don’t find) based on these search results while 80% say that seeing the current menu before they even step in the door is a must.
Moving outside the restaurant ring, there are still businesses that don’t accept credit cards or have a limit before you can use one. Not only do consumers expect you to accept all major credit cards (yes, this includes American Express as well as Discover), Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Android Pay are quickly rising in the ranks as a way to pay for goods and services. According to a study by Placetable, when given the option 9% of consumers will choose the mobile payment option. The “mobile wallet” is still a relatively new way for the public to pay for goods and services but frankly, if there are limitations on how I can pay, I don’t want to return to some establishments. We live in a world where we are connected 24/7 and want demand immediate satisfaction.
Businesses must utilize technology that is available to reach their customers.
They need to have an active social media presence, utilize email marketing campaigns, online marketing, and have ecommerce. They need to accept all forms of electronic payment. Staying ahead of the technology curve or at least on the curve will expand your reach to potential clientele and generate revenue.
But technology can greatly reduce my expenses, too? Absolutely! 90% of all businesses are not utilizing their technology to its fullest potential. Resources are created on spreadsheets outside of our business systems because we find it “easier and more familiar to understand”, but it is not as efficient. Utilizing technology that is built for a specific industry is designed to create a workflow that is much more efficient than trying to do it on our own. For example, don’t continue to use a pen and paper system for your purchase orders. Not only does all this paper cost you space to house them, time to hand write them out, and money to purchase those PO forms, odds are your financial system has the electronic solution that will save you time and money. QuickBooks is a prime example of this. It’s a customizable software allowing you to process everything from bank balances, purchase orders, invoices, expenses, even payroll and taxes through one efficient system. And efficiency is everything. Make it an absolute must to understand the offerings of your technology to the fullest. You will be surprised on what it can do and time and money you can save as a result.
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