How To Use Technology In Your Small Business

If you think we have seen enough business disruption from technology already, wait for it.

There’s more to come.

What has been called “The Fourth Industrial Revolution” is still being played out, and there is little doubt that it is going to lead to a step-change in business, productivity, and customer experience. What is yet to come will not be a smooth upward slope but a significant step up in the use of technology ion business. Some of the technologies that are being introduced or developed are more integrated smartphone apps, Artifical Intelligence, augmented reality, sensor technologies, 3D printing, blockchain cryptocurrencies, GPS and robotics. These and their combinations as they develop will cause us to need to adapt our business processes or suffer the consequences of tougher competition.

Have you ordered a pizza delivery lately?

If you ordered from a small neighbourhood pizzeria, you would have picked up the telephone and called. The call would have been answered by someone who sounds a bit harrassed with a lot of background noise so that it was difficult to hear. You would have called out your order and then read out your credit card details, perhaps a little concerned about its security. Then you would have settled down and waited. And waited, And waited, wondering how far it was before, within some indeterminate time without any up to date information the doorbell finally rings.

If on the other hand, you ordered from Domino’s Pizza, you would have done that in a matter of seconds through their app, including choosing an array of toppings from a graphic screen, entered your credit card in a secure commercial gateway, and then sat back watching the steps where your pizza was being cooked, prepared, and sent on delivery, and then the GPS would have taken over so that you could watch the delivery on a map until it arrived at your address,

Putting aside junk food and values like the support of local businesses, how soon do you think it will be before the Domino’s effect changes the pizza parlour?

However, cutting-edge technology seems so beyond the reach of small business. How can you afford it? How can you find resources to understand, implement and use it effectively?

In this video, I take you through the steps any small business can take to digitally transform.

If you think that as a small business, you are not scaled to transform your business with technology, let me tell you that large businesses can often be worse off in attempting to change their business through technology.

Because they are large, they can be inflexible. this means that big companies can fool themselves into investing in mega-projects that take in every detailed aspect of their business and will take years to manage change. It’s not that you don’t change – doing it wrong will catch you too. Being large, they have communications difficulties, and this can mean that their technology teams can’t explain clearly why the changes are being made and what benefits it will bring so that users and customers get frustrated. As large companies, they have dedicated teams looking after their technology – and this can lead to teams trying to justify their existence, solutions looking for a problem to solve.

As a small business, you can be far more flexible, fast and communicative so that your use of technology can be focused only on what is effective and necessary.

So, over to you. Go over to teikoh.com and leave a comment on how you are using technology in your business, or share your experience in making sure that your business implements new technology solutions.

And while you’re there, don’t forget to register your email so that you can receive these valuable free tips and ideas on how to grow your business, or, just click here to register your email directly.

Let’s hear from you soon!

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