Ways to Utilise Technology To Improve The Profitability Of Your Business
The digital age has brought with it a slew of new technology with it to aid us in our business ventures. Some of this tech is great for marketing, while others can speed up the work day.
A majority of this new technology is made available as soon as it is introduced. Everyone knows how to use a smartphone properly. However, there will be some things that you are not yet aware of that can massively improve the profitability of your business.
Read on to find out more about these methods.
Automated Programmes
Sometimes you have to leverage your working hours to get the best possible outcome throughout the day. This means holding off on some projects until others are complete. Plus, there are plenty of tedious processes that you still need to do to on top of everything else.
Why not slow down and automate some of the less important tasks? Sure, every task in business is important; however, not all of them require your personal attention. Things like emailing memos, staff payments and spreadsheet data can all be monitored automatically if you manage to implement some good HR software.
Automating some of your business practices can give you the extra time to focus on profitability, instead of other minor tasks.
Use Influencers On Social Media
Social media is a great platform for marketing. The only problem comes from how diverse it is. Plus, these platform trends are changing all the time so that it is impossible to keep up. Fortunately, you do not need to worry about any of these issues.
There are now individuals out there whose job it is to monitor and follow social media trends. These individuals are known as influencers, and they are always keeping a finger on the pulse of what is popular online. An influencer is sure to have a die-hard following hanging on their every word. Why not employ some of these services to make sure that you are hitting the right audience with your message.
A social media influencer is perfect for creating brand awareness and increasing your profitability, especially if you are trying to target a younger demographic.
Changing Your Phone Plans
It can be surprising to learn just how much time you spend on your phone each day. Most of this time is spent being productive, of course, but this does not mean that it is expensive. Almost every call and gig of data is charged and it can seem like the bills are getting longer each month.
That is why you should consider switching to a SIM only plan. These SIM only plans, such as the ones offered by Lebara, are designed to provide you with a set number of call minutes, data and texts; however, they are tied to the SIM and not the phone. This means that you can keep your old phone, but change the data package and minutes that suit you. Try and visit a company like Lebara to find out more about the SIM only package. You never know; this might be the one change needed to save you that little extra each quarter.
Adopt The Cloud
The cloud is a new way to store your company’s data. Instead of uploading everything onto computer hard drives or memory sticks, the cloud offers a way to store your data on the internet.
This method is extremely cost effective as it removes the need to buy storage hardware, and it can also improve your security systems. Cloud storage is quickly becoming the best way to store company data, so get on board with the idea now to save yourself money on having to update your systems at a later date.
Find Out What Doesn’t Work
A business is only going to work if everything is pulling in the same direction. As mentioned above, plenty of new technologies can increase your profitability. Unfortunately, this also means that there is technology in your business that is out of date.
Some of the outdated equipment is fairly obvious. Nobody uses a fax machine anymore. However, some outdated programmes may be a bit obscure. Almost everyone in the tech business is striving to create the new must have software, which means some essential software packages are going to become obsolete.
Try to keep an eye on these innovations and remove what isn’t working. One way to remains profitable is by lowering production costs. If a piece of old tech is driving these costs up too much then it has to go.
Outsourcing
There was a time where outsourcing was an extremely expensive practice, one reserved for large companies with huge profit margins. Now, though; this practice is pretty much available to anyone.
The internet has provided us with a means to communicate in real time with anyone in any part of the world. This makes international meetings a much cheaper endeavour than it was before, and travel is so much less of a burden. As a business leader, you are now able to set up your company in locations where it can reap the most profit and the production costs are lowest. There is now no need to set up shop right on your doorstep. The world is literally your oyster, so look into how outsourcing can improve your profitability.
Remote Working
Some technological improvements have opened more doors to us than once thought. The dream of working from home was once so far away that is seemed that it would never happen. Now; however, the people of the world can talk to each other via laptops and smartphones, and businesses can upload data onto a cloud for all their staff to see.
These practices have given us all the means to actually start working from our homes. While this provides a bit of extra comfort for your staff, it also cuts your costs considerably. When your staff are at home, they aren’t using your power or equipment.
It does mean that you may have to work more on motivating your staff, but that isn’t going to cut into any of your profitability if done correctly.
Summary
The world is now more open than it has ever been. Use this fact correctly, and you could rapidly increase your profit margins while keeping up with the rest of the 21st century.