The world of business is constantly changing. Every single day there are new strategies being thought up, new technologies being designed, and new practices being implemented. If you want to remain successful in business, then it’s vital that you keep up with these changes and your competition. If you don’t, you’ll be left behind, and won’t be able to survive for very long.
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Of course, change is scary, and it’s often difficult to work out what will benefit your business and what, so to help you out, here are eleven things that you can do to bring your small business into the 21st century.
1. Use Your Social Media
As you probably already know, we live in an age that is completely obsessed with social media, so it should be no surprise to you that, these days, social media can be incredibly useful to businesses of any shape and size.
Your social media accounts can be used to connect with your customers, and better your customer service, improve the reputation and credibility of your brand, and advertise your products, services, sales, and competitions.
Every successful business has social media, so make sure that you do too.
2. Create A Mobile App
Mobile apps are an increasingly popular tool used by businesses to sell products and services, engage with consumers, and simply remind your customers that you exist.
It’s always beneficial to have an app, but only if your app is up to scratch. If it isn’t then your customers will delete it not long after downloading and find one that actually works.
To make sure that yours is the best that it can be, you should have it undergo ios app testing.
This will ensure that any issues are spotted and dealt with as quickly as possible.
3. Update Your Website
You may own a brick and mortar business, but it’s still important that you have a website. If you don’t, then this is something that you should design right away.
However, simply having a website isn’t enough; You need to have one that looks great, is regularly updated, contains details on how to contact you, and is optimized for smaller devices, like smartphones and tablets.
This will help to build the credibility of your business and makes it a lot more likely that people will choose to shop with you over competitors with poorly designed websites.
4. Write A Blog
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Once you’ve got your website looking it’s best, you may as well get the most that you possibly can out of it.
This is where a blog comes it. If you publish regular blog posts on your website, it should help to boost your web traffic, which, in turn, should increase sales, as you’ll have potential customers returning to your site again and again to read your articles.
However, this will only work if what you publish is interesting and informative; There’s no point in posting poorly written and boring articles, as these won’t attract any readers.
5. Send Out Regular Newsletters
Posting regular newsletters on your website or emailing them to a list of customers is another great way to increase your visibility online and grow your brand.
This is because these newsletters will contain information on any new services or products you’re releasing, any promotions you’re planning to hold, and any other news from within your industry.
Years ago, businesses would have put all of this information on a physical letter, but switching to the web is much more convenient for your customers, cheaper for you, and better for the environment.
6. Offer Multiple Payment Methods
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Regardless of whether you sell from a brick and mortar store, an e-commerce store, or both, it’s vital that you offer your customers multiple ways to pay you.
These days, cash payments are becoming less and less common, with consumers opting instead to use debit and credit cards, contactless payments, and mobile payments, as well as online payment systems, like PayPal.
It’s important that you adopt as many payment methods as you think you require, to make checking out more quick and convenient for your customers.
7. Update Your Technology
While you’re updating your payment options, you should also consider the rest of the technology that your business uses.
These days, there isn’t a business on the planet that can survive without any technology, so it’s important that what you do use is the best that it can be.
The latest computers and fast internet are just two of the many things that most businesses simply can’t survive without.
You might also want to consider moving all of your physical documents and files to the cloud and use tablets and smartphones for internal communication.
8. Automate What You Can
When you’re a busy entrepreneur, it’s important that you save yourself as much time as you possibly can.
One of the best ways to do this is to start automating certain business tasks and processes so that you don’t have to waste your time doing them.
Some of the most common tasks that business owners automate include posting to social media, sending invoice reminders to clients, and backing up the files on your computer.
These tasks may only take you a few minutes, but now you have a few extra minutes to spend doing something more important.
9. Create Areas To Relax
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As a business owner, it’s your job to ensure that your team of employees remain motivated and productive throughout the entire day. After all, if even one person isn’t doing what they should be, it could affect the whole team, which would lose you a lot of money in the long run.
These days, we understand that working employees to the bone won’t actually make them work harder or better and that they need breaks to stay energized.
To ensure your staff gets a good break, you could create areas for them to relax, with comfy chairs and maybe a television.
10. Consider Non-Traditional Schedules
The regular working day may be from nine in the morning until five in the afternoon, but that doesn’t mean that your staff is going to be their most productive during this time.
Some people are way more energized at three in the morning than they could ever hope to be at three in the afternoon. Because of this, you should speak to all of your employees and see what times they think they work at their best.
Of course, you may not be able to cater to everyone’s needs, but if you can fit your schedule around the majority, then productivity should increase.
11. Allow Staff To Telecommute
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If you can’t alter your schedule or workspace to suit the needs of your employees, then why don’t you follow the suite of many modern businesses and allow them to work from home? This way, they can do their work when they feel the most productive and can find or create an environment that helps them to feel energized and motivated. This would also save both you and your employees money, as you won’t have to pay to heat and light a large office building, and they won’t have to travel to work each day or buy expensive work clothes.
If you want your small business to stay successful, then you need to jump into the 21st century and match your competitors. The world of business is constantly changing, and it’s up to you to keep up with this change. Hopefully, with the tips above, you’ll find this a little easier to do.
