It used to be that small and large businesses were separated by a lot more than just size, but technology has leveled the playing field. As small businesses seek to increase their tech budgets, they’ll find several innovative solutions to some common business problems.
1. Problem: Secure Storage
Small businesses are at higher risk for security issues than many believe. A majority of small businesses operate under the assumption that they’re not at risk because of their size. However, small businesses are at greater risk for storage breaches than they realize, and it’s essential that they become informed.
Solution: Adopt Cloud Storage Solutions
Cloud storage is a great, affordable option for small businesses. It’s much more reasonable than purchasing stake in a physical data center, and it’s often easier to manage. Most importantly, small businesses can take advantage of the security built into the cloud’s framework, including disaster recovery, restart, server clustering, and the data vault.
2. Problem: Analyzing Marketing’s Effectiveness
By now, every small business knows that marketing is essential, but not everyone is able to measure how effective their efforts have been. This puts them in a sticky situation in which they’re not sure how to move forward or progress.
Solution: Master Free Analytics Tools
There are hundreds of free or extremely cheap analytics tools for small businesses that make it simple to analyze marketing effectiveness and plan a course of action for improvement. Some of the most trusted tools in the game include Hootsuite, Google Reader, Google Webmaster Tools, and Moz SEO.
3. Problem: Facilitating a Great User Experience
Because small businesses are often plagued with deficient capital and a lack of manpower, the result is often a poor user experience for their customers.
Solution: Focus on Website Design
There are many gaps to be filled when it comes to facilitating the user experience, but one of the most important is an emphasis on website design. Today, great design revolves around easy navigation on a simple website interface. It should offer a unified experience whenever customers interact with your brand, whether browsing your website or talking with customer service.
4. Problem: Being Unavailable
Large corporations have the luxury of outsourcing, which allows them to offer customer service 24 hours a day. Small businesses can’t typically do the same, which leaves them with the issue of being largely unavailable outside of business hours.
Solution: Utilize Mobile Devices and Applications
According to a CDW report, approximately 94 percent of small businesses recognize mobile devices as making them more efficient. Thanks to the portability of devices and the many applications that come with them – like Evernote, Square, and MailChimp – even small businesses can connect with their customers on the go.
5. Problem: Widespread Communication
Small businesses are often associated with freelance employees and distant vendors. It makes it difficult to stay on the same page when you don’t meet in the same physical office.
Solution: Web Teleconferencing
Video and voice connections have been made easy with free and affordable teleconferencing options. These help eliminate the problems associated with not meeting face-to-face and prevent exorbitant phone charges when conferencing overseas. Tools like Adobe Connect and Fuze Meeting Pro make it easy for businesses to connect, without the high costs.
Technology has made it easier than ever for small businesses to expand and keep up with major corporations. As small business owners and employees embrace these solutions and develop adaptive thinking, they’ll be in a much better position to beat the odds of failure and expand to larger horizons.
