Technology has made any activity, including running a business and facilitating growth, a tad easier. Here are a few ways incorporating technology will help increase profits and give you an advantage against your competitors:
Sorting Through Troves of Data
When you have thousands, possibly millions, of customers transacting with your business, you have tons of data in your hands. You can sort through data and use it for your advantage.
An intelligent business software like IBM Cognos can efficiently collect and interpret data for you. This will enable you to better understand what your consumer wants and, therefore, improve your products and services. An IBM Cognos implementation partner can walk you through the process of integrating the software into your existing platform.
Remove Borders
The internet has made the world seem a little smaller. From your business, you can reap numerous benefits by going online. Having a web presence is essential for any business to thrive nowadays. You can advertise to billions of users from all corners of the planet through popular social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. By listing your business on Google, Bing, and other major search engines, you allow potential and existing customers to find you.
Sometimes, you have a good product or service but your local community does not have a need for it. By selling online, you are not restricted to selling to the town or state where your store is located. You can ship to any part of the country and other parts of the world where the demand for your products and services is higher. In fact, the internet has been a primary way people acquire goods. Last year, the total retail e-commerce sales worldwide reached $3.53 trillion. By 2022, it is expected to grow to $6.54 trillion.
Buying online has made shopping convenient for consumers. For business, it guarantees higher profits and offers the possibility of virtually unlimited growth.
Cost-Effective Marketing
Nowadays, targeted marketing is, not only possible but has become common. Every big business harness the power of data and the internet to deliver tailored ads to millions of consumers.
This is an effective way to reach potential customers. Users are being tracked across the world wide web in order to promote products or services that they will want or need. They, therefore, are more likely to buy the advertised goods. The process is way more effective than traditional methods. Moreover, because the business is advertising only to those who may be interested in a specific product or service, money is not being wasted on a huge audience that is not ready to make a purchase.
Improve Customer Relations
The success of any business relies on whether they can attract and retain customers. If a customer is not happy with the transaction, they will leave a bad review and then switch to your competitor.
Newer customer relationship management involves using software to manage interactions between businesses and consumers. An automated response is designed to immediately address a problem that a customer is having so they do not have to wait to be connected to an available representative. Moreover, it provides a way for you to assess your business’ relationship with customers, allowing you to make changes that will improve interaction and promote loyalty.
Integrating technology into your business may be expensive at first, but the initial cost will not matter in the long run when you see profits soar.