Top Technology Trends in 2014 for Small Business

Technology is constantly evolving and whilst it always has surprises for everyone, not all tech is right for everyone – this is particularly true for business owners.

If you are aware of what is hot and also relevant in the market, you can prepare accordingly. Here, we examine what tech seems important over the coming year. Identifying these top technology trends and considering how these could be applied to your business could be very lucrative for you.

Apps

Businesses are increasingly designing apps that put customers at the heart of functionality. They need to have the right options at the front and others should be easy to navigate to. Remember that the mobile screen, however large, is not yet a complete replacement for the desktop website. Apps should also be often upgraded to provide additional functionality.

DDoS attacks are getting more frequent

The world unfortunately contains people with evil intent and technology is no different. DDoS stands for Distributed Denial of Service in which a cyber-criminal deploys several computers that try to access your computer network at the same time. During the process, your customers will not be able to access your website. If your business is majorly or completely online, such as e-retail or stock broking, such an attack can be catastrophic. You should hire the services of a well-known security firm to prevent this or if you can offer this service, consider this growth area as an add-on to your business.

Big data

It is imperative that you leverage the data you have on your business to generate more sales. It is estimated that about 80% of data in a business is never put to good to use, even though it has the potential to increase cash and profit by up to 35%. Even Facebook likes for your products will help. As an example, you can find information on what the best time is to send emails to prospects, what age group to target with a product and so on.

Increased use of phablets

Phablets such as the Galaxy Note 3 provide more real estate to users than a smartphone and thus are finding increased adoption amongst business users. Full scale websites are easier to navigate. Documents and spreadsheets are easier to view and edit. Thus, more productive work can be done. You can make short videos demonstrating your products to increase the chances of customers coming to you.

Increased usage of website

This is as relevant today as it was a few years back. The one change, however, is that small business owners are making websites become geared towards self-service. Customers can place the order without having to walk in to the store. You must therefore make sure there is always something there that makes them keep coming back. Some off-beat pages can help – e.g. if you sell sports equipment, you can put up news that engages the customers and make him buy things you just talked about.

CRM Tools

Customer Relationship Management software can help you manage customers like never before, and there is no lack of software that suits your pocket and exact requirements. You already probably use an Excel sheet to maintain a database of customers, but sophisticated software can help you take it to levels never seen before. CRM’s are not new (I implemented a full CRM into my law firm in 2004) however they are now becoming an essential element to all businesses in all niches.

Email management software

It is quite likely you have multiple email IDs and these software help you take an integrated view of all of them in a single place. You get the benefit of shorter response times, as well as being able to manage several aspects of your business from one place.

Increased adoption of digital marketing

It is imperative that customers are kept abreast of real time developments that make sense to them. If they placed an order on the website, they will want to know its status every few hours, and an SMS/email will help. If they raised a query on one of your products, they will want a resolution immediately. If they are shopping, they want alternatives you can provide. So reaching out to customers through digital channels such as Facebook, Twitter, and e-mails and knowing which one to use when is critical.

Productivity tools for employees on smartphone

Employees need to be connected to their business all the time and smartphones can help. They can check their emails when they want. You can hire a company to develop applications that can help staff to take care of routine stuff – replying to mails from customers, check product updates, check inventory – while on the go, so that more time is available for strategic requirements when they come to work.

Increased use of ERP software

An Enterprise Resource Planning tool helps take stock of multiple facets of their business from just one place. You can have a look at who is supposed to go to the customer site and attend to his problems. A view of current inventory levels is just a few clicks away, and if they are lesser than what they need to be, you can quickly decide which supplier is best suited for the order. Accounting and time tracking of employees can also be taken care of from within this software.

It is not possible, nor desirable, to act on all such advice simultaneously. Therefore, you should identify what is likely to benefit you most and take it step by step. Even if you implement 3-4 top technology trends a year and execute the ideas to their fullest potential, you will likely see your business in a much better light by the end of the year!

Have you identified any top technology trends for this year?