Tech to Invest In Now for Your Small Business
What is the best technology for your small business? Find out which tools are valuable and which aren’t worth the hype.
Generative AI, augmented reality, self-driving cars – we’re living in the future. All the new technology coming out is exciting. And technological advances can also help your business! Of course, new technology is expensive, so how do you know what’s worth the cost? Drones are cool, but does your bakery need one? So here are some of the pros’ top picks for tech for your small business.
1. Smartphones
Smartphones are an essential to many things in life and most forms of business. They’re not just phones and texting machines – they’re powerful tools that can help you handle your business both on-site and on the go. They’re basically mini-computers. Smartphones can dramatically increase your on-the-go productivity and responsiveness, by allowing you to check email, video calls, and run a multitude of useful apps, among other things.
In addition to keeping you connected, smartphones give you some really helpful hardware options. You can get a portable credit card scanner that plugs into your phone and allows you to take credit card payments without one of those clunky (and pricey!) machines. With the right accessories, your smartphone can handle a wide range of business needs.
There are tons of options for smartphones, but at this point, they’re all fairly similar. You can choose one based on what kinds of other devices you have or what system you’re comfortable with. Note that some types of apps (like Microsoft Office apps or project management apps) may run better on iPhones than on Androids or vice versa. So make sure to get an idea of how you’re going to be using that smartphone before you commit to an operating system.
2. Responsive Web Design
We just finished explaining how important smartphones are, so this one follows naturally. It’s imperative that all small businesses feature mobile-friendly websites. Your customers, patrons, clients, and business contacts are on the go, and they expect to be able to access your website from their mobile devices. Having a responsive web design can mean the difference between success and failure.
If your current website is relatively new and updated, then you may be able to make small changes to boost mobile responsiveness. But, if your website is several years old, then you may need to invest in a programmer or a website building tool to help you conduct a full-site overhaul.
The best responsive web design streamlines navigation, simplifies content, and elevates design. Know that creating a responsive site is not just a once-and-done endeavor; you should constantly aim to tweak your site to improve the experience of your users.
Having an updated, sleek, functional website is a crucial investment.
3. Small Business Apps
There are tons of apps that can help make your small business more efficient. They can help you manage bookkeeping and inventory, take payments, manage projects, and more. Many of them integrate with desktop programs, so you can get the same information and functions whether you’re sitting at your desk or working from the road. These are a few of the options available:
Rescue Time: Helps you stay on track online. Premium versions allow you to track time and set notifications. The basic version is free, while the premium package is about $12 per month.
Toggl: Tracks your time automatically so you don’t have to. Toggl allows you to keep tabs on billable hours. There are both free and paid plans.
Square: Allows you to plug-in a portable credit card reader to process on-the-go payments. Square allows you to email or text receipts to customers. Plan costs vary.
FreshBooks: A simple-to-use accounting app. Allows you to track hours worked, log in your business expenses, and send invoices to your clients, starting at around $19 per month.
4. Your Own App
Depending on the type of business you’re in, it may be worthwhile to develop your own app. Your customers can use it to place orders, make appointments, shop, and more. That gives you a couple of benefits. First, your customers are always going to be happier when things are more convenient for them. An app can do that. Plus, it presents your business as serious and professional. Finally, an app allows you to gather valuable data about what your users look at, how they use your site, and what gets them to convert. You can use that data to tweak your products, branding, and marketing efforts and increase conversions.
Note that this won’t be the right option for everyone – designing and developing a professional app can be expensive, though with new AI tools, there are low-code and no-code platforms to help you. You’ll need the app itself, the back-end system where you can gather data, and the systems needed to connect the app to your physical business. The good news is that there are a lot of that kind of app out there, so developers can use “off-the-shelf” chunks of code for a lot of it. That brings down the cost, but it’s still an investment that requires consistent maintenance.
5. Social Media Tools
Social media is a crucial part of your marketing efforts, but it can feel a little overwhelming. You have a business to run – who has time to post all day or constantly record videos? But you don’t have to! There are a number of tools out there to help make your social media management easier. Most of them allow you to put together a lot of posts all at once and schedule them out. So you may spend an hour or two on Monday morning and have your entire social media calendar for the week completed. Many tools now also include content suggestions and AI features to make posting even easier. There are also tools that make it easy for your users to share pages or content from your website or app with each other, which is a great form of word-of-mouth marketing. These tools also offer analytical tools, so you can see how your posts are performing. These are a few of the tools available:
Buffer: Allows you to manage your social media and share content. You can schedule your posts to automatically share throughout the day. Buffer allows you to pre-plan your social media strategy and set up an editorial calendar.
HubSpot: A comprehensive tool for managing social media and beyond, HubSpot offers features to schedule posts, monitor brand mentions, and analyze performance. Integrated with its CRM, HubSpot helps you track interactions with your audience, ensuring a seamless connection between your social media and marketing strategies.
HootSuite: Consolidates your social media in one dashboard. Also allows you to view analytics.
And The Cool Stuff
Whether you’re working with spreadsheets or robots, you can use the latest tech for your small business to make it even better.
Grow Your Digital Tools
Accion Opportunity Fund and Ripple are partnering to launch Ripple Digital Leap Forward, a fully virtual accelerator program designed to unlock opportunity for 50 business owners.
