Technology has been the cornerstone to face all the changes that Covid-19 brought us, the challenge was even bigger for small companies, who had to adopt new technologies to face a competitive world involved in crisis and confinement.
Many entrepreneurs felt they needed to expand their technology toolkit, be more creative, and tap into resources on how to do business to continue to operate effectively in a competitive world. Learn about the new technological trends for entrepreneurs.
Rhonda Vetere, Herbalife Nutrition’s Director of Global Information and Technology Services, as a technology expert advising more than 3.4 million entrepreneurs around the globe, I recommend the following technology tips to empower your business.
Customer Support
We are going through a tremendous moment of technological transformation. Gone are the days when people waited almost forever to send or receive a message. Time hastened, as has the demand of customers for immediate attention. According to a recent survey, 82% of customers expect brands to respond quickly. Keeping up with or ahead of customers requires keeping up with the best technology trends and making sure you have the tools to compete in the digital age.
For website support, many entrepreneurs use a live chat tool that helps customers with basic questions. Many of these tools can also be used on social networks. While the paid chat options are prohibitively expensive, there are also free tools that come in handy, including Zoho Desk.
Communication and Collaboration
Video conferencing and video chat applications have grown exponentially during the pandemic. In March, video conferencing apps had 62 million downloads. Entrepreneurs are using video apps to connect with customers, partners, and suppliers. While these tools are great for meetings, they are also great for maintaining connections with industry organizations and networking groups. Many of these tools also allow for separate rooms within a session, creating an intimate collaborative space.
Social Networks
Social networks have become a true business tool. Clients are on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, YouTube and Instagram. Once they identify the channel they want to use, they must publish attractive and high-impact content -content marketing-. Posting to multiple channels every week can be challenging, Luckily many social media tools help you schedule and post content that can be automatically scheduled and posted. These tools range from Hootsuite (which has a free option) to Zoho Social and Buffer.
Slack
More and more brands, companies, and entrepreneurs are using Slack to communicate with customers. This is a great place to provide relevant updates, tips, and recommendations, and for new product announcements. Plus, it gives clients a place social to share stories and entrepreneurs to connect with the team more easily and visibly.
Storage
Much is said about the term “cloud”. Think of the cloud as a locked storage cabinet where all critical information is secure and easily shared. Google Drive, Dropbox, or Microsoft Sharepoint store your backups and allow users to access them from anywhere. Taking work to the cloud not only benefits them from being able to work from anywhere and from any device but also makes it easier for them to share content with their clients.
Email Marketing
Your marketing toolkit may contain a variety of options, email marketing being one of them. Sending professionally designed newsletters to your customers is a great way to stay in touch. One of the most well-known companies in the business is Mailchimp. Even if your company sends fewer than 12,000 email messages per month to fewer than 2,000 subscribers, they can take advantage of the free plan.
E-commerce
The pandemic changed the way we shop. Overnight, people began buying everything from groceries to furniture online and in record numbers. Customers now expect to buy their products online and for the experience to be quick and easy. Among the best-known platforms to undertake in e-commerce is Shopify.
