In 1995 roughly 16 million people were connecting to the internet. Today that number has grown to a significant, 4.3 billion connected users across the globe.
The rate at which technology is evolving is mind blowing.
Business adoption to technology is becoming alarmingly important and fundamental to surviving. To outwit and take a bigger share of the pie, small business owners should be looking to engage with their customers online. After all this is where most of us shop, socialise and earn a living.
The following are five tech trends your business should explore, to get an advantage over the competition in 2019.
Optimise Voice Search
Typing is so yesterday. More and more people have stopped typing their queries into the Google search box. Voice assistants like Siri or Alexa are replacing our fingers, to help us complete search via voice. This helps save time and increase your productivity in your business.
Marketing using Social Media
One of the easiest way of marketing your business is through the use of social media. You can engage with your potential customers and sell to them directly. Facebook is the largest social media platform. It receives more than 1.3 billion users every month. You can use the channels to drive traffic to your business website.
You should build your social media channels early enough so that potential clients can learn about it early enough. The most common and influential social media platforms are Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter. Find the channel that best suits your business and will attract more customers. Although, it takes time to build a following on the social media channels, it is one of the cheapest ways of marketing your business.
Cloud Integration
Cloud computer integration offers businesses a convenient way of storing their files and leveraging external resources among other needs. This is why cloud computing has become a necessity with each passing year. In the near future, companies and businesses will entirely opt for cloud integration.
Modern businesses cannot afford to ignore cloud integration. Cloud solutions are a fantastic opportunity for your business to increase profitability and productivity in cost-effective ways.
With cloud computing you can secure important documents, automate data backups, scale development and connect with online software.
Besides the zero upfront cost for hardware and software, cloud computing offers excellent cost savings for businesses. Energy reduction, scalable hardware and easier software upgrades adds up to big savings.
Business lending company Maxiron Capital, said, “as business lender’s we constantly seek ways to increase the success of our investment’s. This is not only about strategy, but also finding ways to reduce costs and scaling safely. Technology is the driving force. Technologies like AI, Robotics and Cloud Computing are delivering many opportunities for business productivity and growth”.
Messenger Chatbots
The use of chatbots by businesses is growing at a very high rate. It is predicted that almost 80% of the businesses will start using the technology by the year 2020. Chatbots provides an easier and quicker way of communicating with your customers. It can handle multiple conversations with different customers via the company’s website. It can chat with even hundreds or thousands of customers simultaneously. Your customers will not be put on hold waiting for the next available human agent.
Another reason your business should adopt this technology, is that it extends your business hours. The chatbots operates 24/7. Some aspects of your business will still be running at night, weekends and public holidays. You can take care of all types of clients at any time and it helps increase conversions for your business.
The Digital Currencies and Blockchain
This is one complex technology that most people are finding it hard to understand. As a business owner you need to adopt the use of the blockchain technology, otherwise, you will miss out on it’s incredible advantages. The blockchains are basically e-ledgers that are decentralised. They are very reliable, no third party transaction fees, and they are secure to use.
There are many more technology you need to adopt if you are keen on the growth of your business in 2019. Technology is changing every day. If you want to get ahead of your competitors and grow your business you should embrace this technology as it shows up.
