Tech Trends that Stimulate Small Business Growth
There are plenty of technologies out there designed just to help small businesses. Here are some tech trends that will stimulate growth in your small business.
As a small-business owner, you already know how important technology is to your company and its growth.
But there are so many tech trends out there, and they seem to be evolving constantly. So how do you know which ones are just a flash in the pan, and which ones will actually stick around?
And most importantly, how do you know which ones will work for you?
We’ve done our research and have narrowed down the list to the top four tech trends you should use to boost your company’s growth.
Mobile commerce (m-commerce)
People are shopping from their smartphones more than ever before. Over three-fourths of Americans own smartphones, almost half of them have made purchases from their phones, and those numbers are not going to wane anytime soon.
It’s predicted that by 2019, US mobile payments will grow to $142 billion.
Clearly, mobile commerce is one tech trend you shouldn’t ignore.
You can offer an excellent mobile shopping experience through responsive web design, a mobile app, or both. If your customers can use their mobile device to easily find the information they’re looking for and make purchases smoothly, it increases the chance that they’ll come back to your site again and again.
Need another reason to go mobile? Google recently updated its algorithm to give better rankings to mobile-friendly websites. While having good SEO is still imperative to ranking at the top of search results, Google is giving a “boost” to sites that are also mobile-friendly.
Cloud computing
Another tech trend that should be on your radar is cloud computing.
The cloud is an internet-based global network that lets you share resources and perform various functions from any computer in any location at any time.
Using the cloud is great for small businesses for several reasons. It’s significantly less expensive than purchasing your own servers or computer infrastructure. It also lets you get applications up and running more quickly with less maintenance, and it doesn’t require you to pay an IT team to manage it.
Another benefit of using the cloud is that, since you can access anything from anywhere, employees can work remotely with little to no interruption to their usual workflow. Employees who work from home are more productive – and happier than employees who commute to an office.
It’s estimated that almost 80% of US small businesses will adopt cloud computing by 2020, which is more than double the current amount.
Chatbot
Chatbots – also called chatterbots or talkbots – are computer programs that use artificial intelligence to chat with customers online.
You can use these “virtual assistants” as customer service reps on your website to answer people’s questions or provide basic information.
Don’t know where to start? That’s okay. Websites like Octane AI, Wit.ai and Botkit can help you create and manage your chatbot.
2017 has been called the year of the chatbot – don’t get left behind on this tech trend!
Collaboration tools
Small businesses use remote or freelance employees for several reasons. Among other advantages, it reduces overhead and allows you to grow and shrink your workforce as needed without having to hire and fire people.
Tools like Google Hangouts, Skype, Slack and Jabber allow your employees to communicate and collaborate in real-time, no matter where they’re located.
As remote workforces become more popular, collaboration tools will become even more necessary.
Putting these tech trends to work for you
There’s an ever-evolving swirl of tech trends available to you at any given moment, so we’ve narrowed the list down to the four that we think would work best for you as a small-business owner.
And don’t forget – we’re always here to answer questions or to help you with your web design or SEO needs. Contact us at any time.