Technology leveled the playing field and making helpful features more accessible to newer businesses. Ignoring tech trends can be fatal to startups since they can miss out on competitive benefits. A study from CB Insights reported that 19 percent of startups failed because they were unable to catch up with their competitors – something that the right technology can help with.
Whether it’s building an app for a real estate business or acquiring the best laptops for video editing, technology opens many doors for startups.
Consider the following ways technology can help your business become more efficient.
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Streamline Your HR Tasks
The human resources department is responsible for handling a variety of administrative tasks that require a significant amount of time. By automating repetitive tasks, your HR department can focus more on people, not the paperwork.
There are many human resources processes to automate. The list includes:
Manage Social Networks
A strong presence on social media is not enough to attract customers and inspire them to choose your business. To grow a solid social network community, build a consistent brand presence and continue sharing high-quality, engaging content. Apart from the content you create, you can also share and curate content created by other relevant sources in the industry.
Curating and sharing quality social media content, however, can be tedious. Simplify this process by investing in social media management tools, like Hootsuite or Buffer. Use these tools to link your social media profiles to schedule content and publish them at your chosen schedules. All you have to do is plan the posting schedule and editorial calendar before you create queues of quality content. Let the tools do the rest of the job for you.
Automate Your Customer Support
Customer experience remains a crucial brand differentiator, surpassing price and product. No matter if they are chatting with your business via live support, mentioning your business on social media, or contacting your call center, customers expect you to address their concerns immediately. For this reason, many businesses are now using omnichannel customer experiences, with their numbers increasing from 20 percent to 80 percent.
There are many ways to automate customer support. Begin with your call center. Despite the growing number of customers interacting with brands via chatbots and networks, many customers still use their phones. For startups, it’s important to track, monitor and analyze the customer’s calls to assess their personal situation and understand the customers’ brand sentiment.
Make the switch from the traditional landline to voice over internet protocol (VoIP). Some of the best VoIP providers can easily integrate tools relevant to your startup, such as billing, reporting and CRM software, allowing you to collect and analyze customer data.
You can also automate your online customer support. For instance, integrate an AI chatbot with Slack, Facebook Messenger or email enables you to provide engaging and relevant feedback 24/7. Social media monitoring tools can help you keep track of brand mentions, as well as help you stay on top of customer conversations.
Improve Financial Management
If you are a startup-on-a-budget, hiring an in-house accountant may be out of your budget. Fortunately, there are tools available for financial management. Cloud-based accounting software such as Xero, QuickBooks or Freshbooks can help you pay bills, monitor your cash flow and send invoices instantly.
Technology is the foundation of your startup’s success and growth. It offers the opportunity to automate time-consuming and repetitive tasks, as well as give you more time to focus on complex and creative business processes.;
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