Any business owner will tell you that one of their primary goals is to become more efficient. Time is money after all, so if your business can complete a task in a smaller amount of time, your bottom line will thank you for it. In order for businesses to accomplish this, it’s important to leverage the technology that’s available to them. Chances are, there are ways for you to use your current technology that will allow you to be more efficient, in additional to other tools that can help you automate tasks that you may haven’t thought of yet.
Making the most out of your current technology
First up, before you start introducing any new software, technology, or other beneficial tools to your company, make the most out of the ones you currently use. For example, let’s say your company regularly uses Microsoft Word or Excel. These programs are fairly simple to get started with, and most companies that use them can do so with ease. However, there are a ton of features packed into each of these programs, and knowing how to use them could make your life easier.
For instance, by learning to use Macros, you could automate some tasks within these programs that you normally do by hand. There are also keyboard shortcuts to learn, so that you don’t have to waste time scrolling through menus. Every little bit helps, so take a look at the software and tools you use on a regular basis, and then do some exploring to see if there are ways to get more out of them.
Finding new tools
If you think your business could still be more efficient, even after improving efficiency with your current tech, then it’s time to look at finding some new tools. Luckily, there are a wide range of options out there, and you’re sure to find something that fits your needs. Before you start looking however, you should think about what areas of your company you are trying to improve.
Is communication amongst team members inefficient? Are you unable to accept certain kinds of payment? Do you have to do the same repetitive tasks everyday, and wish there was a way to automate it? Once you know what you want to improve, then you can start looking for tools to help.
Automation apps
First, you could look into automation apps. Programs like IFTTT (If This Than That) or Zapier allow you to automate some simple tasks, which will hopefully save you some time. These apps are able to sync with a wide variety of other programs, such as Gmail, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, as well as many CRMs and marketing automation tools.
Let’s say that every day as a part of your job, you research your competitors by examining their websites and seeing if they made any changes. This is a time consuming process, especially if your competitors don’t change their websites all that often. With a simple formula from IFTTT, you could be notified whenever a change is detected in a competitor website. Now you only need to check when you receive the notification, freeing you up all of the other times.
Team management software
Perhaps your issue is that there is too much time being spent getting all team members on the same page. To fix this, you’ll want decent team management software. Slack is a popular option, which allows team members to communicate in real time, along with sharing project files and archiving conversations. A great example of this how was used is The Sunday Times newspaper, which introduced Slack to their organization. Previously, journalists and editors used email and a Google document to share stories throughout the day, but it was a slow and wasteful process. Now they use a Slack channel, and they say it’s been “fantastic.”
Another option is Trello, which allows you to create “boards” in which to share project files, providing your team members a convenient place to access all of the important files they need, and share files with others. There are a lot of options out there for team management software, you just need to consider your company needs and budget, and you should be able to find one that helps.
On-the-go payment options
If your business is on the go, and you’re tired of only being able to accept cash or check, then you’ll want to look at some mobile payment options. Being able to accept credit cards while you’re out of the office would certainly make your business more efficient, and if you combine it with cloud-based financial software, you could have all of the payments entered directly into a database. There are devices you can use that connect to smartphones or tablets to process credit cards, or you could look into signing up with a company like PayPal.
Online marketing tools
Finally, a great way to leverage technology is through your marketing tools. Marketing is a big part of any business, and you want to make sure the money you are spending provides a good return. By investing in some marketing analysis tools, you can track your current marketing campaigns, learn if they are performing well, and make adjustments to improve as you go along. For example, Google Analytics provides a wealth of tools and information to track your website’s performance, and when used properly, can help you to improve your website’s traffic and conversions.
Which tools are right for your business?
Nowadays, there is a tool for practically every inefficiency a business might face. It is simply a matter of finding the tools that are right for your company, and making sure you know how to use them properly. Sometimes we may not even realize that our business could improve in some areas, making it essential that you take some time to study your own business, and brainstorm ways to improve. Chances are if you can dream up a way to magically make your business more efficient in some area, there is already a piece of technology in existence that could help you out.
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At Cutting Edge Recruiting Solutions, we integrate state of the art tools to efficiently source from a large pool of candidates, both active and passive, as a part of our 21-Step Recruitment Process. If you’d like to know more about how our recruiting and staffing services can help you maximize your ROI while minimizing your time and resources spent, contact us today.
