In the overly competitive world run by brands (and therefore consumers), startups are finding it increasingly difficult to secure long-term growth and ensure a solvent future, especially in the first three years after launch. In fact, more than 50% of small businesses fail in the first four years, begging the question: how can you cut the curb, secure your foothold in the market, and build up your brand in the ever-changing business arena?
While there are many answers to these questions and many variables an entrepreneur should consider when kick-starting a company, the implementation of modern tech and software is certainly one of the best ways to stay relevant in the digital world. Here are five effective ideas you can use to give your startup a tech boost and build a company for the future.
Building a winning online presentation
If your business is not online, then it might as well not even exist. Such is the harsh reality of the modern consumer market. And it’s not just about being active on social media, even though it is the largest audience pool you should definitely tap into, but it’s more about building an aesthetic, functional, and transparent website that will inspire audiences to make a visit, snoop around, get hooked, and make a purchase.
This is the fundamental process of online business success, and it all starts with creating a responsive, optimized website. Every image, every message, and every word on your website needs to be tailored to speak to the minds and hearts of your target demographic, shortening their decision-making process with quality content and a trustworthy visual appearance.
Making good use of HR software
Nowadays, there is a software for everything, supplying every one of your business needs so that one day soon, you won’t even need to have an office. In fact, there is software for that as well. One of the more recent innovations in the business arena is HR software, aimed at minimizing startup costs by allowing you to outsource your HR department and devote a single person to run the sector.
Startups in particular can have a difficult time creating an in-house HR department, and it’s usually something that’s left on the backburner, waiting for the company to gain some traction before enough capital can be invested in this project. Every company needs an HR professional, so simply outsource the task instead of ignoring it altogether.
Equipping the office with hard tech
A modern company is not complete without quality tech aimed at making daily processes more efficient, streamlining work, and simply making your employees’ lives a bit easier. You should never expect from your employees to bring their tech with them; instead, you should equip the office space with good, quality hardware, such as an HP laptop and the likes. There are also numerous ways you can go about your office tech layout, opting for desktop PCs for top performance, or laptops for mobility and ease of use.
Depending on the nature of your startup, you might need to diversify your tech range, supplying every workstation with a unique gadget to fit the job description. Remember, a content creator might appreciate a good laptop they can take into the break room, but a 3D animator requires a powerful desktop PC.
Using BI to leverage growth
Business intelligence software has become one of the most popular and effective tools for startups as well as established brands in recent years. When you have all of that hard data in your hands such as social media analytics, website traffic, industry fluctuations, market trends, and many more, but don’t know what to do with it, things tend to get a bit messy. This can lead to a steady decline in performance, and worse.
This is why business intelligence is highly recommended to industry newcomers that don’t possess the necessary experience to make all the right calls and get their company up and running quickly and efficiently. BI is there to use all of that data, chew it up, and spit it out as useful information you can implement in real-life scenarios. In layman’s terms, that is.
Managing social media platforms
Social media marketing is by far the most powerful inbound marketing tool you can use to extend your brand reach, raise awareness, engage with your target audience, and inspire them to visit your oh-so-mesmerizing website. Your brand needs to be present, and more importantly consistent, across all social media platforms relevant to your industry and niche.
However, SM management is costly and time-consuming, and it usually requires a team of people. This is why you want to use various automated social media tools to optimize your online efforts, reach new audiences, and tailor messages that will resonate in the hearts and minds of your consumers. In turn, this will boost your website traffic, elevate your standing in the industry, and of course, influence your conversion rate immensely.
Technology is the way of the future, and no matter the industry or the size of the company, introducing software and hardware solutions across the board can be the golden ticket to a solvent and successful future. Use these five ideas to give your company a tech boost and pave the road to a long-term success.