In the past several years, we have witnessed the rapid growth that the business world has undergone. All these changes mostly resulted from technology advancements. The rate at which technological development is developing, changing, and adapting is quite fast that the tidal waves of progress will sweep you away—whether you are prepared for it or not.  So then how can technology benefit your business? And what can you do to stay up-to-date with the current tech trends?

Here we’ll take a look at 6 ways in which technology has basically changed business (both positive and negative). Let’s get right to it, shall we!

1. Connectivity

With technology, it’s now much easier for all to stay in touch.  This can range from having your employees and coworkers available via video/text chat on short notice, or sending targeted promotional emails to pre-qualified customers. The advancement in mobile technology has seamlessly blended with many communication software to help create a web of here-now information. Staying connected to your customers also helps businesses get instant feedback and product trends in real-time. Easy, right?

2. Social Impact

Today, social networking is on the rise and this can and will play a major role in your business success level. Years ago, you could have gotten by with “okay” products and customer service offerings. However, today you are likely to receive hateful rants on Facebook or worse get some bad review on the rating sites such as Yelp.  And, what this can mean to your business is possibly getting a major blow to your customer base. No one wants poor service or not-so-good products anymore.

It’s for this reason that’s you will see more businesses both large and small getting concerned as far as their digital footprint and social identity are concerned. They’ve even put a community of managers to be on the lookout for any potential “bad press”. No one wants the “bad press”. It’s bad for business.

3. Mobile Solutions

Today, it is possible for you to handle different aspects of your business from remote locations. And particularly,  if your tablet or smart device has the right software.  Everything starting with content marketing, your sales enablement, and customer relations via back-end processes such as invoicing and shipping is at the touch of a button.

Even then, mobile is not just for you—this is also for your clients as well. Owing to the rise of the Millenials (Generation Y) more and more people are utilizing their mobile phones, tablets to shop, sell, buy, and even find local businesses of interest to them. Mobiles devices are also used to share retail experiences(reviews) with Facebook strangers, friends, prospects, and acquaintances every day.  This paradigm shift has literally helped change how marketing has been handled in the past into prospects.

4. Increasing Functionality/Reducing costs

When you are considering a software solution for your business, two things will need to come together so as to create a ready “buyer’s market”. First, the necessary hardware, as well as software to help create these solutions, has in recent times become easy to afford and use.  Secondly, more entrepreneurial and tech-savvy minds who are able to exploit such barriers has increased exponentially.  For instance, a back-end inventory system which would have taken a multi-million dollar firm a year to build now takes a few weeks for several new college graduates to create.  These software solutions are now being offered at inexpensive rates and are mostly simple to use that a business does not have to hire full-time employees. This also means they won’t need to sign up long-term service agreement for them to use them.

5. Extreme Customer Segmentation

Thanks to the increased flow of more data, you can now easily understand the type of customers you are looking for.  Since the analytics services are increasingly expanding, it is possible for you to divide your prospects into much more smaller groups. And this can help you target them specifically. In effect, you will get your money’s worth from marketing. By looking at a simple Google account you can now tell where your web visitors are from, the type of browser they are using, and how they landed on your site. Now there is a lot of data you can gather about your potential clients. More focused services can let you cut that data even further to increasingly refine your offerings, processes, and approach for increased conversions.

6. Changing Consumer Base

Today, the Millennials are increasingly becoming the key driving force behind most businesses, economy, and eventually the world.  This generation is much bigger as compared to the Baby Boomers. They are more open to spending, and they desire a near-instant satisfaction of “living in the here and now.” Not to mention that these people were raised with digital technology. The Millenials are the most wired generation ever and are equally responsible for pushing business into going digital as well. With this in mind, it seems the only way to offer something to this generation, be it a service or product, is through using the digital platform.

In Closing

The rapid growth of technology does not seem to slow down anytime soon, and this is despite your personal opinion. Those small businesses that don’t make the efforts to adapt to the changing tech trends might find themselves lagging behind. On the other hand, the tech-savvy ones that learn to adapt will reap the numerous benefits.  You will not have to rebuild your company from the ground up—you can simply opt to use some already existing software and hardware that will allow you to enjoy more success.  You will only need to realize how technology impacts your business. And this can be positive or negative impacts and how you can incorporate advancements so that you can reap the most benefits from them.