Is tech in your business plan? It should be

If you’re a small business owner, chances are you’re time-poor. In fact, recent studies by Yellow have suggested that small business owners are amongst the most stressed and overstretched of all Australians. So, if you’re starting a business and don’t want to be another statistic it makes sense to include technology in your business plan.

Why? It’s simple. Utilising the latest tech, whether it’s cloud accounting solutions, an NBN connection or the latest social scheduling tool, will make your business better. Adopting the latest technology allows you to work smarter instead of harder.

Small business expert David Koch says if businesses want to stay ahead of the curve it’s important they keep up with the latest advances in technology.

“Adopting the latest tech is incredibly important for small businesses, especially in this digital age where customers demand more. Leveraging technology allows business owners to free themselves from mundane tasks. It can provide greater efficiency and the right tech can give them insight into customer behaviour that will allow their business to grow.

“They say if businesses don’t have an online presence they won’t be viable in the next decade, and I truly believe that. There’s a lot of talk about digital transformation and our skills shortage, but I think the greatest innovation challenge facing the Australian economy and business community is getting traditional bricks and mortar businesses online.”

While having an online presence is vital, it’s not enough to simply have a website. Small business owners need to consider the customer experience. Websites should be optimised for mobile devices (remember, if it doesn’t load quickly you’ll lose customers) and business owners should leverage their online presence by marketing across social channels.

Of course, scheduling tools like Tweetdeck or Hootsuite can help you get a handle on posting your updates and you can use tools such as Google Analytics to analyse where, when and how customers are getting to your website. Without tech, this knowledge would be impossible to glean.

There are also so many more ways tech can deliver greater efficiencies for your business. Some tech is simply a natural progression for processes you already have in place. For example, switching your accounting software to a cloud accounting solution will give you real-time data on the state of your finances. It will make it easier to file your taxes, issue invoices and accept payments from your clients.

Similarly, if you work in a service industry, time tracking software will make it easier to track the hours you spend on a project, assisting you in budgeting for future work. While implementing the latest technology such as NBN will allow you to improve your online services to your customer and provide a faster eCommerce experience.

Technology can help small business owners leverage opportunities by freeing up the time they spend doing mundane tasks. It can point to where to invest their capital in smarter, more effective ways. While adopting new tech can take some adjusting, the benefits tech brings can really ramp up your business.

This article is brought to you in partnership with Connexus – simpler, smarter telco for small business and sole traders.