Small Business Technology Now Provides an Important Competitive Advantage
One can learn a lot about running a business operation when faced with a crisis such as what occurred with COVID-19. Small businesses were put to the test and it became almost universally acknowledged that those who were able to adapt and use technology had a better chance of survival. The digitalization of America was already underway before the pandemic. It went full throttle once the crisis began and a big part of it was the changing of consumer purchasing patterns in response to social distancing and lockdowns.
Probably the most visible use of technology in response to the crisis was ecommerce sites handling orders for staples online that they safely delivered to their customers. Takeout orders were another consumer need giving restaurants a way to replace some of the loss of indoor dining revenue. Amazon reported how well their online small business merchants performed during the pandemic.
During the pandemic new technologies were introduced to assist small businesses. As a result of their positive experiences, some became more open to trying new technology who otherwise would not have, if not for the pandemic. Slice is one example, a platform that enables independently owned pizzerias to have the similar order and service technology that franchisees receive from their franchisor enabling them to better compete. GlydeApp is another example. Founded by NJIT students their technology enhanced food order and delivery apps to provide restaurants with a tool to make their restaurant operations more efficient. In some industries technology is helping to level the playing field between small and larger businesses — -that in the past had substantially more resources available to them to tap into technology that served as a high barrier for small businesses to overcome.
A lot of planning is needed to go into integrating a new technology into a small business and it begins with a cost/benefit analysis. This analysis assists in determining if the purchase or expenditure can be justified by weighing the cost against future revenues or cost efficiencies it will bring to a business.
For startups, there are technologies that are now considered core infrastructure to begin business operations. Here are the most commonly used:
- Access to high speed Internet Connection
- Web Sites and Ecommerce platforms
- Hosting, Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing
- Social Networking Platforms
- Newsletter Distribution Services
- Digital Voice Answering Systems
- Online Payroll Services
- Smart Phones and Mobile Applications
- Accounting and Bookkeeping Services
- Customer Relations Management (CRM)
- Marketing Software
Since these technologies are fairly low in cost through monthly subscription payments, they should be considered part of every founders’ budget for their startup.
As a growing enterprise, small business owners and entrepreneurs now also have technology that serves a range of areas in their businesses from sales, marketing, operations, human resources and others. Added to this is the emergence of artificial technology that is being integrated into almost all industries — -that small businesses now also have access to as well, not just affordable by large corporations. Again, empowering to grow a small business, but also pressure to use technology in order to stay competitive.
Some examples of technology that a growing small business can now access that enables them to scale more quickly and with fewer employees includes Seamless, an artificial-intelligence driven B2B sales platform that provides real-time data of contacts to sales teams, Hubspot, a marketing platform providing the tools for inbound marketing campaigns, GoCo, a comprehensive human resources platform for managing personnel, and Monday, a workflow automation platform. Those are just a few of many technology options that are now available to growing small businesses that are within reach to afford.
Because of the digital acceleration that is now occurring across almost all business sectors, small business owners need to include in their operating plans the cost of purchasing or leasing technology. New technology is presenting them with great opportunities to grow their businesses, but also technology is upping the stakes to remain competitive and not be left behind.
