How Technology Makes Entrepreneurship Easier Than Ever Before

The previous several months have been quite a revelation in terms of our endurance, mental fortitude, and creative spirit. As business owners, we’ve had to come up with profitable, effective solutions to this persistent problem of the pandemic, and we’ve had to do so while completely shifting the way we do business, which for most meant moving from the physical realm to the digital one. Even if you’ve already set up your operation in such a way that you can easily work from home, you are only now discovering the extent to which technology has become so life-saving in these difficult times.

With tech at our disposal, we can send employees home and still collaborate with ease. We can stay in touch with our customers on social media, via phone lines, and our emails. Above all, companies can still retain their relevance and entrepreneurs can continue growing their professional presence despite the Covid-19 chaos that has completely changed our lives. Not certain how exactly tech makes a difference? Perhaps the following tech solutions are just what you need to keep your business afloat.

Up close and personal with social media

Now that businesses are closing their physical doors in order to respect the social distancing rules, your brand needs to find creative ways to connect with customers. Without friendly shop staff and one-on-one interactions in person, you need to use the most engaging platforms in existence: social media.

While social will never replace the beauty of human connection, it certainly helps tremendously during these stressful times when people feel isolated, stressed, and tense. Your presence on social media allows them to remember your brand and to connect on a new level with your business, thus letting you stay competitive despite the crisis.

Data analytics to decipher customer behavior

Customer behavior is rapidly changing due to the ongoing health crisis. People are buying different items, prioritizing different investments, and most are informing themselves on pandemic-related topics on a regular basis.

If you’re not covering relevant topics through your content or giving support and guidance your customers need, you’re likely sending people away from your website. This is where various data analytics tools step in to help you understand your target audience better, and craft an online experience for them that will keep them engaged.

VoIP to allow remote support

Now more than ever, your customers need guidance, help, and support. Preferably in the form of human interaction, and not just AI-driven chatbots and dry, templated email responses. Without phone lines at the office, your business needs online communication systems based on VoIP technology to enable remote customer support.

This allows your employees to turn their regular smartphones and even computers into call-friendly devices, with the help of headsets, and use all the features these VoIP-enabled systems come with. That includes call recording as well as call analytics, texting and faxing, and the like.

Cloud storage for your data

Now that you need to get everything done online, you also need a safe storage platform to keep your employee information on file (digitally so), enable online bank payments, and ensure that your customers’ information is also safely stored. Cloud computing is the go-to solution for many small businesses, because it has the security levels for optimal functioning, and it comes with ample flexibility to encourage growth over time.

PM tools for seamless remote collaboration

For your business to work and stay at the forefront of your industry, you need employees who are actively contributing to your company’s growth. Thanks to a variety of tech tools, you can help your teams focus on what really matters, their individual responsibilities and tasks as opposed to constantly worrying about the hierarchy or the communication loop.

To ensure that everyone is on top of their work and can communicate with other team members from home, you should consider a project management tool. By keeping track of all your tasks and projects, and by regularly ensuring milestone completion, you’ll make it much easier on your team to work in harmony, even though there’s no way to work from the office right now.

To retain the necessary human connection in the time of the pandemic, technology is the only safe and effective tool we have at our disposal  and one that has done a swell job so far. Entrepreneurs are increasingly diversifying their investments into different tech tools in order to stay in touch with their customers, allow remote and flexible work for employees, and strengthen their position in their market. It’s up to you to find creative ways to put tech to good use and make sure that your presence remains strong in these trying times.

About Emma Worden

Emma is a digital marketer and blogger from Sydney. After getting a marketing degree she started working with Australian startups on business and marketing development. Emma writes for many relevant, industry related online publications and does a job of an Executive Editor at Bizzmark blog and a guest lecturer at Melbourne University. Interested in marketing, startups and latest business trends. Follow Emma on Twitter.