The last two years have been very difficult for businesses with some SMEs having no option other than to foldup. The restrictions that came with the Covid-19 pandemic meant that businesses could not meet their production and sales targets. This resulted in some going out of business completely. According to a study by the Federal Reserve, about 200,000 establishments closed down permanently in the first year of the pandemic. The service industry was in no doubt one of the hardest hit.

That notwithstanding, the impact on businesses that had incorporated technology in their activities and those that swiftly did that was minimal. As companies continue to research effective ways to improve work efficiency, productivity, and sales drive, we take you through how technology can help.

Here are how technology can help you improve work efficiency and productivity.

Use the Right Tech at the Right Time

Although we believe that technology can enhance your work activities, you could also be caught in its negative sides. The only way to prevent such occurrences is to manage when and how to use such tools. For example, you can use social media to create brand awareness and drive sales, but at the same time, you could be doing unproductive activities there. If you have urgent activities to attend to, yet, keep scrolling through Facebook news feeds, a productive tool has become a bane. Utilize the right app at the right time by listing your daily activities, and researching which tech tool can help you deliver.

Automate some tasks

Stop wasting your time and energy doing everything manually. You can work efficiently and increase production by delegating some tasks to automation tools. Administrative tasks like emails response, customer support, calendar scheduling, reminders, and payroll activities can all be automated to save you time. That aside, you can introduce some apps to digitize some activities. You can also automate all your social media activities.

Use communication apps

Effective communication is critical in attaining high productivity and work efficacy. With Covid-19 still being around, some of your workforces may be working virtually. This can affect effective teamwork; hence, companies must invest in communication software to bridge any gap of miscommunication. Thankfully, technology made it possible for teams to use video, audio, and messaging apps to improve communication, collaboration, and productivity. Make use of Skype, Zoom, Slack, Flock, Tribe, and many other paid and free software to enhance communication.

Take fun breaks

The work environment shouldn’t be so tense, as that can even affect productivity. Research shows that companies with flexible work environments have higher production levels. Create an enabling environment for your workers to have fun breaks where they can play games, listen to music, or watch funny clips.

How to drive sales with technology

Utilize social media platforms

If you’ve not already taken advantage of the various social media platforms as a business, then you are losing out greatly. Pinterest, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram, among others provide a larger platform for businesses to reach out to many potential customers. Businesses can target specific market segments using strategic ads. Before that, you would need to build trust and a better relationship with your audience. This isn’t as easy as it sounds and demands a lot of time and dedication. The best way out is to delegate this task to a social media marketer.

Who Don’t Like Free Things?

Sales professionals and businesses that utilize use sales tools achieve better results than competitors who do not. You don’t have enough funds, no problem. You can take advantage of the various free sales tools to improve sales. Tools like HubSpot CRM are free and come with a reporting dashboard, email scheduling, etc. that can help you take charge of your sales activities.

Adopt online sales

If you keep relying on in-person sales, you will surely lose the sales war to competitors. Marketing has moved and serious companies are now trading on e-Commerce sites and reaching out to millions of people. Take your product and services online to make the best out of the market.

Allow mobile payment

Are you still used to cash-only payments in this technological age? Times have moved and more customers prefer mobile payments to cash. Mobile payments drive sales by increasing impulse buying. It also reduces the headache of having bounced checks.

Take-Home

Technology has come to stay and will keep evolving. As a business owner, you should always employ the right technology for an effective and productive work environment. Even if you are to spend extra monies to make this happen, it is worth the investment.