Building Technology Strategy for Small Business

With the advent of the Internet revolution, the technology is more of a supporting role, instead, has become an engine for the growth of the company in any industry and of any size. Small businesses in non-technology sectors, find it difficult to articulate a strategy of technology, instead, most of them do not even own. Not only do these companies liquidity crisis, whether internal resources and limited access to expert advice on the minimum technology. This article provides basic tips for small business owners on where to start. Here are some factors to consider when creating an effective technology strategy.

Legal compliance and government

Technology planning that keeps the company in legal compliance and the government comes before anything else. For example, a restaurant business technology would have expected the sales tax, PCI compliance, and employee time sheets, etc.

Core business and customer experience

Technology that facilitates heart of business and customer experience comes next. For example, for a catering company to succeed, it must have good technology in place to take customer orders, execution in the kitchen and service. While providing wireless Internet access can help improve the customer experience.

Marketing and Digital Reputation

For a company to attract customers, should not only announce its existence to customers, but always make buzz to stay ahead of the competition. Effective marketing is a very critical factor in any 'business success. Internet savvy in the world today, most of the research on customer service or product on the Internet before purchasing. For example, a catering company may want to have a website informing customers about the restaurant and the menu. For marketing and online reputation, you must create and maintain an active presence on social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Yelp, etc. Using internet marketing through traditional marketing channels can be more effective because they allow to reach a wider audience a significantly lower cost.

The effectiveness and operational efficiency

The next thing to consider is technology planning related to improving operational efficiency. Investments in operational efficiency of technology can help reduce costs, cut waste and significantly improve the bottom line. Wherever savings by improving efficiency exceeds the cost of the technology, it is an investment value. For example, for a restaurant company that has the technology for inventory and materials planning significantly reduces the cost of inventory loading and spoilage, thereby increasing the profitability directly.

Most non-tech small businesses have little or no internal capacity and hiring staff for non-core activities can burn holes in pockets. So unless the company has employees who have existing technology skills, insourcing can not be a good strategy. From the perspective of small businesses, "Cloud is not only profitable, but also allows the company to focus on its strengths. Only if something is not available in the cloud, outsourcing can be considered.

Data Strategy and Security

Once you have planned for what is needed and how to buy, it is also important to research and plan for data storage, retention and security strategy. Agreements with cloud service providers should be examined before making the decision to buy their services. Cloud platforms usually come with the best security infrastructure of the race.
Finally, keep under review

Finally, always plan for the periodic review of the technology strategy to keep it aligned with the business objectives and other aspects mentioned above. Remember that laws, technology, customer expectations, competitors and the market is constantly changing and so should your strategy to stay in the lineup.