More and more startup businesses are cutting back on traditional PR and exploiting the free platforms of social media to help their companies grow and attract new customers. Not only can engaging with people in the social sphere increase reach but it can help to increase brand awareness too. For new businesses, brand is everything. So the recent uptake in social media optimization is really shaping the world of modern marketing. But what other ways have modern technology changed the way that new businesses do things? Here we look at some other new technology changing businesses today.
Customer Management Software
For a small business planning on expansion, a good CMS system is critical to success. Not only can it help to boost customer retention but it can help to gain new customers too. It’s important to understand that there are various types of management software for all industries and niches. For instance, the latest salon software from Phorest has been designed to work on three key areas of growing a small start-up salon; increasing dollar spend, increasing client visits and increasing referrals. The Phorest software has been designed with the salon/beauty business in mind so it can maximise earnings. So for businesses looking to find a customer management system, it’s important to research what’s available, what’s affordable, and which system is the best for their industry/sector.
Contactless and Mobile Payment Terminals
One of the biggest technological advances in recent years is the use of card terminals to accept debit and credit card payments. What used to be a card signature is now the trusty chip and pin system, but two new forms of payment have now emerged; contactless card payments and instant mobile payments.
Contactless payment (known as ‘wave and pay’) is the new convenient way to pay without entering a pin code. New businesses in the fast food, café or restaurant industry should seriously look at offering this; it’s fast becoming a chosen way to make payments in the US. Mobile payments (known as ‘tap and pay’) are going to be similarly important in 2015; customer trials have already been conducted with some smartphones and the test-run has seen huge success already.
Search Engine Optimization
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) has been a major element of business marketing for many years now. But for new businesses, it’s crucial. Without a website presence, it’s very difficult for a new brand to get noticed. Today, word of mouth isn’t enough; if you can’t be found online and you don’t have a presence on social channels, trade and end customers find it very hard to trust you as a provider. But without SEO, it’s pretty difficult to even come up on search terms. Today’s SEO world is also getting tougher. Google’s changing algorithms mean that old optimization techniques don’t cut it anymore so finding a forward-thinking agency with scalable solutions is more important than ever.
