Whether you are a new or well established brick-and-mortar store, embracing technology is the only way forward. It can help you both deliver a better experience for your customers and enhance your sales. There are plenty of simple and affordable tech solutions that can give you a significant ROI.
Here is a round-up of a few technological options that will take your small business to the next level.
CRMs 101
Customer Relationship Management is the technology that helps you manage and improve customer relationships. A CRM tool allows you to store customer details, identify sales opportunities, record service issues, and track the performance of your marketing campaigns.
It becomes a central database for all the interactions that you’ve had with customers. A CRM can help you make informed business decisions. For instance, it can offer data about who your potential customer is, what they’re coming to the store to buy during visits, and common customer service issues. When you have this information, you can tweak your marketing campaigns and customer experience. You can also resolve product issues and identify fast-moving goods to give customers what they want.
Hands-Free Payment Options
In a post pandemic world, people are more mindful of touching public surfaces. Giving them the option of fuss-free and hands-free payment options has become necessary for all stores. Contactless credit cards and smartphone payments seem to be the way forward. If you are still dealing with only cash or accepting cards through swiping, you may want to rethink your checkout process.
Build a Better Website
If you haven’t moved your business to an online space, you’re missing out on a substantial opportunity. In today’s digital age, it’s essential to have an interactive and user-friendly website. Allow your customers to shop online, and you will be surprised by the sudden surge in your sales.
You could use pop-up displays, banners, and signs in store to drive interaction with your digital storefront. Using social media and effective online marketing strategies are equally essential in driving traffic to your website or your brick and mortar. It’s easy to find a freelance web designer or developer on sites like LinkedIn and Upwork.
Email Marketing Ideas
Small business owners often assume that email marketing is ineffective. However, it’s actually a vital marketing strategy that can give you a significant ROI, especially when you’re on a budget.
The first step is to create a subscriber list. Next, plan what kind of emails you want to send out. You could share promotions, new product launches, seasonal messages, or loyalty programs with your subscribers. Finally, create your content and design your emails in a way that deepens your relationship with the customers.
Project Management Tools
As your business grows, your team will as well. You’ll need to effectively delegate your work. Instead of putting post-its around your office space, use a project management tool to streamline the workflow. Here are some great project management tools to get you started:
- Airtable
- Asana
- Basecamp
- Hive
- Trello
QR Codes
With the correct usage of QR codes, you can take your business to the next level. There are multiple reasons to use them – plan giveaways that deepen customer relationships, increase your social media visibility, boost website traffic, help customers find you, and enable them to make payments.
You can enhance the customer experience by printing QR codes on custom signs and banners. Use these print materials to give customers easy access to product information or online discounts and promotions.
Online Coupons
Gone are the days when customers would get excited to cut out coupons from the newspaper. Online coupons are the norm now. Whether you want to treat your loyal customers with a special discount code or announce a seasonal promotion, online coupons can bring more customers to your store.
You can use marketing materials such as banners, signs, and pop-up displays as in-store advertising of these discounts, but a strong multichannel strategy also makes use of social channels and web banners.
Social Media Solutions
All your customers are hanging out online, and whether you like it or not, they could be talking about you. It has become imperative for businesses to have a presence on social media, to listen to what the customers are saying, and revise their strategies accordingly. Social media management tools can help you monitor your brand, industry, and competitors. They can also help you identify potential customers, resolve complaints, and tweak your marketing campaigns for greater success.
Inventory Tracking
When a business grows, tracking inventory becomes a legitimate pain point. You want to ensure that you always have enough stock of fast-moving products to ensure that your customers do not leave without making a purchase. Supply chain management tools can keep products on shelves and your customers satisfied.
DIY Design Tools
Do not worry if you cannot afford a graphic designer to make attractive social media posts, invites, business cards, or email headers. There are several design tools that you can use to create them on your own. The best part is that they do not require any complex tools. Canva and Adobe offer affordable online design programs and training to help you accomplish your graphic design goals.
Using technology for your small business can enhance your sales and offer a better experience for your customers. With the tools given above, you will realize how drastically it can reduce your efforts and improve service.
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