Adding technology to your business might increase your revenue!
I know there are still many business owners out there that shy away from technology. It could be for many reasons:
* It costs too much
* Fear of learning something new
* Don’t have the time to learn
* Might ruin the workflow and in return lose money
There is one reason why you should look past all those excuses, it’s costing your company money. Yes, that’s right the lack of technology can actually cost your company money and affect your bottom line. So let’s go over some examples of how this might be affecting your business.
Let’s use an example that sticks to mind, one of my first jobs when I was younger was doing clerical work. I did have one cool task while I was working there, they allowed me to make marketing flyers for their fax blast campaigns. For those who are too young or for those who have never heard of fax blasting, that’s a marketing method used to reach hundreds or hundreds of thousands of companies by using a computer-programmed facsimile. So in essence it was like getting junk mail but on your fax machine. Back then it worked well and served its purpose, I’m sure that marketing technique is obsolete now since there are email marketing campaigns and SMS advertising. But when I was in charge of doing that task, I also realized that this same technique might work with emailing. So after some relatively quick research on the only computer in the office with a dial-up 56k modem, I was able to find several companies already offering ways to market via email. At that time, that might have been too soon to explore that way of advertising, but it’s a mere example of how the technology of faxing was going away, and emailing would be the new way to reach a mass audience. Best of all, email marketing was a fraction of the cost compared to fax-blasting.
Another great example is something I experienced last year during Valentine’s day. I went to a florist in Orange County to place an order for my wife for Valentines. As I was waiting for my turn to be helped, the customer that was ahead of me was furious and yelling at the top of his lungs. I didn’t want to stay around to listen to his rant, so I went outside to take a phone call and waited for him to leave. Normally I would have left, but I needed to place the order or else my wife would have been doing the same with me in a few days. So after he left the florist I went back in and placed my order, and of course, being curious and concerned for this lady I had to ask why was he so upset. As it turns out they forgot to deliver the flowers he ordered for his girlfriend (better him than me). The lady then continued to tell me the owner of the florist must have handwritten down the order and misplaced the order form. Handwritten order form!? Who still does that? As it turns out, this florist was taking handwritten orders with pen and paper. The owner refused to get a computer since she’s running her florist this way for the past 20 years and didn’t feel the need to have that added expense. I’m not sure if her employee will inform her of this incident and if she’ll point out where and how she’s losing money due to the lack of simple technology in her business.
Let’s go over some areas of how she’s losing money:
* I doubt she’ll ever get that customer back, especially if his girlfriend broke up with him
* Had it been a different situation, I probably would have left and placed my order elsewhere
* How many other orders have that business misplaced in the past 20 years, and how many return customers left due to that mistake
* If that business had a computer with a simple system in place, she would have the details of all her past customers and would be able to send out special discounted deals to those customers that would potentially generate more revenue.
The list can go on, and it’s almost scary to think there are businesses out there that are still without computers. In this example, it seems like the extra expense was one of the reasons why she didn’t want to invest in a computer for her business. With First Capital Business Finance, we offer a wide variety of financial products that can help all types of businesses. Assuming this florist was accepting credit cards as one form of payment, the business was more than likely qualified for our unsecured business loans, also known as our Business Cash Advance program. Qualifications are simple, and the approval process is fast and painless, typically within 48 hours, you will know if you are approved. If you are approved, you can have funds in your business account as soon as 5 business days. The most appealing part of the Business Cash Advance program, there is no collateral required! So those are just two examples of how avoiding technology can hurt your business, are you one of these businesses? Sit back and think about how making the move on any type of technology for your business can be a positive impact and in return will increase your bottom line.
If you’re interested in hearing more about our loan programs, please feel free to call 888-565-6692 and one of our loan experts will be happy to answer any of your questions.
