As a budding entrepreneur with either a brand-new company or one that is about to launch, you probably understand the importance of being smart with your money. For instance, you are running your startup from your spare bedroom instead of an office in a trendy part of downtown, you have a bare bones staff and your furniture came from Craigslist, not a boutique.
Fortunately, it is also quite possible to keep this thrifty mindset when it comes to equipping your startup with the technology that it needs to not only succeed but to thrive. For example, these four types of tech will help boost the growth of your new company with a minimum investment.
Mobile-Friendly Apps and Websites
With more consumers than ever using smartphones to access the internet, small business owners must have a mobile-friendly version of their website and app available to potential customers. In addition to encouraging shoppers to purchase products and services from your startup, Microsoft has also updated Bing to reward the more mobile-friendly sites with an increase in their ranking, meaning consumers will have an easier time finding you online.
Having a mobile app is another budget-friendly and essential tool for business growth. As a bonus, rather than hiring someone to create an app for your startup, you can use Microsoft PowerApps, which includes a free trial.
Tools that Feature Machine Learning
As you purchase technology for your startup, you may want to focus on tools that feature machine learning. In addition to improving internal workflow, machine learning innovations can also enhance the customer experience by recognizing their patterns and anticipating what they need in advance. For example, the Qualcomm Snapdragon mobile platforms are now enhanced with built-in machine learning that is designed to adapt to what you and your team do on their mobile devices; this includes real-time, on-device processing of info and high-quality connections, which will all make your mobile device live up to its “smartphone” name and allow you to be more productive.
3-D Printing
You may have seen demonstrations of 3-D printing in local tech stores. Depending on what type of startup you have, you can use this growing form of tech to help your company succeed. Three-dimensional printing may revolutionize the way items are manufactured, saving time and money in the process. Rather than having your items made somewhere else, you can use your own 3-D printer to create the products as you need them. As a bonus, keeping large amounts of inventory in stock, and paying for a warehouse to store everything — or putting your stock in your garage — will no longer be necessary. As this innovative technology gets more advanced and user-friendly, the lists of what you can use the 3-D printer for will grow even more.
Marketing Automation Tools
Rather than spend part of your already-stretched business budget on hiring a marketing professional, you can use a customer relationship management (CRM) platform on your own to do marketing activities. There are many reputable CRM platforms available, with Salesforce being one of the most popular, that will all allow you to get an accurate view of your customers, improve their experiences and anticipate what your clients will need next.
By focusing your business budget on useful and affordable types of technology, instead of fancy bells and whistles that your startup doesn’t really need right now, your new company will be poised for success. Give your customers mobile-friendly ways to do business with you, track them with a CRM platform and focus on machine learning and tools like a 3-D printer and you’ll be well on your way to a successful startup in no time.
