How Small- and Mid-Sized Business Owners Can Leverage Innovation to Grow

If you're the owner of a small to mid-sized business, you're probably always looking for ways to cut costs while still promoting growth. Innovation is the answer. Technology can save you time, effort, and money, streamlining your operations and benefitting your business as a whole. If you aren't sure what digital improvements are right for you, the below guide can help. Read on for an overview of tech tools that can help any enterprise improve efficiency and experience growth.

Leverage communication tools

Seamless communication makes it easier for your teams to collaborate and can help you keep in touch with customers. Range.co has a roundup of digital communication tools that can help companies of all kinds. For example, AirTable is a useful database tool that integrates with other platforms like Google Drive. There are also simple chat tools you can try out, like Slack or Discord. Video conferencing tools like Zoom are another essential communication tool in today's increasingly remote workforce.

Utilize time-management tech

Efficiency in business is often simply a question of time management. Look for technology that will help you and your team work faster and avoid bottlenecks. Examples include the task management app Wunderlist and the time-tracking app Harvest. For instance, Harvest lets you see exactly how much time you're spending on every single task you do, so you can see where you're losing valuable minutes of your day and adjust your approach accordingly. You can also try calendar tools to better track deadlines, assignments, meetings, and more.

Try project management solutions

Effecive project management can also help you get around hurdles that otherwise waste time. For example, when you have a clear overview of who is responsible for what in a project, you avoid having two people do the same task twice. Good management can also help track deadlines. Accidental PM offers various project management solutions, from books to courses. With their personalized consulting, you can get tailor-made advice on how to get your project management on track.

Connect with customers with the help of tech

Your customers are what keep your business going. You want to make sure you're connecting with them in a meaningful way. One positive step you can take is to survey your customers to find out what they want. You can use tools like SurveyMonkey to create user-friendly digital surveys. To get more people involved, incentivize survey-taking. For example, you can offer people free gift cards or other perks when they take a survey. By utilizing this back-end process, incentivizing is easy to automate and customize.

Explore the power of artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence, AI, is a cutting-edge innovation that can help businesses in all kinds of ways, from data management to customer service. For example, AI-powered chatbots can serve as the first point of contact for core customer service issues. More complex problems that require a person's assistance can then be escalated to and addressed by a human. The key is to automate as many mundane, repetitive tasks as possible with the help of AI, including basic questions that clients ask again and again.

Try digital marketing techniques

Marketing is how you attract new customers to your business. It can also help you maintain a connection with existing customers and boost your brand's power. Digital marketing is ideal because it's cost-efficient and versatile. Examples of digital marketing techniques include pay-per-click advertisement, search engine optimization, content marketing, and social media. Once you implement a technique, monitor it to see how successful it is and pivot as needed. For example, with social media, you can monitor likes and shares.

Innovation can benefit businesses in many ways. From project management to time-tracking tools, there are lots of ways to streamline your daily operations. Get inspired with the above tips and find ways to leverage tech to your advantage.

This week’s guest post is by Marissa Perez, a co-founder of Business Pop. She has honed her marketing skills, and now she wants to share her knowledge with those who have decided to take on entrepreneurship.