6 Signs Your Business Is Stuck In The Past
Ah, remember the good old days. Those halcyon days of fax machines, typewriters, and newspaper marketing. Oh, how times have changed! Haven’t they? Well, not if any of the following apply to you.
1. You still have a fax machine
In most offices, the fax machine is gathering dust in the corner, but you need to worry if yours is upfront and centre. Seriously, does anybody still use one of these ancient artefacts? It’s unlikely you are going to find a faxing buddy in this day and age. Email is the thing, as is cloud collaboration. You probably don’t use your fax machine if you still have it, so you may as well sell it for scrap! In short, get your head out of the clouds and into the cloud.
2. You are responsible for rainforest depletion
Not literally, of course, but if your office is still primarily paper-based, you aren’t exactly environmentally friendly. Perhaps your printer works overdrive, doling out reams of paper for meetings and postal mailings. Maybe you are preparing something for a presentation, and you are still using those giant pieces of paper stuck to a whiteboard. Whatever the reason, think of the trees. When important documents can so easily be stored in the cloud, and presentations can be done via an online powerpoint, you don’t need to be so keen to strip our planet of its valuable resources.
3. You spend your days answering the telephone
There’s no harm in using the phone once in a while, and it may still be a necessity for some areas of your business. However, there are so many other communication methods at your disposal, including Skype for your business calls, live chat options for your customers, as well as artificially designed chatbots from the latest in mobile app development. You can even outsource to a telephone answering service, especially if you run a small business, and don’t have a designated employee to pick up the phone.
4. Customers are still paying you with cash
We aren’t telling you not to let your customers pay you in cash, but there are so many other options that are more convenient for you and them. Credit and debit cards are the preferred option for most businesses, so you will need to invest in a card reader. Then there are other payment methods, such as Paypal and online banking. It’s amazing how many smaller retail stores and businesses are still cash only, but in this century, even salesmen on the road and market traders are making use of newer technologies.
5. You still rely on print marketing
Print marketing is still viable, so it’s reasonable to expect you to follow this in some form, be it leaflet drops or newspaper advertising. However, it is expensive. You really need to get into digital marketing, using the methods used in the linked website. Why? Because less people read newspapers today, and a leaflet through their door is liable to end up in the recycling bin. You need to go where the people are, and unsurprisingly, they are online, on a nearly 24/7 basis. You only need to look at the scores of people with a smartphone glued to their hands when you’re on your daily commute to notice this. Be smart – target these smart technologies.
6. Your employees are still sat in the office
Okay, so some jobs require employees in the workplace. And we aren’t asking you to replace them with robots, which is a common cause of redundancy today. However, there are loads of advantages to letting your staff work from home occasionally, such as improving their work-life balance, bolstering their morale, and saving money on resources used in the workplace. You can easily collaborate with your staff through the cloud, whether it’s a meeting that needs to take place, or a shared project that everybody is working on.
And so…
Does it matter if you are still relying on outdated methods and technologies? Yes, of course it does. When it comes to beating your competition, you need to stay with the times. Your customers and employees demand it, and you will save yourself a bunch of money too, even if you do have to upgrade old equipment. It can be hard to stay relevant, we know. Technology is changing all the time, so you are often playing catch up. Still, you need to keep one eye on the future, reading industry journals, and speaking with other business professionals on the latest developments. Visiting trade shows is another good idea, as you will discover the latest trends, and receive advice from people who know something about the future. So, if you are still stuck in your ways, it’s time to get up to speed, and pronto. The future of your business depends on it.