Technology That Could Save Your Business Money

Every entrepreneur knows about the many challenges of starting a business, let alone running a successful one or expanding. The costs of starting a business are among the greatest hurdles, and while there are ways to plan your costs, you'll likely need more money than even your best estimates. Things don't get easier once your business is established as you have to properly manage the costs of inventory, hiring employees, marketing, installing new technology, and more.

Business owners face a constant barrage of new technologies all promising to revolutionize the way they do things, but it can be hard to know which ones are worthwhile. You'll need to think carefully about what your greatest needs are and whether new technology can really help you fill them better. Here are some examples of practical business tech that can easily save you money in the long run.

Inventory Management Software

Accurate inventory tracking is important for any business, and it's especially crucial for online stores. Inventory tracking ensures that you can fulfill orders accurately and on time, and as your business expands and your warehouses get bigger, your need for a reliable automated inventory tracking system will only increase. Despite this, roughly 46 percent of small businesses either don't employ inventory tracking methods, or they still track their inventory manually.

Manual inventory tracking takes significantly more time than using an automated system, and it keeps your employees from being able to focus on other tasks. If you can find the right inventory management software, you can easily keep track of your products, set inventory alerts, determine your most popular items, and eliminate your need for paper inventory reporting.

OKR Software

Objectives and key results are the outline for your overall company strategy, and OKR software is the easiest way for you to keep track of everything. The creation of OKRs is generally credited to Andy Grove, who introduced the idea during his time working for Intel. The benefits of using OKRs include improved focus, increased transparency between departments, and improved alignment between company and departmental goals. OKR software helps you keep track of the following.

Objectives: These are the overall goals you have for your company. They're generally time sensitive and should be easily understandable with clear direction. A good example could be to increase revenue by 20 percent this year. It's best to just introduce a few strategic objectives at a time.

Key Results: These are your metrics that measure progress toward an objective. Key results are specific and can give you a good idea of whether your objectives were too ambitious, reasonably attainable, or not ambitious enough. Key results are often put on monthly or quarterly timetables. If you find that sales have gone up 6 percent in your first quarter, you'll know you're on track for your overall 20 percent objective.

The best OKR software makes it easy to keep the entire company on the same page by providing you and your department heads clear data on your OKRs and progress.

Call Center Solutions

Every business has a precious resource that it can't survive without: its customers. The support you offer your existing customers will be a big factor in whether you retain them, and stand out customer interactions may inspire them to recommend your brand to others. You can offer the best support possible with an omnichannel contact center.

Employing an omnichannel approach in your call center lets customers contact your agents through their desired method whether that's a voice call or through digital channels like text, SMS, mobile apps, or webchat. Omnichannel contact center solutions even allow customers to switch communication channels mid-conversation if the need arises, ensuring maximum convenience and customer satisfaction. Artificial intelligence can even connect calls to the most qualified agents or bring simpler calls to resolution.

Omnichannel contact centers are also good for agent activity. Turnover in call centers is high, and subpar tools are often cited as a reason for low job satisfaction. With a unified agent desktop that keeps track of all conversations and easy storage of customer data, the omnichannel approach can increase productivity and boost employee engagement. By offering exceptional customer service and the best tools, you'll have an easier time retaining customers and agents, which saves you significant expenses in new hires and training.