Published on October 29th, 2021 | by Christopher Porteus

Business Development: How to Update Your Company for Today’s World

If you started your business ten years ago, then there would already have been so many changes in technology. These include how we communicate with one another, and how we shop since then.

It’s essential for all companies to stay up to date with all of these things to keep clients and get more. If your sales are mostly to the younger generations, it’s even more critical to know the new systems and technologies.

We are going to go over how you can keep your establishment fresh for all clients.

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From Cash to Card and Mobile Payments

We are no longer a cash and check based society. Your business should be equipped to accept all forms of payments. But it’s most important to allow all types of debit and credit card and mobile payments. If you don’t, it could turn away a lot of customers who don’t have cash on them all the time.

Electronic payment methods like cards and mobile apps are both safe and convenient. Carrying large amounts of cash all the time can be quite stressful. There’s also the risk of running out or getting into unfortunate situations.

If you need an update, you’re in luck. There are a lot of easy ways to add a card and mobile acceptors to your company. If you own an apartment with laundry machines, or own a laundromat, and are only accepting quarters as a form of payment, it’s time to move forward.

Most people rarely have cash on them, not to mention coins. Also, it’s more environmentally friendly to use alternative payment methods for various services.

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Switch from Paper to Social Media for Ads

Now, we are getting our news from our phones with online news, podcasts, Facebook, and other social media sites. Only older individuals are buying newspapers with ads in them; however, the younger crowd is not.

Investing in paid advertisements on multiple social media sites or online news can make your business more known to potential customers. Also, some social media platforms only show your ads to people who have frequent searches, likes, or interests in things similar to what you are selling.

This can increase your sales a lot, especially if your online ad has a link to a payment method. This is highly effective in the younger generations as opposed to the older crowd; however, more and more adults are creating Facebook accounts.

You can also maximize your social media presence by interacting with your audience. It’s a great platform for building brand awareness and genuine relationships with clients.

Social media users love sharing things that resonate with them. Many brands have grown exponentially through viral posts. High-quality social media content can sometimes serve you just as well as paid ads.

Having a paper ad is a thing of the past, and you should seriously consider looking into a new way to display your company.

Mobile-First Web Design to Replace Desktop Viewing Plan

With the growing number of the population having a mobile device with them at any given moment of the day, the importance of mobile web design is growing rapidly. Mobile-first web design is the idea that companies should consider designing their websites for viewing on mobile devices first, then consider designing for larger screens.

This is important for companies because over half of web traffic is done through a mobile device rather than a traditional computer or a laptop computer. Creating a mobile-first web design speeds up loading time on a mobile phone because it is a less complicated website.

Users will quickly back out of websites that take too long to load or are too complicated to navigate on a mobile device. In order for companies to keep potential clients, the company’s website must make it easy to obtain information quickly and clearly from a mobile device.

Full or Partial Work-From-Home Setup

The pandemic has pushed many businesses to transition to remote working setups. And even though restrictions are easing up, a lot of companies now want to make the switch permanent.

Recent research shows that in 2021, 58% of workers now prefer to have a fully remote job and 39% prefer a hybrid setup. Only 3% want to go back to fully in-person work. A whopping majority (81%) cites that remote work helps them keep a good work-life balance.

If you’ve decided to do the same, it’s important to have a system in place. You’ll want to ensure everyone’s productivity and foster accountability. Tools such as Time Doctor can help you with this.

The Bottom Line

We must be adaptable with technology changing at an expediential amount. In order to keep your business alive, you have to update all the features that make selling and buying easier.

Some ways a business owner can do this is by switching from a cash company to accepting various payment methods. Also, you can change your ads to be online rather than in the newspaper. The final suggestion we have to offer is creating a website that is suitable for mobile viewing.

If you change these small things, you will keep your company up to date and have more sales.

Tags: business development, technology

About the Author

Christopher Porteus Chris Porteous is a veteran in the tech space, founding Framestr and writing about his experiences scaling startups. When he's not working, he's writing about the latest tech products and providing insights on how to utilize technology to improve your life.