Starting a business in today’s world is easier than ever before. While advanced technology is responsible for the increasing number of entrepreneurs, running a successful business is not as easy as it may seem at first glance.
Indeed, powerful advertising tools in the form of social media and email lists make businesses easier viable, but those tools are available to every entrepreneur. Even if you invest millions of dollars in social media ads, that does not guarantee you will become successful. So, it’s important to adjust your approach to your business and identify what the most important factors are, in order to determine the success of your business.
Risky investments and smart decisions truly are a necessity in the business world. But, both things won’t mean anything to you if communication within different levels of the company is not good. The so-called “external” communication is crucial as well. More precisely, the communication with your customers and clients needs to be at the highest level.
Fortunately, technology is on the side of all entrepreneurs around the world. In this article, we would like to talk about technology trends that are changing business communication. Companies that want to remain competitive need to follow all the trends, including those associated with the communication. Here, you can change the way your business communication systems are functioning.
1. VR & AR
VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality) are technologies that many business owners do not know a lot about. Many believe that VR and AR are only in the entertainment and gaming industries. For a long time, these two industries were truly the only ones using them. However, times are changing and now, many companies from different fields are incorporating them into their communication strategies.
For example, VR and AR technologies allow companies to communicate with potential customers via 3D, 4D, and 5D visual tours. Being that this is one of the newest technologies you can find on the market, you may find it puts you a step ahead of your direct competitors.
2. E-Faxes
Faxes were one of the most popular communication tools available in an office environment. However, over time, with technology improvements, they became less attractive. That doesn’t mean they are not still a useful tool for different purposes. Now, online faxes have become a new technology trend that many businesses are utilizing.
E-faxes allow people to send or receive faxes via app or email. According to GoogleOnlineFax.com, users can use their tablet, mobile, or computer to complete the tasks. We know very well that many small business owners look for ways to save money. Using eFax is more convenient and more cost-effective than using traditional fax machines. If this seems like a good option for you, we recommend you visit eFax. There, you can see how the entire process works and how much it will save you. As a bonus, using online fax allows for enhanced security. All the documents that you send or receive will be perfectly safe online.
3. IoT (Internet of Things)
The concept of the Internet of Things is easy to understand. For businesses, all digital devices must be somehow connected. Fortunately, you will manage to do that with different mediums such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc. Because of that, many entrepreneurs gladly decide on implementing this technology.
It doesn’t really matter where you are operating. You can connect with people in all parts of the world. For instance, if your employees are in China while you are in the US, IoT technology can ensure good, quality communication. The same is said for communications with other firms and partners nearby.
4. Chatbots
No one expected that chatbots would change the way businesses communicate so quickly. While chatbots are not relatively new to the market, given that many businesses have already applied them to their business operations, there are still many others not taking advantage of this technology.
There are many reasons why you should start using chatbots. First of all, technology can directly communicate with your customers instead of you, freeing up your time and resources. It can navigate your customers through your website and give them some specific directions.
Chatbots can also solve different issues that your customers are experiencing. Since chatbots utilize machine learning, they can give all the answers your customers need, in just a couple of seconds.
Good quality customer service is one of the reasons why some businesses succeed. However, imagine that you get hundreds of queries and complaints every day. It is difficult to handle them all promptly. You would need to hire more people to accomplish those tasks and that would bring additional expenses. Chatbots can handle customer’s problems within a couple of seconds, even if there are hundreds of them in the queue. Unsatisfied customers will get answers and they will find a solution to their problem. In the end, your business will keep its credibility because of good communication.
5. Automated Personal Digital Assistant
It seems that not many business owners are aware of the personal digital assistant software available on the market. When Google released Duplex, business communications changed a lot. People used the software to allow customers to make an appointment for a barbershop service, for example. In many cases, the customer does not even realize he has communicated with the business through an AI-based program.
While helpful, the technology is not yet perfect. Certain drawbacks exist and experts will probably improve the technology in the future. However, we recommend small business owners get familiar with its features. Many experts predict that automated personal digital assistants are going to be the future in the business communication field. Following technology trends can help your business thrive, and will always pay off in the end.
