Business is really tough these days, less customers through the door means that, efforts are needed elsewhere within the structure of your organization to ensure that you turn over some money and, make a profit. If, you are new to being a business owner then, that’s great news, no doubt you have your priorities in order understand your role as the boss of a company and, you’ve joined when things can only get better.
A shift of focus
One of the reasons that there are less customers in shops is thanks to the Internet, most of the high street shoppers are now shopping online without having to leave their sofa. As such a large part of your focus should be on IT and digital marketing, apart from that, the core business functions haven’t really changed too much over the years in terms of what they entail.
The core business functions
Most businesses will need the following core features in order to operate, how they are done has changed somewhat as the world has turned into a place of ever-growing digital communication and super-fast technological development. You will need to incorporate technology into each one of the following key areas;
- Administration and IT – You will need some experience with things like maintenance, automation, equipment design or redesign, system integration, hardware, software and technical knowledge are all things that will be required to manage your IT processes. Most businesses will outsource these functions too purely because they don’t have the time nor expertise.
- Human Resources – support is required within your business for management tasks such as recruiting, hiring, training, paying, and dismissing employees. They should also manage, training,
payroll and compensation claims.
- Sales and Marketing – The money driver; you must advertise, conduct market research, manage accounts, coordinate media relations, billing, merchandising, branding or managing products, processing orders and, collecting payments. An analysis of Internet traffic on your website should be a top priority and consider the purchasing trends of your existing customers so you can market effectively.
- Research and Development – In order to progress and to stay ahead of your competition there must be an element of research and development done focusing on products, services and production methods, all of which could save you time and money
- Production/Operations – A business must produce something or provide help of some sort in order to be of value to anyone. This is one of those services that a lot of businesses outsource for ease of production.
- Consumer Service – Training, help desks, call centres, and customer support for guarantees and warranties are examples of activities that make up the support services to customers after they make a purchase. Your aftersales process is probably more important than the sale itself.
Using the best technology will certainly streamline your business processes and the online IT solutions provider can help you identify key areas for improvement.
