Table of contents
Advances in technology are levelling the business playing field, enabling smaller operators to compete with their bigger, better-resourced counterparts.
With the right tools, you can completely transform the way you work and interact with customers, generate leads and improve revenue by tailoring your offerings to your customers’ buying behaviour.
American Express have compiled their list of three top technologies you can adopt to help build a competitive edge in today’s digital market:
1. Marketing automation
Marketing automation software can improve acquisition results and make your life easier in a range of ways. You’ll not only be able to automate repetitive tasks like sending out email and scheduling social posts, you can also revolutionise the way you manage your customer relationships. With integration with your CRM, most reputable software systems allow you to track visitors to your website, host and monitor your marketing collateral, assign leads to sales reps and even get real-time sales alerts.
Most important, the right solution can help you nurture more new leads. Stats compiled by HubSpot showed that marketers using automation software generate twice the number of leads than those using blast email software, and are perceived by their peers to be twice as effective at communicating.
2. Advanced payment methods
Australia is moving towards becoming a cashless economy. According to recent statistics from the Reserve Bank of Australia, the number of ATM withdrawals in January fell by 7.7 percent compared to last year, with the total value of withdrawals dropping by 3.9 percent.
Businesses are also benefiting from the boom in contactless payments. According to Mike Ebstein, founder of Australian payments consultancy MWE Consulting, “card-based payments are generally higher in value than cash. One would expect that the displacement of cash by cards has led to an increase in sales.”
Traditional signatures were replaced by chip and PIN, and those systems are now being replaced by tap-and-go, contactless and mobile payments such as Apple Pay.
As consumers increasingly expect businesses to allow them to use their preferred modes of (cashless) payment, investing in advanced payment technologies gives your customers the convenience and versatility they desire.
A device like Square Reader for contactless and chip not only lets your business accept card payments (tap-and-go, insert or swipe), it also integrates seamlessly with a fully integrated, mobile point-of-sale app. It also allows your business can accept all types of cards, like American Express, Visa, eftpos, Mastercard, and JCB, ensuring your customers can pay how they like.
3. Customer insights and data analytics
The data you collect from your customers — through orders, surveys, contests and transaction histories — can help you understand how to better reach them in the future or create more personalised and enjoyable shopping experiences.
By learning as much as possible about how customers are interacting with your products and content — such as where they prefer to shop, what they are most likely to buy and which keywords they search for — you can refine sales pitches and marketing messaging, which could lead to increased revenue and a better reputation overall.
Detecting seasonal patterns can also help you plan promotions around your products and services.
This post was proudly brought to you by our friends at American Express.
Related Articles
- The Dos and Don’ts of Small Business Finance
- Accept Payments Online with Square for E-Commerce
- Why Your Small Business Should Accept Card Payments
