Gone are the days of manual payroll, letter writing, and strictly newspaper advertising. This is the digital age, now more than ever, and for any small business to survive, they need to be tech guru and know their way around the op gadgets and gizmos for small business. Here are five of the top advances technology has made for small business laptops.
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Video Camera
We feel better doing business with someone we can see face to face. This is a little harder to do when dealing online but having video camera makes this much easier. Give your potential clients the peace of mind of getting to meet you before they do business with you. Shoot some video of yourself and your company, share a story about your mission and passion, or give a tour of your facility. All of these will help put your customers at ease and give them a feel of familiarity when they go to make their purchase from you. If you are a service based company than videos will be your number one way to market and demonstrate what you can offer to your clients. So be sure to take the time to invest in this as you look for a business laptop. It will help a lot!
Phones and Mobile Technology
It has come a long way since the bricks of early cell phones and many small businesses today depend on their smart phones, tablets, laptops, and so forth to do business. Swiping a credit card and signing for a purchase is made easy with a Smartphone and a simple app. Being able to network, communicate, contact, and stay in touch with mobile technology can be a great life-saver for a small business. So make sure your phones, tablets, laptops, and computers are all up to day so you can do the best job you possibly can to win over your next customer.
Social Media Networking
Never has it been more critical to have a presence in the social media than it is today. Twitter, facebook, linkedin, gmail, Skype, and others help keep you in touch. They are great for promoting yourself, your business, and your services to an even wider range of customers. They help get your name out there where people can easily find you when they have a need for your services. They also are a great tool for getting recommendations and drumming up support from former clients.
Security software
In the age of digital business comes the risk of digital thieves. Form hackers breaking in and stealing money or company secrets to virus wiping out entire week’s or month’s worth of work, every small business needs security software. Security tools such as VPNs can even help companies fake their laptop location. But it doesn’t stop at the computer and digital end of things. Technology also helps keep the tangible side of the business safe with advanced security systems for office buildings and company vehicles. You have put so much into your business, so do the right thing and protect your laptop from crooks- both online and in the real world.
Backup Service
With digital business booming and the online market thriving, paper trails are becoming less and less prolific. While this may be good from an environmental standpoint, it can spell disaster for a small business if computer files go bad, documents are lost, or the systems are hacked. Without a paper trail, digital files are even more valuable. They should be protected with backup services that record and file your records at another location. If you do not want to pay for such services then invest in some good external hard drives to save all of your information on. Make sure to back things up often so you do not lose all of your work if something happens to your laptop.
These are just some of the many technological advances that are available to small business owners. So get out there and find the tools that best suite you and your business and make the most of what technology can do for you!
The following was a post by Sarah Jo Lorenz-Coryell