Technology and business

Keeping up with the latest technologies in a business is a great way of ensuring that a company works to the best standards at all times. Employing the latest technologies will ensure a business is at the forefront of new methods and able to offer the latest things to its customers as well as work efficiently.

E-commerce

E-commerce is one area where technology in recent years has really taken off. This involves the use of electronic systems to buy and sell products which takes place online through a website. A huge number of companies now solely focus on making money through a website that allows items to be chosen and purchased by either a consumer or another business. E-commerce is often used to purchase things such as:

• Clothing
• Tickets for events or travel
• Music and entertainment
• Consumables
• Any other types of physical or virtual product

When using e-commerce a company will see a range of benefits to working practices including:

• Being able to offer goods and services to a wider range of people in different areas
• Generating sales 24/7
• Lower running costs and less rent for high-street premises
• Cost of processing payments is smaller
• Invoices, receipts and orders can be generated automatically to save staffing costs
• More choice of where operations are directed from (cheaper locations can be found)

Marketing and social media

Online advertising is now huge. Almost every business will use a website, marketing emails and social media in order to contact its customers quickly and conveniently. Advertising online is much cheaper than traditional advertising and also offers a better return on investment (ROI) since the audience that is targeted can be chosen specifically and no money is wasted. For example, if a business advertised a new mobile phone on a large billboard, a large percentage of people seeing this would not be interested. They may already have a mobile phone that they are happy with and not want a new one. On the other hand, if the company advertised online for people searching for ‘new mobile phone’ then the people that see their advert would be much more likely to make a purchase.

Social media can be used for a number of reasons in a business including advertising and for providing customer service. Modern shoppers expect to be able to get support that is quick and convenient for them. Because of this, customers want a company to be transparent and easy to contact whenever it suits their own lives rather than just between 9am and 5pm. This ability to contact a business on whatever social media platform they prefer will ensure that customers are able to benefit from timely support whenever they encounter an issue with the service.

Digital communication

The modern business will need to take advantage of a range of different digital communication methods. This will make things easy for a customer to contact the company and get any help and support that they require. Emails, online chat and text services are used by many modern companies so that information can be spread immediately and cheaply. Digital communication links with marketing very closely. A well-planned and effective marketing and digital communications strategy will ensure that a company can deal with issues in a timely manner as well as encourage sales of the products and services that it offers.

Payment systems

Using the latest advances in technology when taking payments will ensure that a business can get paid quickly and easily. Having a complex payment system will most certainly result in people that do not complete their purchases and fail to convert into paying customers. With online shopping, especially, people will be impatient. This means they need to be able to purchase goods quickly and securely with a few clicks. Many payment systems are available for businesses to allow this and will include:

• Online card processing – using online card processing will help a customer to purchase goods using their credit or debit card in a few minutes. This is a very secure and easy way to pay for goods which are purchased online and is easy to integrate into a website.
• Pay points and contactless payments – most shops now allow card payments and a lot now even offer contactless payment which allows people to buy goods immediately. This method of payment is secure and offers the quickest possible transaction for the customer.
• Automatic invoicing – for businesses that are offering goods to other businesses, online invoicing systems may be used. Within these systems a business can create a product list and then easily invoice for payment with only a few clicks. This will save a huge amount of time for a company as the amounts due will be calculated automatically.

How technology influences sales

The sales process within a business will be affected by changing technology as companies work with their customers in new ways. This could be through new methods of generating sales, attracting new customers or even processing payments. Customer relationship management (CRM) techniques are now something that businesses invest heavily in. A CRM system will help a business to find new products to target their existing customers with and ensure that each person or business that they deal with gets exactly what they need.

How technology influences business costs

The costs of running a business can be reduced by new technology significantly. In the short term this may not be true as purchasing new materials or assets can be very expensive but in the long run these will help to streamline a business’s operations and ensure that money is saved. Different money saving technologies can be implemented which will save money on materials, production costs or even utility bills.

How technology influences the marketing mix

The modern marketing mix is now very different to what it used to be. Technology has affected all parts of the mix and changed the traditional marketing mix that is used dramatically. These changes include:

• Product – changes in technology have influenced the goods and services that businesses have to offer. This will be explored next in this unit and can include things like Market Pull and Technology Push versions of innovation
• Price – since new technologies make manufacturing quicker and cheaper, businesses are able to pass this saving on to their customers through cheaper costs for their products or services. Since technology (especially the internet) has made prices more transparent in marketplaces, businesses must ensure that they are competitive in order to attract customers. This means that businesses have to offer pricing that is competitive or face customers who can easily go elsewhere for a better deal.
• Place – technology will change the places that business is done. This includes the marketplace which is often online now as many businesses move to using e-commerce for generating sales. Another thing could be the location of a business as, through the use of sophisticated messaging and conferencing systems, the business may not require physical locations as each employee can work remotely from home.
• Promotion – advertising and the promotion of goods and services has changed dramatically with the introduction of new technologies. This means that online advertising and promotion is used in order to attract new customers to buy goods. This form of promotion makes advertising more targeted as online capabilities allow businesses to show ads to small groups of individuals with specific interests. This makes advertising much smarter as the likelihood of a person being interested in a product who sees the advert is increased.