How Smartphones Have Helped Small and Medium Enterprises

  Advancement in modern technology has lead to digitization of information and made life easy for everyone. Businesses have significantly benefited from mobile technology; smart phones play a huge role in the interaction between consumers and sellers. Think about your local grocery store or supermarket, and how easy it is to buy products even without carrying your cash or credit card. Mobile technology has been credited to the successes of many businesses; both Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The following are ways in which smartphones have benefited SMEs.

Instant Communication:  Communication is key for any businessperson. Instant communication is even better as this will clear up any problem that could be encountered during a business transaction. Business owners are just a phone call away from speaking with any customer. Phones have promoted more engagement between businesses and their clients. Calls are an effective way of dealing with any issues that arise, as customers can air out their dissatisfactions and get real time responses. Whether you are using SMS, phone calls or WhatsApp texts, your phone will enable you contact any client you want from any part in the world. This boosts the relationship between businesses and customers, as the consumer can also make an order with just a dial.

Apps: Running a business can be draining with all the up and down movements. SMEs are especially hard to run as the basic operations may not follow a standardized system. Managing employees, making purchases or taking care of the common issues affecting businesses can be challenging. There are hundreds of apps suitable for businesses. Evernote, QuickBooks, Podium, Pocket, FreshBooks, Toggl, Trello, SurveyMonkey and Skype are among the many apps that help small businesses. These entire apps are designed differently, with different features. Businesses look at which apps are most suitable for the nature of their jobs.  Business apps help with easy computing between business employees and their customers, with some having the rating feature. Rating is good for businesses, as with high ratings, the business will maintain the same energy while low ratings will have the business check on their short comings. Apps like QuickBooks will help you easily track your profit and loss, and follow up on unpaid invoices. Some apps also have the option of the customer’s details. With this, you will be able to know of things like the location and preferences of your customer. Skype is quite popular and has been a preferred app for many businesses to hold video calls with their clients or video conferences. It is also great for employee communication. Apps help businesses keep track of payments and stay up to date with all the happenings in small and medium scale businesses. Businesses can also create their own apps and customize features to best suit their operations.

Easy Payment: Carrying cash in bulk can be tasking. Don’t forget the possibility of losing your purse or wallet before making your payment. With just a few steps, customers can pay for the products they purchase from their bank accounts through their smartphones. Other than being easy to pay via your phone, it is also safe. No one can access your bank information without your consent as before they go to pay for anything, they will have to key in a password or PIN, which are always private information; unless you choose to share with those around you.

Diverse Market Online: Small and medium enterprises are rarely featured in traditional mainstream media advertisements. With the rise of social media, SMEs are able to put out their products for everyone who has a smartphone. You don’t have to hire a big digital advertising firm to showcase your product; with just your Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts, you will be able to reach your targeted audience. All social media platforms have share options. On twitter, if you tweet your products and your followers retweet to their followers, you products will get a wide audience. Create a rapport with your twitter followers and always keep them engrossed whenever you share anything. Answer any questions your followers have regarding your business, and be sure to fish new customers just by sitting at home and spending a few minutes of your day online. Instagram is also a great way of looking for clients. Keep posting quality pictures of what you sell, and be certain that you will attract buyers. If you want a bigger audience, promote your content. This is done across the three social media sites. By promoting your content, more people get to see what you have; not just your followers.

More Customers: A potential customer wants to go get a few basic house commodities, but is feeling lazy to leave the house; this is where the smartphone saves the day. By being able to order from home, businesses get more customers. Clients will order what they need and pay from the comfort of their couch, and the business owner will arrange how the products get to the customer. There may or may not be delivery fees depending on the arrangement between the business and their customers.  A lot of small and medium enterprises cash in from online purchases, as some clients will opt not to buy from the neighboring store, and buy from the retailer online. This means more customers for salespeople.

The presence of smart phones has revitalized small and medium enterprises. Smartphones have enhanced the manufacture and sales of products and helped in improving service delivery to customers. Everyone is going digital, and SMEs have not been left behind. Smartphones are also the preferred mode   of communication, as unlike computers, one can move around with them. Smartphones are actually a basic requirement for anyone who wants to run a successful business, no matter how small scale. Look at all the advantages that come with engaging with your clients, being in touch at any time of the day, and helping solve problems on the spot. It is a win-win situation for both the business and client. SMEs help in the growing of the economy world over, and with the presence of mobile phones, more profits are made, costs are cut and business is largely improved.