Technology has increased by leaps and bounds. It’s also greatly improved our lives. This impact spills over into the business world in several important ways.

When you think back just a few years then take a moment to look around you today, you’ll see that technology really has grown by leaps and bounds. There’s no doubt that it’s greatly improved our lives – an impact that’s also spilled over into our business world. Here are several important ways in which technology has transformed business as we now know it.

Appropriate Communication

With so many ways to communicate with customers available there’s no longer any reason why a business should suffer from poor communication. You can connect with your customers in a way that suits them best. For instance, there are some people who prefer to communicate via phone while there are others who prefer email, texting, or using an app. You can use all these means of communication to meet your customer where they’re at. One point of interest you may wish to consider as you setup your communication is that most customers favor using live chat. In fact, one study that was conducted in 2013 found that 73% of customers prefer live chat over any other type of communication – something technology makes possible.

Be Empathic

Small Biz Trends says there have been multiple studies conducted showing that the main reason why customers get flustered with service representatives is because the service representative doesn’t understand what they’re saying. This demonstrates that empathy in customer service interactions is paramount. You don’t want your consumers to feel like your reps are apathetic and simply blew off their concerns just because this is how they were trained to do their job. With today’s technology, you can now create policies that allow your sales representatives to show empathy in whatever means of communication the customer chooses to make contact with your reps through.

Always Be Available

Daytime customer service hours are a thing of the past. Any business that continues operating in that time frame will steadily lose their customers.  Now your business must be available any time your customer needs to reach you.  This is simply an expectation today that you must recognize if you want to stand out from your competition.Fortunately, it isn’t difficult since there are various means of communication you can use from anywhere including chat boxes, email, and various social networks. As such, there’s no reason you shouldn’t let your customers contact you at when they want, in any way they want. Doing so will support the freedom they desire.

Use Marketing Automation

Customers feel really frustrated when they call a business and discover that the business doesn’t have any record of their last contact. With customer relationship management (CRM) software you have sophisticated data-gathering tools that immediately give your reps information about each customer they’re connected with. This creates a seamless interaction between your business and your customers – something that will boost customer loyalty. Inc. says streamlining and automating business processes in this way will help your business be more efficient and keep your bottom line low. In the future we’ll see even more of this automation when it comes to other areas of our business as well – including order fulfilment, machine learning and 24 x 7 intelligent availability.

Communicate via New Technologies

Sometimes technology seems overwhelming, but it’s very beneficial when you’re trying to run an efficient business. With technology your customers can come and interact with you in any way they prefer. This is why you shouldn’t be afraid to embrace technology, but there are many other great benefits for doing so as well. For instance, new technologies help you anticipate your customer’s needs, tailor your business processes to better serve your customers, and make your business more efficient so you can keep your costs down.

Outside of this, there are also a few other important areas where technology can provide key advantages to your businesses, including:

• Creating areas on your website where customers can answer their own questions or talk to other customers who can answer their questions
• Helping you build better information about your clients by using sophisticated data-gathering tools and software like CRM software with G-suite integration
• Using e-mail to improve customer service and quickly respond to your customers’ needs and requests
• Alerting you of customers who use multiple ways of communicating with you (e.g. you’re your customer leaves you a voicemail after having sent you an email with the same request a few days ago)

Although this technology is an expensive investment, when you take care of it and use it to its fullest capacity, you won’t regret it because technology can connect you with your customers on a much deeper level.

Social Media Connection

My Customer says a cloud phone system for communication is one of technology’s greatest inventions. It helps you stay connected to your customers 24/7 without being overbearing. Of course, social media is equally as important here since you can share your blog posts, webinars, infographics, and how-to videos there. By using these two tools you can connect with your customers in a way that they prefer, without being too pushy. These tools let your customers come to you. As a business owner, you know this is the best way to acquire and retain your customer base.

Get Self-Reliant Customers

Many people don’t like to ask for help. This is why it’s important to teach them how to use technology to be self-reliant. When your consumers have multiple ways to access the information they need, you’ll lessen the load on your customer service representatives. By creating a well-functioning website, you can provide a lot of information for your customers like your contact information, operating hours, store policies, and business descriptions. Doing so also sets you up as an authority in your niche, making your brand more credible. You can use your blog posts, webinars, podcasts, and videos to show your customers how to help themselves. Studies show that when you do this well, 67% of your customers will be able to find their own answers. This type of self-service is what many customers want today.

Author Bio:

Being a senior business associate, Peter Davidson strives to help different brands and startups to make effective business decisions and plan effective business strategies. With years of rich domain expertise, he loves to share his views on the latest technologies and applications through his well-researched content pieces. Follow him on Google+ and Twitter.