The way your business makes money is by having consumers purchasing the goods or services you offer, so why not shift your focus to ensuring these people are constantly engaged?
In the digital age, there are plenty of simple ways you can make that happen - it just takes investment. If your business isn't keeping up with the times and putting money into drawing new consumers in, while also remaining relevant for your existing clients, you could be missing a beat.
According to the Deloitte Access Economics report on SMBs in the digital race for the consumer, 29 per cent of the targeted businesses in the survey saw new technology as the best way to find new customers. What's more, this was the most common use of digital technology.
Why should your business make a move to focus on digital technology investment?
The way forward for a successful SME
Don't be put off by the initial outlay when you're looking at digital investment opportunities. It will cost money to place new technologies in your place of work, but it could bring with it a whole range of benefits.
The Deloitte research suggests a 1 per cent increase in spending on digital technology will result in an average of $100,000 more revenue each year. While the first few months of investment might take a lot out of your working capital, the returns you'll soon see could far outweigh the cost.
Investing in new technology could help your business more than you can imagine.In fact, 11 per cent of SMEs report that greater reliance on technology leads to an 11 per cent reduction in operating costs. Whatever investment is necessary to put into new developments in your small or medium-sized business , these costs could be fully recuperated in no time at all - it may end up costing less to provide your goods and services.
An online presence can be significantly improved with investment as well, and having an avenue through which consumers can order your products over the internet is forecast to be something Australian businesses rely on in the future. At present, 39.6 per cent of sales in SMEs around the country are online, but that number is expected to grow to a massive 50.2 per cent. When the rest of the country cottons on to this channel of sales, will you be ready to keep pace?
Pulling your business back from the brink
SMEs fall flat when they don't advance with the landscape around them.
As happens so often in Australia, SMEs fall flat when they don't advance with the landscape around them. It might be because of a failure to anticipate rising operating costs. A Wolters Kluwer/CCH report found 61 per cent of SME owners believe this is the primary reason for failure.
Inadequate access to capital or borrowing was cited by 49 per cent of SMEs for the same reason as above, but there are options on the market that can help to inject money into the day-to-day operations of your SME. Invoice finance from Earlypay takes on the responsibility of your unpaid invoices, and pays you back a percentage of them. Your debtors then pay the balance to Earlypay, which takes a cut, and provides you with the rest of what you're owed.
The main advantage of this is that you don't have to wait weeks and weeks for clients to pay what they owe. Instead, you'll have the money in hand to invest in whatever technology you need, and you can grow and expand as you see fit.
Don't become a number of the 13,023 failed businesses from the first quarter of 2016, as Dun and Bradstreet has found, and look toward investing in technology today.
Earlypay can help, so get in touch with the team today.
If you'd like to learn how Earlypay's Invoice Finance & Equipment Finance can help you boost your working capital to fund growth or keep on top of day-to-day operations of your business, contact Earlypay's helpful team today on 1300 760 205, visit our sign-up form or contact [email protected].