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5 top tips for SMEs on how the internet can help you in the recession. 1. Encourage home/flexi working
With online services such as collaboration tools, video conferencing and remote access becoming significantly more affordable and simple-to-use in recent years, employees can be just as productive working away from the office. The workplace building is often an SME's largest monthly expense after salaries, so why not cut it down or eliminate it completely by working from home or an alternative or remote site? Flexible working is about choosing more cost effective alternatives to your central office and consolidating the number of desks you need in relation to your staff.
2. Embrace SaaS/cloud computing
The internet is changing the way IT is delivered, from locally-installed programs to services delivered over the web. For small businesses, this means lower costs; both in terms of the hardware needed to run the software (a medium-spec PC with an internet connection is all you need) plus lower costs for the services themselves (low monthly subscriptions or even free, versus the high, one-off cost of a software package).
By outsourcing the responsibility of delivering these services to those that supply them, SaaS also reduces the need for expensive IT support. Switching to a web-based email programme for example means you don't have to purchase, maintain and power an email server. When you need to add more users, you just sign them up, and the provider takes care of the rest.
3. Fully utilise e-commerce
Not every company can sell their products or services online, but those who can, especially in the retail sector, simply cannot afford not to. And if your company doesn't look like a traditional e-retailer at first glance, take another look. 46% of the SMEs we spoke to were already looking to offer new services over the web in the coming months. Are you one of them?
Bear in mind, e-commerce does not have to follow the traditional Amazon model (taking orders online for physical goods which are then delivered by post). Many service companies, such as hairdressers, gyms, or taxi companies, for example, use the internet for online bookings. Subscription-based services can now be commonly bought and paid for online and a plethora of software companies now deliver their services over the web.
4. Online marketing
The internet is a great leveller; with a good website any SME, no matter how niche or peculiar, can compete with the more established players in their market. But the website is only the first step. Online marketing tools today offer a plethora of information and feedback from which to continually tweak your marketing strategies, from feedback on who opened your mailshot and information as to who they forwarded it to, to website analytics showing exactly how long someone spent on your product pages. Sophisticated online marketing tools are no longer the preserve of big businesses, so SMEs should leverage them as much as possible.
5. Teleconferencing
Teleconferencing tools, particularly video conferencing, are getting more and more intuitive and sophisticated every day. With travel costs rising every year, businesses can make considerable savings by communicating with these new technologies. For those not yet comfortable seeing themselves in a video conference, there are many other web-based conferencing methods, from more traditional conference calls over VoIP to collaborative tools such as WebEx or Google Docs.
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