34 information technology
IT the key to working smart The most successful businesses are the ones that harness the latest in technology to become more efficient and provide the best service to their customers.
In an age when every penny must count, forward-thinking companies realise that computer technologies allow them to ensure that their staff are directed to the best effect and that tasks that once took many hours can now be done quickly. That can include everything from communication with customers to market analysis. Using IT in this way is invaluable for any company - especially a small one - because it means that skilled members of staff are not preoccupied on tasks which do not require their creativity. They can instead concentrate on developing new products and exploring opportunities. One of the biggest opportunities is in the way companies can use technology to improve their Client Relationship Management. More and more companies have realised that a standard website is no longer enough when it comes to communicating with clients and potential clients. They have realised that a good website needs to have a sense of movement about it, to be constantly updated and to make life easier for those visiting it. Ease of use is vital because a client
2013 sussex enterprise business directory
struggling to navigate round a website will soon give up and go elsewhere. Interactivity is also important and the latest Information Technology systems allow clients to communicate with companies through websites and for the companies to respond quickly and efficiently. People appreciate the simple courtesies and that includes a reply to a message, even if the initial contact is computergenerated. It makes them feel that someone is listening. The truly switched-on companies have realised that new technologies give them ways of directly getting in touch with large numbers of customers through databases. Such databases allow them to send out mass emails which, rather than simply being advertising tools more likely to suffer the delete button than to be read, exhibit more thought, a sense of value for money. Such messages update people on projects and products, answer the questions clients have been asking and seek their views on improvements that can be made. The rapid advance of hand-held technologies is also opening up
opportunities, giving companies the chance to communicate with clients who are on the move, then there’s Facebook and Twitter and other sorts of communications tools, as people increasingly receive their information online. Before computers and associated electronic developments, such