Scaling operations used to be difficult and time-consuming. In the past, businesses had to do more than simply add new locations or employees; they needed to build their IT infrastructure to accommodate growth. Often, these were archaic systems that were rigid and offered little scalability.
But technology has come a long way since then, and the growing pains aren’t so hard to navigate anymore. With the right app and system, your business can easily scale up or down to accommodate changing needs.
Let’s take a look at a few ways apps can help you scale your business:
Time to automate
Sales reps have way more tasks than they can realistically accomplish in a day. Even if you have the most effective sales team on the planet, there are only so many calls, emails, and meetings they can handle.
Sales technology that automates tasks – such as logging calls or sending follow-up emails – can help them be more productive and efficient.
In addition, an app that provides real-time data about your sales pipeline can help you make informed decisions about where to allocate your resources. This is especially helpful when you’re looking to scale up your operations.
For instance, an app like Salesforce can give you valuable insights into your sales pipeline, such as which deals are close to being closed and which ones are in danger of falling through. This information can help you decide whether to invest more resources in certain deals or pull back on others.
Connect and communicate
With a growing business comes a growing team. And with a growing team comes the need for better communication. After all, you can’t be in the same room with everyone all the time. Effective communication is more important than ever in a post-pandemic era where remote workplaces are the norm.
Thankfully, there are plenty of apps that can help with this.
An app like Slack can help you keep everyone on the same page, no matter where they are. Communication apps allow you to create channels for different topics, so employees can easily find the information they need without sifting through many messages.
Moreover, these apps often integrate with various other apps, so you can get all your work done in one place. It’s a beneficial feature when you’re scaling up your operations and need to quickly access information from different departments.
Apps can also help with meetings. Video call apps like Zoom can be used for conferencing, screen sharing, and recording, all valuable features for presentations or team meetings.
Assist with revenue
Keeping track of revenue and expenses is critical for any business, but it can be daunting, especially as you scale. But with apps that help you manage and streamline your revenue operations; you can take much of the guesswork out of the equation.
An app like Zuora can automate billing, invoicing, and payments for subscription-based businesses. This not only saves you time and money but also reduces the risk of human error.
Another way apps can help you scale your business is by helping you with revenue enablement. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software like HubSpot give visibility into every customer interaction with your brand. This information can be used to improve the customer experience and increase retention rates.
Finally, apps can also help you manage your finances. An app like Expensify can automate expense report submissions and approvals, saving you time and reducing the risk of fraud and misuse of company funds.
Project management
As your business grows, you will need to take on more projects, from developing a new product line to launching a marketing campaign. Managing all these moving parts can be difficult and lead to costly mistakes. Using apps will help you improve efficiency.
With a project management app, you can keep track of all your tasks and deadlines in one place. See at a glance what needs to be done and when, assign tasks to specific team members, and get real-time updates on progress. This level of transparency and accountability will help you get projects done on time and within budget.
Customer support
Your customer base will grow along with your business, and that means you’ll need to be able to provide them with the best possible support.
A customer support app like Zendesk is an excellent tool for managing this growth. With Zendesk, you can keep track of all your customer support requests in one place and ensure that no issue falls through the cracks.
Freshdesk offers a similar set of features as Zendesk but also has a handy knowledge base feature. Your team can quickly find answers to common questions without having to bother you with every little thing.
Build your own system
If you want to develop your own system, there’s no reason for you to start from scratch. A cost-effective way to scale is by using a tech stack. These app development platforms allow you to quickly develop and deploy an app without expensive infrastructure or a team of developers.
Moreover, platforms like MongoDB and Amazon Web Services often come with built-in scalability features. That means you can start small and grow your app as your business scales up.
Leverage business intelligence
In today’s business landscape, you’ll need to make data-driven decisions to stay ahead of the competition. But gathering and analysing data can be a time-consuming process. In the past, businesses had to rely on surveys and customer interviews to collect this information. It was an inexact science that often led to inaccurate conclusions.
There are now several app-based solutions that provide detailed insights into customer behaviour. Google Analytics is one example – it gives you detailed information on who is visiting your website, what they’re looking at, and how they found you. This data is invaluable in understanding your target market and scaling your business to meet its needs.
With a tool like Tableau, you can easily visualise your data to quickly see your strategies’ effectiveness. And with Looker, you can explore your data to uncover hidden insights that you can use to make better decisions.
A Word of Caution
Applications are accessible and help create flexibility, but without guidelines and structure, chaos can prevail. If team members are given too much flexibility in which apps they use, costs can blow out and just as significantly, the effectiveness of how your business operates will be impacted. For example, you only want your go-to-market teams using one CRM, and you certainly don’t want team members recording customer data in their own individual tools.
Final words
Growth has never been easier and more cost-effective. With the right app in place, businesses can quickly scale up or down to accommodate changing needs. This is helpful for seasonal businesses or those that are growing rapidly. By using apps, businesses can save time and money while providing a great customer experience.
How is your organisation leveraging technology to scale?
If you’re ready to take your business to the Next Level, contact us today and let us show you what we can do.
