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While the cloud is perhaps most notably recognized as a convenient way to store and access data, there are many other benefits of this technology users may not automatically think of—namely when it comes to business growth. From streamlining project management to reducing retraining time, there are a multitude of ways business owners can leverage cloud technology to help them scale.
Here, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council share nine of the most effective ways to use cloud technology to grow your business as well as other benefits you may gain by doing so.
1. Manage Customer Relationship Information
One of the most impactful ways a small business can use cloud technology for growth is by implementing a cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) system, such as Salesforce or HubSpot, to help your business manage interactions with customers, clients and prospects. Benefits of utilizing a CRM system include 1. increased sales by automating lead generation and revenue forecasting, 2. improved customer service, 3. enhanced marketing by creating targeted marketing campaigns across different customer types and 4. organized team collaboration by centralizing customer data. By leveraging a cloud-based CRM, small businesses can access enterprise-level technology at a fraction of the cost, which can help them scale. – Eddie Lou, CodaPet
2. Streamline Project Management
Utilizing cloud-based project management solutions is one of the most efficient ways for a small firm to utilize cloud technology for the purpose of expansion. By facilitating remote work and offering real-time access to project data, these solutions can improve the productivity and collaboration of several teams working on the same task. If small businesses can streamline their project management processes, they can put more money and time into growth projects and reach more people. – John Rampton, Calendar
3. Collaborate With Vendors, Contractors And Partners
As you bring on more agency partners, contractors, freelancers and more, it’s easiest to use collaborative cloud software to stay up to date with important files, data, creative assets, order information and customer information. Platforms like Google Drive help your business scale in a safe and secure manner, especially since there’s a changelog whenever different participants add or remove things, in case you need to revert to an earlier version of the document. – Firas Kittaneh, Amerisleep Mattress
4. Automate Mundane Tasks
One of the most impactful ways a small business can use cloud technology for growth is by leveraging cloud-based automation tools. These tools enable businesses to automate mundane tasks such as customer support, data entry and billing processes. This frees up time and resources that can be used toward more strategic initiatives that drive growth. Additionally, these tools are often more cost-effective than traditional solutions, making them an attractive option for small businesses looking to save money while still achieving their goals. – Kristin Kimberly Marquet, Marquet Media, LLC
5. Reduce Retraining Time
The most impactful thing cloud technology does for business growth is offer virtually unlimited scaling options. Old-school methods for business management often required upgrading to new tools at least once every few years. When we hit our stride, we updated our software every year. It was time-consuming and stressful, especially when we had to retrain team members to use the latest tool. Cloud technology is flexible, and you can continue to scale it up as your business grows. I’ve found that this makes it easier to manage projects and plan for the future. – Damanjeet Singh, FunnelKit
6. Boost Your Team’s Productivity
One impactful way a small business can use cloud technology for growth is by leveraging productivity tools like Asana. Things are generally a bit hectic for small businesses when scaling up, as an individual has to wear multiple hats to keep the needle moving. Productivity tools help small businesses ensure that their efforts translate into valuable outcomes. Using these tools, you can split your goals into milestones, assign carefully designed tasks to key stakeholders and track progress along the way. These tools help you move forward in an organized way and make it easier for you to assess the impact of set deliverables. – Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms
7. Gain And Track Useful Insights
Small businesses can use data analytics solutions to ensure seamless growth. Data is the king as it helps you make informed choices and calculated decisions essential for success. Tools like Google Analytics and other cloud solutions make it easier for you to gather useful insights and track your performance to see if your efforts are paying off. With cloud analytics solutions, you can learn about your customers’ behavior, interests, preferences and buying patterns, which helps you devise stellar targeting and engagement strategies for your business. Overall, cloud analytics solutions make you an efficient decision-maker and help foster operational excellence. – Chris Klosowski, Easy Digital Downloads
8. Store Data Safely
One of the biggest challenges for small businesses is access to data, such as customer information, invoices, purchase orders and more, and many small businesses have a habit of using physical forms of data storage rather than digital. Even if they are using digital, it’s legacy desktop software. The biggest problem with this approach is data scattering and potential unavailability during crucial times. For example, if your company data is stored in an employee’s laptop and they lose that laptop or something bad happens, you could forever lose your data. That’s where cloud technology could be a huge lifesaver for small businesses. Using software that stores data safely and securely over the cloud, making it available 24/7 and completely agnostic of people and machines, will lead small businesses to growth. – Vibhav Singh, XTEN-AV LLC
9. Save Time And Money
Saving time and money are essential for company growth—especially for small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Cloud technology’s primary benefit is helping companies save money by avoiding hardware expenses and allowing them to scale up or down dynamically based on need. An excellent initial step is to take inventory of your IT infrastructure’s current usage to see if there is any wasted capacity or large fluctuations based on time of year or demand. If there is a large amount of waste or significant volatility, a cloud solution can help mitigate those issues. Another way businesses can lower costs and take advantage of cloud perks is by improving collaboration, productivity and security with an all-in-one cloud solution such as Microsoft 365. – Julian Hamood, Trusted Tech Team