In the last 5-10 years, the small business and manufacturing industry has seen a complete change of focus within the technology/ software industry: From focusing on Fortune 500 companies to making SMBs or manufacturing business the core of their business. This change, paired with development tools that allows software developers to quicker and easier build and deploy software, brings a lot of opportunities and chances for your business.
The flip side of this trend is, that it currently feels like a jungle. So many software providers are coming and going, and you are not sure what is the right one.Beware of the software expense on your credit card, each $99/month subscription can add up quickly.
1. Start with the Problem
Don’t just buy a software or solution, but start with the bottlenecks in your organization. Often times your instinct might be to hire someone for a problem. Start right there. You can further separate your problems into two buckets: Backoffice problems, and front office problems
Backoffice problems describe non-revenue generating departments or areas of your organization, e.g. HR, accounting, finance, payroll etc. Your approach should be to be as lean as possible in those departments. So how could software help? Automating as much as possible, and helping you stay compliant (if you have to).
Front office problems will be your revenue generating or supporting processes, like sales or marketing. Depending on where you draw the line in the sand, it might also your manufacturing process. What is the #1 problem every company has? Acquiring more customers, and doing so profitably. Don’t forget activities around building your brand, so people associate your brand name with <fill in what you do here>.
2. Give ideas and products a chance
What feels like every day, you might be approached by new software companies that have this super ideal new product. In the previous point we just talked about focusing on bottlenecks and starting there. Well, sometimes you don’t even know what exists. You might be too deep into the woods that, you might overlook categories or new products that are actually what you are looking for.
So if you hear a pitch that might make sense and touches on bottlenecks that you know or don’t know of, give it a shot! Sometimes the one hour call can lead to something better. And if not? You only invested 1 hour of your time.
3. Find a Partner
Everyone has an accountant, but have you asked them what they recommend for payroll? Or if you have a Managed Service Provider that helps out with your cybersecurity, have you asked him what software he uses to quickly answer questions or customer tickets?
Learning about software and tech solutions from other companies that we are already working with, will help you quickly solve problems. Not only might they be able to point you in the right direction. They also give you the Dos and Don’ts, which vendors they’d recommend and best practices.
When was the last time you had a business conversation with the companies and partners you work with?
4. Embrace Integration & Automation
As you add different tech and software solutions to your company portfolio. You might want to think about how you can make them talk to each other. Let’s talk about integrations: Every SMB product, or manufacturing solution is now cloud based? It means that the software company hosts the solution for you. You just pay a monthly or yearly SaaS (=Software as a Service) fee. Ok, so how can you integrate different software platforms? that is where services like zapier or make.com will come into play. You might have heard of them being called the plumbing of the internet. Anyway, look at your current SaaS solutions that you are paying for and see how you can get them to talk to each other, e.g. if you get a lead from the website, could they get pushed directly into the CRM, and once in the CRM, can you send a contract, which will lead to a new customer created in your accounting package. All these little steps are time consuming. Talk to your SaaS providers and see how they could help you achieve that goal.
5. Try out AI
The first initial hype is slowly fading. However, AI is here to stay. So you might as well get used to it. Since it is still early stage on the business application, maybe have a brainstorming session internally. In a dream world, what could AI do for your company? Maybe start looking at the first solution out there, or again, talk to your existing ones and see how they are embracing this technology revolution.
Always keep in mind, when you purchase software, it has to serve a purpose. It has to solve a problem within your organization. We at Barrel Aged think of ourselves as partners. We’d love to talk to you about what we see our clients use successfully or how we internally structure our processes and tools. Just reach out to us.