What is a modern business? It’s a difficult question to answer, but the majority of it boils down to how much modern technology you’re willing to implement into your store, services or online storefront. Let’s not forget that just a decade ago, most companies were struggling to install online payment methods and stores were no stranger to hanging up “NO CREDIT CARDS” signs on their front windows.
Technology has come a long way and what was considered modern back then would be outdated technology now. It’s important to always keep up to date with the latest trends, payment methods and ordering processes. For example, if you run a restaurant and don’t have online delivery services set up, then you’re losing to your competition by a large margin.
Food services are a good example of modern technology evolving to suit the needs of consumers. At the beginning, it was common for restaurants to employ the use of online directories that would list their food and allow customers to order online. However, the delivery drivers had to be supplied by the restaurant or takeaway themselves. The evolution to this is Uber Eats, a service where almost anyone with a vehicle can apply to be a delivery driver. Uber then matches businesses to drivers on a per order basis, making it possible for anyone that runs a food business to utilise online delivery.
Contactless Payments
Companies like NFC Direct offer some very practical uses of near-field communications. For example, you could install NFC-compatible wireless readers to allow your patrons to pay for goods using their phone, watch or contactless payment cards. It makes taking orders a breeze because you don’t need to worry about handing out change, and customers don’t need to worry about carrying cash when they come to your establishment.
Online Webstore
It’s always a good idea to have a website, but an online storefront that showcases your products is far better than a simple information page with some pictures and text. If you run some form of boutique store, then it’s understandable if you don’t to offer online deliveries and reservations, but it’s never a bad idea to showcase your products with high-quality photos taken from an expensive camera. Try to capture all the details and nuances of your products so that customers, no matter how far they are, can experience the quality of your craftsmanship through the power of the internet before they visit your store.
In-Store Product Catalogue
Sometimes your store just isn’t big enough to hold all of your stock. For example, if you sell clothing items then you typically want to showcase each garment at the front of your store, then in the back, you’ll have the same items in a variety of different sizes. It’s extremely common for people to ask your staff members to check for stock and sizes, and traditionally it involved them travelling to the back of the store to manually check. Thanks to technology, stock checking can be done with a combination of modern methods. Firstly, you can keep track of stock in a database, then that database can be accessed from mobile devices or terminals that even your customers could use. They can check stock, colours and even the available sizes.
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