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Do you want to expand your business? Then you need a platform that can streamline that growth process.
As your enterprise gains momentum, keeping everything in sync can quickly turn into an impossible task. You'll have to balance operations and technology without sacrificing profit and losing your competitive edge. What you need is simple - it’s called automation.
Table of Contents:
1. Why SMEs would benefit from using software solutions.
2. When should SMEs invest in software solutions?
3. How can you build custom software for your business?
Why SMEs would benefit from using software solutions
Did you know that 40% of productivity is lost to shifting between tasks? Your staff can spend countless hours on repetitive assignments that interfere with their overall performance. They can easily lose focus and enthusiasm and have less time to dedicate to their primary responsibilities.
Here is how custom software solutions can help:
1. Maximized efficiency
You want to gradually automate all of the manual tasks that do not require a specific set of skills. This way, you free up valuable time for your employees, optimize workflow and also reduce human error. Internal distractions can be eliminated and information can be more readily available and quick to find.
2. Customer satisfaction
It's no secret that customers get annoyed and are quick to drop a company that has poor customer service. In fact, 89% of consumers switched to a competitor following an unpleasant experience with client support.
Streamlining your workflow through software solutions can improve customer satisfaction and heighten accuracy and security when it comes to your client's data. In addition, it can ensure that their questions and concerns are addressed as fast as possible.
3. Sales volume rise
Running a growing business involves dealing with unique requirements and constant change. You’ll need to have a personalized platform that can smoothly transition and adapt to all of the new demands. This is where custom software development will benefit you most - it provides a long-term solution that will grow along with your business.
4. Increased profit
Software solutions make for happier customers and happier employees. 75% of all businesses that use a marketing automation solution see a positive ROI within the first year.
Aside from enhanced resource and financial management, this type of automation can improve communication with your clients, as well as the reliability of your processes. No longer being hindered by recurring, low-level tasks will also boost your team’s morale and increase productivity.
All of these factors combined will raise your ROI significantly and in a short amount of time.
5. Competitive advantage
Custom software is built to integrate with your existing system - it will be easy to adapt to newly emerging needs and come in handy to reduce costs in the long run. Moreover, it will make your processes as efficient and error-proof as they can be.
A lot of companies skimp on their custom software development due to the large upfront investment required. Optimizing your performance in this area will allow you to offer services that your competitors can’t or haven’t thought of building yet.
When should SMEs invest in software solutions?
A customized platform should be implemented when technology can solve a critical issue for your company, if you want to optimize daily processes or when your business is growing at a rapid rate.
Chances are, if you have a successful SME, the best time to start investing in custom software was yesterday. But there is an essential factor you should consider beforehand: how will this strategy impact your business long-term?
To understand the answer to this question, you need to know that there are two types of software solutions - custom and off-the-shelf. Let’s break both of them down.
Off-the-shelf Pros:
- this is a mass-produced item that is “ready-made” and comes with a preconfigured format;
- it’s cheaper (initially) and easy to implement
- it has built-in ongoing support (making it easier to familiarize your team with it)
Off-the-shelf Cons:
- it’s impossible to change - meaning it won’t evolve or grow along with your business
- it’s expensive in the long run (due to the support costs and frequent upgrades required)
- it entails extensive research, testing, and evaluation until you find the right one
- it might not match your organizational setup and it can clog the system with unnecessary options and features that are obsolete to your business
- it most likely will not meet all of your company’s requirements
- there can be compatibility issues that render it inefficient or entirely unusable
On the other hand, a custom software (also known as bespoke software) is:
- built to resolve unique challenges your business faces
- easy to modify and expand
- able to integrate with an existing system
- flexible (offers you more control and freedom)
- highly efficient if implemented correctly
- less expensive long-term
How can you build custom software for your business?
One word: offshoring.
You can’t be the best at everything, and sometimes the right decision for your business is to delegate.
It might be a good idea to find offshore developers for your platform when you don’t have the infrastructure for building it yourself. If your brand doesn’t intersect much with IT, it might be wise to hire a company that helps you out, rather than creating an in-house team from scratch.
Or if IT projects are simply not your main focus right now, there’s no shame in asking for help. This is also the better option if you lack the budget for this kind of infrastructure at the moment.
Even if you have developers in your team, it’s still a good idea to hire experts or professionals with a complete skill set for what you need. Lacking the technology or the consistent support of a dedicated tech team can also drive you to consider offshore alternatives.
Conclusion
Custom software is not a quick fix, but a long-term solution for growing your business.
It saves time, increases scalability and reduces costs overall.
It makes it easier to reach your customers, and helps with gathering and analyzing data more efficiently. It’s useful for automating manual tasks and it gives both clients and employees more support and flexibility.
You can choose to fix short-term neds or look for reliable long-term solutions for your business. If you have a growing SME, it’s extremely important that you delve into custom software development sooner rather than later.
It’s a hefty investment at first, but it’s one you’ll be glad you’ve made.
