The use of technology is essential to any business model, big or small. Technology allows businesses to connect with customers, cast a wider net to attract new clients, improve their customer service, be competitive with other companies, and make processes more effective and efficient (like payment, for example).

Small businesses benefit significantly from purposefully incorporating technology simply because it helps with efficiency. Small businesses need to attract customers, keep customers, and show a profit as quickly as possible. Smaller companies do not have the same staff size, start-up capital, or budget allocations compared to large businesses. They also do not have the same risk model and often cannot afford to operate longer at a loss when they first open.

Technology Planning Defined and Why Your Small Business Needs It

A critical part of incorporating technology into a small business is first having a plan. Strategic planning not only maximizes the tools a small business can use, but it lays out steps, budgets, goals and provides a guide. Small business owners are often at risk of ending up in a “shot in the dark” situation because they never had enough time to think things through thoroughly.

Having a budget and plan for technology is just as relevant as having a budget and plan for marketing, for example. Technology, marketing, sales, personnel, etc., are all a part of the larger business plan that should be assessed and discussed regularly as a business grows or if something is not working.

Even though choosing printers and computers for the office is important, technology plans are bigger than that. They are a larger roadmap for how an enterprise can benefit from and use the technology available in their field to improve their business.

When done correctly, a technology plan should have goals for rolling out action items immediately and over time and directly contribute to productivity measurements.

The Necessary Steps to Build a Technology Plan

Even though it’s a good idea to have a technology plan in place before the doors open, plans can be completed at any time. The phrase “better late than never” applies here, and regardless of the situation, the steps are applicable.

1. The first step is assessing what your company already has and whether it meets current and growing needs.
2. The second step is deciding who makes the technology decisions and establishing a direct line for technology management. Often in a small business, this might be one person, the owner. However, if a small business has a larger team structure, identifying a manager to support the technology plan will add stability and uniformity. Ensuring someone owns the plan is critical.
3. The third step is identifying missing technology resources. This is where the meat of the plan really starts to show. It includes physical resources (like computers, printers, copiers, scanners, and digital cameras), network requirements, and software. This step also helps business owners see what other businesses in their market are using and what new technology is available.
4. At this point, there is a list of what exists and what is needed. So, the fourth step is revisiting the company´s goals, its mission, or vision. Is there anything on the list that ultimately does not support the immediate goals? Anything missing?
5. The fifth step is to dive into the technology budget and where it fits in the larger company budget. At this step, a business owner makes key decisions on what to move forward with and what to cut. It’s important to note that even though something might be taken out due to budget restraints, it’s still a part of the plan. This is a critical piece to include because plans should always be reviewed, and in the future, there might be sufficient funds.
6. The sixth step describes the strategy, which includes how a business will put everything in place along with a timeline. Some examples might include identifying the steps needed to purchase new laptops for employees, who approves technology materials, going live with a website, or guidelines for choosing an online document sharing platform.

o Write the plan.
o Roll out the plan.
o Revisit the plan.
o Adjust the plan.

A best practice for small businesses is to intentionally carve out time every quarter for reflection and planning (or at least at the end of the fiscal year).

The Top Benefits Your Company Will Reap from Technology Planning 

Fact: Operating a small business is time-consuming. Because of this, many small business owners start their firms without a comprehensive plan, or they start with a plan that quickly becomes obsolete. Even if they have good intentions, making time to revisit a plan or adjusting as their business grows/changes get put on the back burner.

Small business owners who make the time to flesh out a technology plan intentionally and who then keep this plan on their to-do list have the opportunity to benefit from the following:

• Saving money by assessing physical devices and being proactive with repairs and upgrades
• Employees respect equipment thanks to training and guidelines, thus significantly reducing damages and misuse
• Staying current with technology trends
• Maximizing employee productivity
• Connecting more directly and personally with customers
• Improving efficiencies has a direct impact on the customer experience.
• Establishing lines of feedback

Ultimately, though, the most significant benefit of having a technology plan is that it allows business owners to make better decisions. Contact us today for more information about how ProServ Business Systems can help your St Joseph or Kansas City business.