Great Ways to Increase Productivity During a Recession

I think we would all agree that economically, times are hard.  Are you like one of the many businesses struggling to remain  profitable, or even keep your doors open? Ã‚ Are you trying to find ways to deal with economy in unique ways? Ã‚ The following ideas are technology-based and easy to implement.

Technology, during these economically hard times, is a great way to help your business reach its goals.  Often, businesses will start decreasing expenses with layoffs, reduced marketing , decreased travel and networking.  In order to keep businesses running smoothly and profitably during these times, technology is often the solution to which business owners’ turn.

I think we would all agree that communicating with our client base is one of the key factors to keeping our businesses profitable. Phone calls, emails and, yes, even snail mail, allows for us to have valuable conversations with our clients and customers.  It’s not always about the sale as much as the relationship itself.

Emails and instant messaging are quick ways to instantly communicate with employees and customers.  These methods also allow for documentation of all communication.

If you have laid off the person in charge of filing or researching documents, or if employees are spending too much time hunting and researching, maybe now would be a good time to invest in network hardware and software.  These programs keep track of all data and can cut down significantly on time employees spend looking for information.

There is software available that can help you manage your client, or customer list.  Some companies have software developed to fit just their particular business and to help track clients and leads.  If you chose to do this, take the time to decide what you really need the program to do and make it unique to your needs. These software programs can be used as a reminder system to periodically contact your clients and customers.

Last, but not least… social media.  In this day and age it is so easy to get free marketing.  Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are great ways to stay connected with existing clients as well as being great ways to make leads. It takes no time to âہ“Like” your clients and their posts, or to” Retweet” their comments. Social media is also a great way to stay connected to your employees and your competition.

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David W Huff, CPA, PFS, MS is a partner at Person CPA Group. He provides clients with tax preparation and consulting services, accounting services, retirement plan and benefit consulting, accounting software technical support and training, and management advisory services. His specialty is helping new businesses organize their operations to maximize tax savings and move quickly from start-up to profitability.  You can reach David by email at: david@personhuffcpa.com