Technology has always been a daunting investment for small and medium-sized businesses (SMB’s). It is understandable with the initial cost, time and effort it takes to implement, maintain, and keep up with technology why SMB’s are hesitant. It can be a real challenge to make sure you choose the right technology that works for you. If you have ever chosen the wrong technology, then you know what a disaster it can be.

When, you choose the right technology it can be powerful and help build trust with your employees and customers. When it is reliable and properly integrated it can result in job satisfaction, employee and customer retention, innovation and your bottom line.

To get the most out of your technology concentrate your efforts on the following:

Reputation

Are you using technology from a well-known, trusted partner? Using technology from well-known, trustworthy, reputable vendors in the marketplace will carry over to your trustworthiness. In addition, it offers familiarity and reliability in the technology you are using.

Security

With the rise of attacks and world matters making it worse, protecting your data needs to be a priority and is critical in building trust. You must take measures that keeps sensitive data secure..

User Experience

Technology and processes can be used to create trust-building foundations among employees, customers and partners. For example, integrating technologies can save time and serve as a reliable foundation. Inefficient or incompatible technologies can create chaos and confusion, damaging productivity. If you take the time to select and integrate the right technologies, it can make all the difference.

Similarly, thoughtful processes that consider the user experience can reduce confusion and opportunities for conflict and make it easier for employees to work with you. Conflicts arise when an individual’s expectations do not match the actual experience. Thoughtful processes can help ensure that everyone’s expectations are met, minimizing the chances of a conflict.

Backups, Disaster Recovery and Incident Response

Trust but verify! It is important to have solid back-ups, a disaster recovery plan, and incident response procedures. Too many SMB’s get a plan together, but never test it or verify it is working. If you want to trust your data is there when you need it, you must verify your plan is working. In addition, running through the different scenarios on a regular basis, not only confirm your plans and tools are working as expected, but can help you respond more consistently and quicker in stressful times.

Compliance

Is your business compliant with the data privacy regulations? Are there other compliancy’s you should be following? You can make sure you are with a solid foundation (like the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework or NIST CSF) and routine reporting that measures compliance. Protecting customer data is a great way to build trust.

Flexibility

Remote and hybrid work has become more common place over the last several years and is a trend that is here to stay. Offering employees flexibility to work from different locations can help you build trust and loyalty, which can, in turn, improve the customer experience. However, make sure you have the right technologies in place to protect your employees and give them the tools to provide top-notch service remotely.