We live in an age where technology is an essential consideration for any developingbusiness. If you`re going to connect with the world, engage with your customers, and grow your brand, you`ll need technology. You need technology in every aspect of running your business, so making the right choices matter.
What if you don`t make the right choices, however?
What is the "wrong" technology?
You may be wondering what makes a good choice different from a bad one when it comes to your business technology. It`s simple - if your technology is not fit for purpose, reliable, and dependable, then it`s wrong for you. This is always a bad thing, but the effects can be especially damaging for new businesses.
Startups always fall into the same trap when buying the essentials for their business - choosing to be cheap. Yes, when you`re starting your business, every single penny counts, so you don`t want to waste money. But you have to consider things a little bit harder when it comes to your spending and ask yourself what matters more; cheapness, or actual value for money? There is a very clear difference between the two.
Cheapness is down to the purchase price alone. You pay less for it, it`s cheap - but cheap things are cheap for a reason. It will have been made from inferior quality parts, have less attention paid to fit, finish, and usability, and often will have poor after-sales support, if any. Things that are good value for money, however, will provide you with long-lasting service, which makes them a much wiser investment.
The consequences of choosing poorly
So, what happens when you choose cheap and inferior technology? The obvious answer is that it just doesn`t work the way that it should. You`ll find it harder to use, far less reliable, much more prone to malfunction, and generally more of a hindrance than a help. The knock-on effects of this can be considerable.
If a piece of technology breaks, is unreliable, or just doesn`t work very well, it could damage your ability to communicate with clients and suppliers, to handle your customers` orders, or to keep the wheels of your business running smoothly on a day to day basis. This stunts the growth of your startup unnecessarily.
The money you save on buying cheap technology products and services means nothing when you have to spend money again on repairs or replacement, long before you have got your money`s worth from it.
Investing wisely
To make a good decision on what technology you invest in as a startup, you need to re-evaluate how you approach purchasing and make sure that value for money is the highest consideration.
Make a list of the things that you need, in order of how important they are to your business. Then invest your capital wisely in the best quality products you can afford - it may be worth waiting on certain things until you can afford the one you actually want, rather than just settling for what you can have now.
Remember that if something looks too good a deal to be true, it always is.
