5 must-have technologies for business in new realities
“The quarantine and the ensuing crisis are a good chance for Ukrainian entrepreneurs to reorganize. To do this, you do not need to create anything, you need to analyze what has already been created in the world and is working, and start new technologies for yourself, ”said Yevgeny Saransov, IT entrepreneur and founder of the Reactor.ua open innovation platform.
If before the pandemic, purchases on the Internet were made by 25-30% of the population of Ukraine, then, according to Yevgeny Saransov, online sales growth due to quarantine this year will cover up to 60% of Ukrainians. Here are the technologies that, according to the expert, entrepreneurs need to use in their activities in order to be “on the wave”.
Automation and robotization of business processes
The entrepreneur of the “new world” cannot do without CRM in order to accumulate data and customers and build relationships with them. Time to implement various software and services to automate the sales funnel, analyze marketing communications, which will replace the full-time marketer. Chatbots, online consultants are able to replace a sales manager. All of these tools exist in free versions.
Big data: customer oriented search
Smartphones are a source of data on customer behavior, their presence at points of sale, which must be accumulated and used for promotion. According to GfK in Ukraine, 85% of active Internet users are smartphone users. Among those who made purchases online, 50% looked for product information from a smartphone and 43% eventually made an order from a phone. Ukrainian mobile operators have huge amounts of digital data about all these consumers and, on the basis of big data analysis, offer SMS distribution depending on the place of residence and customer behavior.
AI and machine learning
“Customers want personalized offers and user-friendly interfaces on one smartphone screen,” explains Evgeny Saransov. Artificial intelligence is used to predict the market and customer feedback, to optimize and personalize advertising campaigns. Facebook and Google are actively implementing machine learning algorithms and offer businessmen assistance in targeting and automation in creating effective advertising campaigns.
Contactless payments
Self-service checkouts, contactless payment using bank cards with Pay Pass technology, NFC payments through rings, bracelets, watches, smartphones, Google Pay - all these payment technologies for retail shopping chains are already available, their use has increased dramatically.
AR / VR for better shopping
“Users of online stores have the opportunity to learn and try on a product online,” predicts Sarantsov. Applications and services with similar functionality have already been created and are available to Ukrainians. The unity of reality, virtuality and spatial networks is becoming the trend of 2020, without which it is indispensable in trade and many services when planning the next year.
