When looking at that question, you can likely list off a myriad of relevant examples to your industry, but that might not be answering the same question. Your business is unique and has gone about its operations by making a series of decisions that appeal directly to your audiences and help you stand out from your competitors. In that same vein, it follows that the tools you need to continue this line of work will be more individual and idiosyncratic than you might have expected at first.
Understanding Your Specificities
Some examples of technology can allow you specific insights that let you to get the most out of their potential. APIs present on your website or apps might be nothing new, but utilizing API analytics tools to see how these APIs are performing and what you can do to improve that means that you understand exactly what your business needs.
There might be trends within your industry, but if you can get an idea through data analysis of exactly what customers are responding to about your brand, you can fill that void and provide them with an experience they can’t get anywhere else.
And Your Capabilities
What can be easy to forget in this discussion is that you are likely not working with unlimited means – you have financial constraints and the issue of staffing to think about, which can drastically reduce the scope of what you’re working with. However, it’s important to not see this as too much of a detriment, as restrictions can sometimes bolster creativity in a way that you might find useful in this situation.
It might be that you’ve identified a technology that you think will work wonders for you, but without the skills to operate it, this isn’t work out as well as it could. Fortunately, this also allows you to give your staff training opportunities. This can benefit their job, allowing them to be happier in their role knowing they are furthering their own development while leaving you with a more qualified staff.
The Competition
So, should you ignore the outside world entirely and purely focus on what you need? That might not be possible, or a good idea. You need to think of what is going to be successful with audiences, after all, and that might not be possible without examining current trends, customer insights, and what the industry standard is, and what has been working well for the competition, and translate that into what could work well for you. Cutting yourself off from all of this information could be damaging, so it’s worth your time to keep an eye on it – including what your competition is up to.
If your primary competitors are utilizing a technology that allows them to perform to such a degree that gives them an advantage, bringing in customers, you might have to think about what this same implementation could do for you. That’s not to say it will be a sure thing, but to ignore could let them get away with an advantage.