It’s Time to Evaluate Your IT Goals for 2022
Do you treat IT as a valuable communication vehicle or a means to an end?
How are your competitors using technology to gain a competitive advantage over you?
What analytical data do you already have on your customers to make informed decisions on your future IT investments?
Your 2022 IT Goals Should Meet the Client Where They Are in the Sales Cycle
Last month my family rented a bareboat catamaran in the British Virgin Islands. It was like stepping back in a time before computers dominated, or “revolutionized” the world. No one was in a hurry, and you couldn’t rush things if you wanted to. Over and over, my kids asked why we couldn’t move there and live on the boat. My answer? Because there is no 2-day Amazon Prime! Like most people, I like convenience. When I buy something online, I want it now and I don’t want to wait. Often, my choices are based on who can get the product or service to be faster.
Americans live in a digital world that is rapidly expanding with the use of the Internet of Things (IOS), digital devices, and data analytics. People choose convenience over privacy, speed over customer loyalty, and digital access over establishing new, personal, business relationships, and at the end of the day, your prospects will switch to your services if you can meet their needs where they are in the buying cycle. On the other hand, your clients will switch to someone else if that company is meeting the needs and you can’t. All of this requires a great understanding of how to meet your client’s needs in ways they may not even be aware of on their own. That’s a tall order and it is exactly the reason why your IT plan is so important.
Your 2022 IT Goals Should Focus on Separating You from the Competition
Innovation is the new buzzword that separates new business exceptionalism from the old and stale humdrum way of doing business. Innovation is the difference between catapulting you into the future or making you fall further behind your competitors. And, in 2022, those who focus on innovation to meet their customers’ needs will emerge as the new leaders. It starts with answering how you can:
- Improve operations and remove bottlenecks
- Deliver services/products faster and more reliable
- Automate billing and point of sales
- Interact better with your prospects, clients, and employees
- Meet them where they are in the sales process
- Create new products to meet their new and evolving needs
- Understand what your clients and prospects value and need
- If you can answer these questions, you are on the road to a successful, innovative business strategy and it all starts with aligning your IT goals.
Your 2022 IT Goals Should Be Aligned with Your Business Goals
Small businesses typically do not have the budget to hire a Chief Information Officer (CIO). If that describes you, there are many IT frameworks to help you align your business and IT goals. At a high level, the framework would look similar to the steps below:
- State – The first step is to state your value statements and business goals to ensure your objectives are centered on achieving them.
- Analyze– Data analytics provide deep consumer intelligence and valuable insights into your clients’ individual buying behaviors, areas of process improvements, things that affect employee morale, and much more. It’s crucial to analyze your past results against your value statements and business goals if you really want to meet those goals. Other sources of data can be found
- Identify– Now, it’s time to identify the key initiatives to help you support the business and drive technology to meet your 2022 IT goals.
- Define– Finally, it is time to establish your framework and methods to measure your success. At this stage, you will need to get buy-in from all stakeholders on what will happen each step of the way and how much money you will spend at each step. Defining these agreements upfront will help avoid hang-ups in the future.
Information technology is no longer considered a necessary evil. Rather, IT is a tool to help you innovate and create new ways to meet your client’s needs. After all, if you don’t, your competition will. If they haven’t already. Ask INSI, your top Atlanta and Marietta GA IT support company how we can help.
About INSI, The Best IT Support Company in Atlanta and Marietta GA
For over 25 years, Innovative Network Systems (INSI) has offered an integrated approach to IT support and cybersecurity for small and medium-sized businesses in the Atlanta area. Their 100% local, college-educated, and experienced engineers provide a range of services from basic monitoring to fully Managed IT services. The INSI IT support model gives their clients the exact level and type of service they want while also providing greater accountability and reduced ongoing IT support costs. INSI options include cloud, cybersecurity, backups, cabling, wireless, business phones, strategic IT planning, and much more.
About the Author
Deborah Frazier is the author of IT Outsourcing Secrets – A Small Business Guide to Compare IT Support Companies. With nearly 20-years’ experience consulting small and medium-sized businesses on their IT support needs, she brings a wealth of knowledge to INSI as Head of Marketing and Sales. If you like this article and would like to get notified when a new article is posted, click here.
