There is something dangerous about relying too much on technology. Technology is good, technology is a useful tool, technology can make businesses more productive, more useful, and more profitable, but it doesn't make a business excel on its own.
The applications, software, and the hardware that we use are only tools. And they're only tools that are as useful as the teams who use them. There are too many instances in which businesses believe that just upgrading or updating their technology means that their sales, staff, training and everything else automatically improve. But that's not the case at all. It's an ongoing process!
After all, an ineffective sales team with a shiny new sales software package, is just an ineffective sales team who can fail to be productive more spectacularly than before. And the sales team who is well trained, in tune with the company's goals and products, and able to connect with their customers, will be able to use technology to power up their existing activities and get more done. How many times have you received automated cold calls from a company using technology to sell very badly?
There is no use having your team use the latest smartphones, if they won't leave their desks, there is no use having your team on the latest CRM software, if they won't stop using spreadsheets to track their clients instead, and there is no use integrating any kind of Technology, if your business is not interested in changing, and adapting the way your staff work, in order to take advantage of it.
The core of your business must be healthy, and the core of your business must be focused on the bottom line, on client and customer satisfaction, and on doing the job the right way, before technology is going to be useful.
After all, we saw this with the Internet. There were many businesses who thought that just by getting online, they were able to be more competitive. But that in itself wasn't a business model. And that need for an entirely new business model meant those companies needed to adapt, transform, and change. The businesses that couldn't manage that, are the ones that we no longer remember today.
At Charltons, we look at technology as being a part of a long term strategy to remain in touch with what our clients need. But we don't use technology to replace customer service and personal connection. That's the right way to go about technological change.
