Businesses that know that technology can be a game changer for accelerating their own growth. But one of the most common queries for anyone getting started is “what is the best X?”  So we caught up with Mike Fauscette, chief research officer at G2 Crowd, a business software review platform that helps consumers research validated user reviews to help identify software solutions for their professional work, to learn about the hottest tech trends and find out how growing business can get started with the best technology for their business..

Q. You’ve worked and advised with many vendors and companies on finding the right technology solution for their business. What are your tips for growing business getting started on their search? What should they do and what should they avoid?

A. Not to over simplify but the first thing a business needs to do when considering new technology is to clearly understand what problem(s) they need a solution to address. An old maxim that comes from Dr Stephen Covey fits this situation, “begin with the end in mind”. In other words, understand clearly what you want the solution to do for your goals and objectives. This is probably the biggest mistake I see businesses make, jumping to a solution before they clearly understand the problem and the desired end state. Once you understand your requirements you can start to educate yourself on the ways you can apply technology alongside process improvement and culture change to reach your end state. With the wealth of online resources today, there are many sources for trusted information about your problem and potential solutions. Many business people turn to peers, other business people that have been in similar situations, to see how they overcame these issues. Reaching out to peers through online networks can provide excellent insight. This takes several forms ranging from direct interaction on social networks like LinkedIn and Facebook, to research using online peer review sites like G2 Crowd.

Q. Many SMBs are resource strapped and any tech solution can be a huge investment in terms of time and money. How can SMBs make the most of their technology investment? What can they do to help spur adoption?

A. Making the commitment of time and resources to successfully implement technology and execute the process and culture changes needed to get the full value from a solution, is difficult for any size business. For SMBs that pain can be quite disruptive. Having clear requirements and a thorough selection process can go a long way to setting the project up for success. Any solution rollout takes pre-planning and spending some time to address not just the software itself, but also the impact of using the solution on process and your employees. Clear communication with employees on the plan and the expected outcomes can also help enlist their involvement and boost adoption. Training, whether formal or just-in-time from online courses and/or help, is also an important part of rolling out the changes and getting employees using the new solution.   

Q. With so many technology products out there, what are the characteristics of a strong, solid product, especially for the SMB market?

A. First and foremost the product has to meet substantially all of the requirements of the business. Beyond that, the solution has to be affordable, easy to use, and reasonable easy to implement. It should also be cloud-based and built on a robust cloud platform to ensure flexibility and agility in the future. Providing a solid cloud platform as underpinning for the solution also helps to ensure that the solution is scalable and somewhat future-proofed so that you’re not going through the same pain again in another year or so.

Q. AI is a hot trend in the technology space. Have you seen more companies adopting AI technology, and if so, how has that changed the landscape to compete?

A. Basically AI, embedded into applications / solutions provides two broad opportunities for businesses. The first is providing functionality that helps employees improve productivity by efficiently automating some of their tasks, allowing them to focus on more important and value adding activities. For example, providing a bot that can arrange meetings, or an agent that collects relevant intelligence about a prospect for an account executive frees up time to do more important tasks. The system can also provide the first line of support to customers, freeing support personnel up to concentrate on more complex issues. There are many uses for this type of automation.

The second opportunity is to provide a system that helps employees make better, more informed business decisions. AI enabled apps can help individuals manage massive amounts of data and quickly find insights to fuel the decision process. For example providing physicians with a system that can manage a patient’s test data, medical history, and symptoms combined with diagnosis and treatment data could assist the physician in making better, more informed diagnosis and treatment decisions.

AI enabled solutions can make employees more productive, more efficient, and also improve decision processes. The AI enabled apps can also improve customer experience and satisfaction. For small businesses these types of systems can provide a real competitive advantage by systematically helping to close the resource gap. 

Q. What’s the best way for growing companies to keep abreast of the latest tech trends and the ways to take advantage of them?

A. There are several good sources for technology news and trends, from respected tech blogs and media to mainstream media outlets. I’m biased of course, but sites like G2 Crowd, that crowdsource data and provide insights based on a broad cross section of business users of the actual technology are a great source of practical and highly useful trend information. The additional ability to see that information sorted by businesses that are similar to yours and that have faced similar business issues makes them even more valuable when researching  technology solutions.

Want to get hands-on and expert advice from G2 Crowd and more? Join us and our amazing line-up of partners for our Salesforce Growth Camp, taking place in Dallas on June 20 at the Fashion Industry Gallery. It’s everything you need to grow your business, all under one roof. Experience hands-on demos, hear expert speakers, and network with hundreds of other Metroplex entrepreneurs. See you there!

Salesforce can help you find customers, win their businesses, and keep them happy so you can grow your business faster than ever. Learn more about our small business CRM solutions or join the conversation with #SalesforceGROW.