The modern business environment is probably more complicated than it has ever been. Thanks to the continuous stream of new digital and business tech developments, there is a bewildering array of methods, strategies and ideas that can help you create, grow and run a successful business, and most of them involve technology.

Of course, the fundamentals remain in place. As any transformational leader from Bill Gates to Keith Krach will tell you, good businesses require good leadership, vision, energy, passion and knowledge. However, the modern entrepreneur also has to be tech-savvy. If you hope to be in a position to drive your business forward, then you need to ensure that you possess these skills. Here is a list of the most relevant and the benefits they offer.

Get to grips with CRO

CRO stands for conversion rate optimization. It is one of the most important technological processes in modern business and essentially focuses on turning more of the visitors to your website into customers, in order to build sales and hence revenue. The more enticing your website, the quicker your business can grow. Since most modern marketing is done online, learning how to use CRO is absolutely essential for any entrepreneur.

There is a wide variety of CRO tools that you can use, but the basics are simple to understand. The first stage is to ensure that you have a clear grasp on who your customers are and what they want. The next stage is to use the data thrown up by CRO to devise strategies to increase your conversion rate. You can then run tests to trial which of your ideas is likely to convert the most visitors. An increasing number of businesses are using CRO to maximize the impact of their online marketing, and learning how to employ it is essential if you want to stay competitive in a volatile and rapidly evolving economy.

Don’t overlook SEO

Even if you aren’t particularly tech-savvy, you will surely have heard of search engine optimization, or SEO. Although this concept has been around for a few years, it remains an essential part of any successful modern business.

Two common mistakes that people make with SEO are related to a lack of up-to-date tech skills. The first is to overlook SEO entirely because you feel that your site will draw visitors thanks to the sophistication of modern search engine algorithms. This is a mistake. Targeting the intent of users and maximizing the SEO of your site can still generate additional traffic.

The other mistake is to use old-school SEO approaches. This can be even worse than overlooking SEO altogether as algorithms will downgrade your site if your SEO falls foul of the latest in search engine preferences. The only way to approach SEO is to roll up your sleeves, do your research, and keep your SEO strategy up to date.

Email marketing

Talk of email marketing might suggest an old-fashioned approach to business, but that is far from the truth. Email marketing continues to be hugely popular because it works, largely due to the dramatic increase in the number of people who primarily use their phone to check their emails. If you still haven’t got to grips with the techniques of email marketing, then it isn’t too late, and this is one area that can pay huge dividends if you master the tech.

Get your social media strategy right

There can be no excuse for a modern entrepreneur not to know the power of social media. The benefits of engaging with prominent influencers and the opportunity for customer interaction that social media provides means that all of the most popular platforms remain essential targets for businesses. The algorithms involved in social media and the strategies for exploiting them change regularly, and if you want to obtain and keep a competitive edge, then it is vital to ensure that you know how each platform works, and how you can use this fast-moving technology to benefit your business and grow your base.

Conclusion

The modern business environment can appear bewildering, and for those without the technical skills to take advantage of the opportunities that digital technology offers, running a modern business can be a frustrating experience. However, being tech-savvy isn’t just an optional extra anymore. If you want your business to keep up with your competitors and to offer potential customers the product and services they expect, you have to be on top of the technical side of things as well as the basics of sound financial management and business strategy.