Bringing Your Business into 2017 and Leaving Paper in the Past

The paperless office, or business, has become something of a cliche in recent times. In essence, becoming paperless means going digital and in 2017 that is exactly where your business needs to be.

Going full digital can be something of a scary prospect, but it doesn’t need to be. There are some simple steps that you can take to ensure that you are lessening your impact on the earth, but also securing your business place in the 21st century.

After all, paper is definitely a thing of the past. It’s time to get digital.

Internal documents

With the prevalence of the cloud (or storing your information on someone else’s server), there is no reason to have a huge amount of documents flying around your business premises. Now, it’s time to look at your internal documentation and how this can be reduced to a digital copy that everyone can access. Google Drive is the perfect companion for the paperless office with spreadsheets, presentations and documents all in one place. What’s more, there is real time collaboration within the Drive. Of course, Google Drive is just one solution – Microsoft has their own Office 365 software as well as Zoho documents. Digitizing your internal documents is a savvy way to leave paper behind. Aside from the eco-benefits, you will save a small fortune on printing materials.

Scheduling and appointment booking

If you have a customer facing premises, such as a clinic or day spa, you need to look at how you can streamline your business and ditch the dairy for good. Clinic management software or online booking portals, for example, can be a great way of ensuring that you are a paperless business. But, it also means that your customer benefits too. They don’t have to wait in line on the phone, and it presents a more practical solution for both you and your client. You save money on reception cover, and your client gets to book their appointments or transactions with ease. With more businesses going digital this will certainly give you a competitive edge.

Marketing tools

Gone are the days of printed materials. How often do you see a direct marketing campaign now? It;’s all about making your marketing digital too. Social media, in particular, is a firm favorite with many businesses wanting to test the water of digital and online marketing. And with 75% of companies seeing positive ROI from using Facebook advertising alone, it makes perfect sense to move your marketing into the digital sphere too. Do note, that digital marketing isn’t free. While some people think that social media is a free tool for businesses, it isn’t. On the contrary, ad spend, and campaigns will cost money and have greater reach to your potential audience. But, it is more relevant and more impactful than traditional, offline marketing campaigns.

When it comes to paperless offices, forget the cliches. Look at how you can streamline your business, make it more relevant and save yourself a small fortune in the process. It’s not just your bank balance that will be happier; your customers will be too.