Turn Your Business Into A “Technology Company”

The other day I was talking to a friend who runs a fast-moving consumer goods company, or what the experts call an "FMCG" company. He was surprised when I said to him, "I also consider myself to be in the FMCG sector; I discourage my people from seeing our business as a ‘technology’ business.”

"I don't understand what you mean?" my friend said. "I thought you were in the telecoms business; isn't that technology?"

"We sell fast-moving consumer goods. Our products and services (things like ‘airtime’) are for the mass market consumer. We’re no different from Coca-Cola. We’re chasing the same consumer dollars."

Then I added, "Now if you’re a consumer goods company selling bread, you must begin to see yourself as technology company if you want to succeed in today's digital world."

A technology company that sees itself only as a "technology" company will end up losing sight of the customer. And yet almost all businesses must so embrace technology in everything they do that, for all practical purposes, they’re "technology" companies:

__The most successful businesses today (big or small) are those that see themselves as "technology" companies, irrespective of what business they are in!

Confused?

Imagine an entrepreneur who’s running a small supermarket at a busy business center. Her business seems simple enough: she buys fast-moving goods like bread and meat, and sells them to her community, and perhaps to people who travel through it, like tourists or visitors.

How can we turn her business into a "technology business”? How could she use technology to make herself more efficient, attract more customers, be more profitable, and grow -- perhaps into a franchise? What advice would you give her?

# She needs to have a smartphone for starters. Through her smartphone she can buy applications (Apps) readily available on the Internet to help her with things like inventory management, payroll management, record keeping and accounts.

All this is technology.

# She can use the Internet to link up with wholesalers and other suppliers to order goods and compare input prices.
# She can research the retail price her competitors are charging for the same items.
# She can bank using her cell phone. She can be part of a savings scheme.
# She can invest in a credit card terminal to attract new business and larger orders.
# She can advertise her goods on the Internet using everything from Facebook, to Instagram, etc.
# She can even set up her own website. There are so many young people who can develop a website for her at very little cost. Whatever business you’re in, even the informal sector, you must begin to have a presence on the Internet!

Technology matters in your business. Take the time to look for creative ways to leverage it to make your business more visible, efficient and profitable!

__Don't think you must wait until you’re “big” before you learn to harness technology. You’ll become big by harnessing technology! Even if you’re running a rural trading post or sell goods at an informal market, technology can give you information, efficiency and competitive edge to help you succeed and prosper.

In this series I’ll talk about how technology can transform even the smallest business, in any sector. As the great inventor Thomas Edison said, “There’s a better way to do it - find it!”







__What are you waiting for?

I was inspired this week to hear stories from so many of you who are using technology to connect buyers and markets, and, in the process, create income for yourselves. This kind of thinking will really set Africa alight!

One post really caught my attention: “It's through OLX that I’m able to place food on the table for my family. What I just need is to get a wind of it that you want to sell something. I take photos using my phone and post it on OLX. Within a few days your product is gone and I pocket a few coins out of it. So my 'little business' is technology oriented.”

“Wow, wow, wow!!!” was my reply to Ken in Kenya.

When we later contacted him, Ken said he works as a police dog trainer (he’s a civil servant) and discovered he could use his phone to take pictures of things for sale which he posts on OLX. After posting the items (which have included even animals like goats and dogs), Ken waits for customers to call him on his phone. Like Econet’s Ownai online classifieds in Zimbabwe, OLX is a free mobile marketplace for all sorts of goods and services. You’ll find many such free platforms online.

To make extra money for his family, Ken even does commission sales for his friends, and arranges delivery. He also trains privately-owned dogs after-hours Sometimes he even sells puppies online (not police pups) thus expanding his potential client base.

I told Ken that there are people sitting at home who should be doing exactly what he’s doing… using a unique mix of skills, technology, fresh ideas and local knowledge to create their own little (or big) “technology businesses.”

In the palm of your hand today, you have at least one exceptional tool to open doors and close deals. What are you waiting for?

# Imagine what would happen if every smallholder farmer, informal and cross border trader across Africa discovered what Ken has discovered!
# Imagine what would happen if every single person who runs any kind of business in Africa set up a website (Africa has the lowest penetration of business presence on the Internet in the world)!

__These are things you shall begin to see. What we need is young people to go out and show others how this can happen so easily. This is all technology -- changing the lives of people.

Techno-entrepreneurs like Ken give me so much hope for the next generation on our continent. (I highlighted Ken today, but you’ll hear about others later on). With the power of technology, everyone can be a winner: What do people want and need? Maybe it’s not invented yet. Maybe it’s available somewhere, but not in your country. Maybe it’s a service in short supply and you can bridge that gap. Maybe it’s old technology but you have the imagination to do something new with it, like Ken did.

No one really knew how much they “needed" a mobile phone till very recently in historical terms. Now most people can’t imagine life without one, or more. Technology makes it possible to build new bridges of all kinds. Do you know where you want to go?








_Harness the future!

The other day I was watching a program about a young Chinese entrepreneur who created a restaurant that has no waiters. Everyone orders food using an "App" and simply arrives, collects and sits down to eat!

Ten years ago, I remember visiting a farmer’s market in rural Kenya where they exchanged prices on their cell phones, from village to village, to ensure that middlemen don't cheat them. It has since developed into a highly sophisticated commodity exchange system. This is technology.

In the past few weeks, some of you have shared exciting ways you already use technology in your own businesses. Others of you are just beginning to launch your ideas. You are harnessing the future!

__Whatever line of work you’re in, you must master technology. It must be your silent partner!

Many of you have asked advice about how to get started. Why not use the internet to do research and bring yourself up to speed with best business practices and technology innovations around the world?

Whatever you do, don't think you can be blissfully ignorant, or worse… resistant to the changes happening because of technology.

When I was getting started in business, it wasn’t possible to go to my phone or the “world wide web” to search for information about nearly everything. Today, almost all of you can do this. The world can be at your fingertips!

__ If you’re really serious about learning online, consider looking for a “MOOC,” which means a Massive Online Open Course. At www.mooc-list.com, you can find technology education and training courses (and a wide range of other subjects) taught by top universities and colleges around the world. Many are free of charge.

Coursera.org is one MOOC with courses on all topics under the sun, including “How to create a website in a weekend” and “Web design for everybody.” You alone must decide what you need to make your business more successful and profitable using technology, but below are a few websites that offer IT courses that may be of interest:

www.udacity.com/courses
www.teamtreehouse.com
www.codeacademy.com
www.code.org
www.khanacademy.org/computing/computer-programming

__Remember: information is power! But one word of warning: While the internet has some amazing research information, be sure your sources are trusted and credible. Some of what you read could be worthless and even destructive.

When I'm done with this series, I want you to be conscious of the impact of technology on the business you’re in now, and imagine its role in the future… not in a negative sense, but in a positive way. You’re not going to get away from the impact of technology. You must either learn to harness its huge potential and use it to your advantage, or it will destroy you.

Looking at your own businesses today, you should already be working on these five questions:

# How can technology help me design, produce, market and/or deliver first-class goods and services to my customers?
# How can technology make my business more productive and efficient?
# How can technology make my business bigger?
# How can technology make my business more profitable?
# How can technology help me leapfrog my competitors?

That should be enough homework for this week!