Given today’s fast-paced digital landscape, businesses can’t afford to lag behind competitors when it comes to getting their operations up to speed with the latest technologies. This is especially true for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as technology can do wonders in making their business operations highly efficient despite limited resources and manpower.
In fact, in a 2023 report conducted by internet domain company GoDaddy, around 95 percent of Philippine small business respondents said that they’re prioritizing investing in digital tools such as social media, improved data storage, and video conferencing to improve their business performance. This only goes to show that many Filipino business owners recognize the power of technology in helping their companies grow and thrive.
With 2025 just around the corner, it’s essential to ponder what technology upgrades you can give to your business to better cater to the needs of your customers. Here are some upgrade suggestions to help your business stay competitive this coming 2025:
1) Improved Payment Gateways
Whether they’re shopping via your online store or your physical branch, customers will expect fast, secure, and flexible payment options during the transaction. Thus, it’s vital for you to invest in upgrading your payment gateway system to one that can support various payment methods such as credit and debit cards, e-wallets, QR Ph, and other emerging payment solutions. This ensures that no matter the payment preference of your customers, they can use it seamlessly when transacting with you.
If you’re running an ecommerce store on platforms such as Shopify or WooCommerce, then this upgrade can be as easy as installing the right plugin. Payment gateway plugins such as Maya Checkout, for instance, allow your Shopify or WooCommerce to accept local payment methods without a hitch.
2) Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Personalization
Businesses gather a lot of data each day, from general information such as which items are selling well to minute details such as what time customers are more likely to check out their carts. If you can employ AI technology, you can make use of your customers’ data to provide them with more personalized shopping experiences. For instance, AI can recommend your customer other products they might be interested in based on past purchases or browsing history.
The benefits of personalizing shopping experiences with AI are twofold. For one, shopping becomes much more convenient for your customers seeing as the recommendations show them items that they likely want as well, without the hassle of them having to search for it. Meanwhile, this can also be beneficial for your business as you can use recommendations to upsell or introduce new products to customers.
3) Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software Enhancements
Upgrading your existing CRM system, or simply getting one in case you don’t have one yet, can do wonders for improving your customer service. An effective CRM solution will already be a big help when it comes to organizing customer details, tracking sales and leads, and monitoring communication with buyers to ensure timely responses. Upgrading your current CRM tools to include AI and automation capabilities can further enhance your solution’s efficiency, allowing you to streamline internal processes and gather useful insights to help you predict the needs of your customers.
For example, with automation, your CRM can handle sending reminder emails for customers with invoices that are due soon, all so that you can focus on other tasks instead. Similarly, if your CRM notices an uptick in sales for a specific product during particular months, then it can prompt you to restock the item when those months come again in anticipation of increased demands.
4) Chatbots and AI-Powered Customer Support
Perhaps now is also a good time to equip your business’s online store with AI-powered chatbots so that you can deliver quick responses to common customer inquiries while also freeing up human agents to focus on complex issues. In addition, AI-powered chatbots will be able to learn with each conversation, thus offering more accurate and human-like responses over time. This upgrade will allow you to significantly improve your customer service while also reducing operational costs, seeing as you wouldn’t need to hire more agents to keep up with customer inquiries.
5) Internet of Things (IoT) for Inventory Management
Efficient inventory management is crucial for any business so that it can ensure that stockouts or overstocking won’t happen—both of which can lead to huge losses in profit. One way to help your business improve its inventory management is by onboarding new IoT technology.
IoT pertains to a network of interconnected devices that allow them to collect, exchange, and act on data over the internet. Upon utilizing IoT technology such as sensors or even related tools such as RFID tags in your inventory, you’ll be able to track your inventory movements more accurately. Sensors can also alert you ahead of time if restocks are necessary. Overall, with an IoT-powered inventory management system, you’ll be able to respond quickly to demand changes, reducing waste and costs for your business in 2025.
6) Enhanced Cybersecurity Measures
Customers are also becoming more conscious of their data’s privacy and safety, given the prevalence of cyberattacks and scams. To allay their worries, invest in enhanced cybersecurity measures such as payment gateways with fraud protection, advanced encryption methods, multi-factor authentication (MFA) for your ecommerce platform, and even employee training to ensure that your staff won’t put sensitive information at risk. These upgrades will strengthen your defenses against cybercriminals, protect your sensitive data, and build customer trust all at once.
As another year approaches, make sure your business remains well-equipped to handle the evolving needs and demands of your customers. Implementing the upgrades listed above will allow you to level up your business operations, thus paving the way for growth, increased customer satisfaction, and a firm competitive advantage in your industry not only for 2025, but for future years.
