Make the web work for your business

Advancement in online rechnology is booming. Taking full advantage of all that it has to offer is increasingly important to any business.

The online environment has the potential to significantly increase margins by:

• Growing sales cost-effectively;
• Boosting your brand and market visibility; and
• Opening up new markets and potential customers for your products and services.

Just how well you implement this online strategy will have a direct effect on your bottom line.

Technology is here to help not hinder your business.

With the rapid rise of e-commerce, online social media outlets and real time communication, technology is a perfect tool to answer the business imperatives of today's economic environment. It's flexible, responsive and interactive with your customers – it never sleeps, it's customisable and it's robust.

The past year has seen Whirlwind undergo some significant change to improve online technologies. For customers, this has specifically delivered key benefits enabling them to do business more efficiently and effectively.

So let's take a look at two online technologies recently implemented and how they benefit both customers and the business.

Application Programming Interface (API)

Application Programming Interface (API) is essentially a location where clients can set or edit information in another online system. It uses programming languages of their choice and all interaction is stringently controlled to maintain the integrity of the customers' data and ensure no unauthorised usage.

Perhaps one of the greatest things about this technology is its flexibility for the end user; clients are not locked into how Whirlwind wants them to order (ie through the website or by phone); or even exclusively into a single supplier. Uptake of an API allows customers the opportunity to customise ordering methods to employ their existing technology to incorporate multiple suppliers or business structures.

At Whirlwind business services franchise, API technology will enable customers to do everything including tracking the status of print orders, adding delivery addresses, placing orders and checking previous orders simply and easily from within ordering systems or web portals or perhaps a desktop application.

Business benefits are many, namely large savings in time, user training and extra investments in software.

Online Print Management

Whirlwind's Online Print Management (OPM) technology makes printing for franchises straightforward as it allows ease of management for all their print needs.

Via a secure website, OPM operates as an online ordering interface, with the flexibility to order personalised stationery items, such as business cards or generic promotional products, including flyers and postcards.

OPM is a powerful tool for franchisors as it encourages brand guardianship combined with flexibility – producing and delivering each item 'on brand', on time and on budget.

Franchisors have the confidence knowing only approved items can be printed, while franchisees can print products specifically relevant to their store without having to source printers and designers on their own. OPM facilitates the ability to produce quantities of collateral, manage them online "Just in time" and reap cost savings for the franchisee. All in all, OPM is a fantastic tool for helping streamline processes when marketing activity needs to increase, but the underlying costs can't.

Some of the franchisors that have tailored Whirlwind's OPM system to meet their own print needs include Boost Juice and Pedders.

Online technologies provide an impressive list of business benefits Including:

• Cost savings;
• Pertinent use of resources;
• Maintenance of brand consistency;
• Integration into existing technology; and
• Market flexibility.

Understanding which online technology is best for your business only take a little time and research, with the business gain only limited by the choices made.