What does it mean to have an influence on an industry? The term itself simply refers to having the power to affect something or someone. Most companies would love to have an influence over the industry they are a part of. Whether that is changing the landscape of what products they’re offering or cementing themselves as a leading data scientist for that particular area, gaining that influence may be an ultimate goal of your organization or business.

When you are an influential player, you get to drive the conversation and demand respect for the role you play in that industry. However, you can’t get there overnight. It takes hard work and dedication to build up a meaningful influence in your particular field, and doing so requires the right tools to get there. From data analytics to interview scheduling to social media marketing, there are a lot of angles to work that may help grow your following and gain respect. The right software can have a tremendous effect on your startup to help you excel in many areas. Here are just four software examples that will help you grow a big influence and expand your company.

1. Become a company people want to work for.

People respect companies that work well for them and aren’t just focused on money or sales. One way to grow your influence is to prove you are a company people want to work for. Give your team members incentives and create an environment where they feel happy and fulfilled. As a business owner, you want the best applicants to come and work for your company. Recruit those individuals with interview scheduling tools that make them feel welcomed and intrigued from the very start of the hiring process. Schedule interviews that are streamlined and treat your applicants with respect and interest. Giving a better candidate experience will mean new talent will be drawn to your interview process and you can cultivate a relationship of giving back to your team members.

2. Streamline your customer experience.

Of course, your company isn’t just about your team members, but also customer relationship management (CRM). Your customer experience is the most important thing to get right, and CRM software is key when it comes to that. As you’re creating your digital platform, be sure to include software that follows algorithms and uses artificial intelligence to give a streamlined, easy to understand dashboard for your customers to interact with. With CRM integration, you are using the best practices to maintain good communication with customers and ideal customer service. This will help with workflow on your end and allow you to move on from time-consuming analytics and follow automatic data analysis. It is a good idea for you and your customers to help create that great customer experience and automation for your small business.

3. Start promoting yourself as an expert.

Sometimes the best way to gain influence over an area is to act as though you already have it. If you want the people to listen to you, you need to prove you have something to say. Consider promoting materials, blogs, or courses where you can teach other companies about effective methods for business intelligence. Publish an article about starting a data analytics company and walk others through the basic principles of success. By offering financial services or data science consulting, you are presenting yourself as an expert in the field and growing your influence.

4. Grow your influence on social media and other platforms.

So much business is conducted online and through social media platforms nowadays. Therefore, you need to improve your digital marketing and go right to the source. Grow your influence on social media and create platforms that people can trust and rely on. This will help you grow your following in real-time and bring in new leads and fresh demographics.