If you run a small business, you want to take advantage of the technology options that are available to you. Technology makes it easier to conduct business.
If you want your business to grow, to scale its potential, and to run more efficiently you want to use technology to your company’s advantage.
So what are the best technology tools for your small business?
We’ve done the research and put together this detailed guide to help you out.
The Best Technology Tools for Your Business
The two most important things for your business is to save time and earn money. You want to use tools that can help you with both.
Here are the best technology tools that we recommend:
1. Customer Service Tools
Your customers are the life and soul of your company. Without tending to their desires, you will lose their loyalty and this will prove to be detrimental to your business. You should provide a plethora of options to speak to customer service agents.
These should include a live chat option, an email address specifically for support, an FAQ page, and phone support. By offering multiple avenues for customer support, you are making it easier for your customers to learn about your brand and have their issues resolved.
Your customer loyalty is crucial. This loyalty can only be built through the rigorous effort for making customer support available.
We suggest looking at a service like RoboRewards to learn about customer loyalty programs.
2. Email Marketing
Email is not dead. In fact, email marketing is one of the most effective and intimate methods to reach out to a customer.
We highly suggest you invest in an email newsletter service such as MailChimp or Constant Contact – among others. This is a great way to share updates about your business directly to your customer’s inbox. You can also offer exclusive content through your emails.
For example, if you want to offer discounts for your products/services, you can do so through your emails.
3. Social Media Marketing
If you want your company to scale, you have to use social media marketing to increase awareness of your brand. If you want to save time while working on your marketing efforts, you want a social media marketing scheduler.
These schedulers help you create posts for your social media platforms. Once you have created the posts, you can schedule them ahead of time. You can designate one full day each week to create and schedule all the posts for that week!
This not only saves you time but makes sure that you are on top of your social media marketing efforts.
4. Video Conferencing
If you run your business remotely then video conferencing is a necessary tool. Even if you do not, it can be beneficial and more efficient than an in-person meeting.
An application such as Zoom or Skype can accommodate several participants. From the location of their choice, all of your staff can get together for a meeting. Using a video conferencing software not only has the ease of location – but also makes it easier to choose the timing for the meeting that everyone can attend.
If you want to conduct meetings with clients, you may wish to consider video conferencing as opposed to meeting them in person. This is not only convenient but is also cost-effective. You can also consider conducting job interviews through a video conference application.
5. Cloud Storage
It is imperative that your company has a back up of all of its data, files, and media. While you should diversify as much as possible, we strongly recommend using a cloud storage service for your data.
Cloud storage services can include Google Drive, Dropbox, Box.net – among many others. These all have free options and can be upgraded once your storage needs are increased. These cloud storage can also have useful features such as encrypting your files and easily sharing it with others.
Some cloud storage services will also allow you to create files (documents, presentations, spreadsheets) and then collaborate on them with others remotely.
You can also install a desktop storage applications for all of your staff members. An example of this would be NordLocker, where you can store your files and have them password-protected so that they remain secure.
6. Project Management
Often, one of the most overlooked tools is project management tools. But all businesses who strive for success realize the importance of project management tools.
These applications include Asana and Trello. These applications allow you to create a digital project – such as a document – for you to collaborate with others. These come in free versions – with paid versions available for upgraded features.
Project management tools make it easier to handle a big project and work on it remotely with your staff. As project management tools continue to develop, we suggest meticulously researching which one will work best for you.
7. Landing Page Designer
Even if you already have a fully-fledged website, you should also consider a website service such as Carrd or Instapage, for making a landing page.
A landing page is a simple one-page website that promotes a specific product or service from a brand. You should always have a landing page ready to share with your clients. Sometimes, you may prefer to share this landing page link rather than your website’s URL.
If you have an email newsletter, as we have advised, you should create a landing page where your customers can enter their email addresses and subscribe to the newsletter.
You can also use a landing page to advertise your product and service.
If you opt for this, you should include a payment authorization service on your landing page so that your customers can immediately buy your product or service.
A landing page is the quickest way to grab your customer’s attention and is one of the best ways to acquire customers and sell products/services.
Take it to the Max
Now that you know the best technology tools for your business, you are ready to take it to the max.
Be sure to read more great content on business growth and development.
