5 Best digital tools for Small Business
Asking for help never hurt anyone. In fact, by getting the help you need you can focus your energies on growing and developing your small business. This kind of help can come in different shapes and sizes. You could outsource your admin to a Virtual Assistant for instance, or you can make use of great online tools to help you automate certain aspects of your business.
In a previous blog we focused on important tools for the Virtual Assistant to be a better support structure for her client. Today we focus on what tools will help you as a business owner run your business more efficiently and effectively.
Let’s take a look!
Accounting
For your accounting needs I would say don’t look further than Xero. Probably one of the easiest online accounting packages to use that is easy to set up and install, very easy to navigate and provides you with useful data and insights into your business. We use Xero in our Virtual Assistant Agency and it works tremendously well. If you’re looking for a recommendation on this software you are welcome to chat with our Office Manager, Lynda.
Analytics
It is important to understand the flow of traffic to your website in order to see where you need to improve your marketing efforts and whether you are engaging your target market, or not. Google Analytics is perfect for this. Learn how to start driving traffic to your website so that you can increase your Google ranking so that it is easier for your prospective clients to find you online. Offer constant value and work your way towards to being featured on page 1 of Google.
Communication & Meetings
Personally I’ve become a huge fan of Zoom. I find the audio quality to be amazing, you can host multiple people in a meeting at once without affecting the call quality, you can do face-to-face meetings, chat online whilst you are in the meeting, share screen, host webinars and so much more!
Email Marketing
You’ve probably heard or come across the name InfusionSoft somewhere along your business travels. This is indeed a great tool to use for email marketing and then some, however, I almost feel like you need a degree to navigate their system. Enter Mautic! This nifty tool is superb at setting up a captivating email marketing campaign and is simple to set up. Email marketing is a great source of leads for your sales funnel, however, please be sure that you are both POPI and GDPR compliant.
Customer Relationship Management Software (CRM)
There are so many options to choose from, where does one begin? At the beginning of course! When you start out your research on finding the best matched CRM system for your needs & business, you need to determine whether this software is beneficial to your core offering and will ultimately make you far more efficient. The two that stand out for me is HubSpot and Vtiger. Both have their merits, one comes with a monthly price tag the other one not. On this software you really need to do your research and find a CRM that is best suited to you and your business.
Bringing it together
If you had to Google the topic of this blog you’ll discover a world out there of business tools for better efficiency and productivity. Only a drop in the ocean has been highlighted in this blog. These are a few of our favourites. At the end of the day, the tool needs to make sense for you and your business. Your budget will also determine whether you’ll pay for the tool or not.
About the Author : Karen Wessels is the Founder of VA Connect, Africa’s largest and most successful Virtual Assistant Agency. They have been perfecting their craft since 2008 and boast a client base that spans the globe, from San Francisco to Singapore, the UK, Australia and a few other countries in between.