The beauty of running a company in this digital age is the fact that you don’t even need a big project to effect a change in your mode of operation. You just need to find a few tools to get started. And luckily for you, there is a wealth of them out there.
But for the purpose of this post, we’ll only be discussing five of them, which are believed to be the most effective ones, and are known to bring instant results.
Project management software
Imagine how effective and efficient your entire business operation would be if everyone could get a snapshot of what they’re supposed to do when they’re supposed to do it, and how they’re supposed to do it in one central dashboard.
Projects can be tedious, no doubt. But to add ambiguity into the mix can make it all the more confusing. And the reason why many employees waste time on tasks or make mistakes is that they don't truly grasp the details of what you ask them to do.
But you need not keep up with all of that anymore because that’s what project management software are there for.
Create projects, delegate tasks, set deadlines, and track performances, by just clicking a few buttons on your device.
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Trello: With this project management tool, you can organize projects into boards, thereby stating clearly what project is being worked on, and who's working on what. This will eradicate laziness since everyone can easily see who’s working and who’s slacking.
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Google Calendar: Assign tasks based on who’s available, organize projects based on everyone’s schedule, and set a reminder to keep everyone on their toes. All this you can do by simply installing the app.
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Other interesting project management tools include Dropbox, Google Drive, Basecamp, Toggl Plan, Metatask, and EverNote Business.
Virtual phone systems
By installing a virtual phone system with IVR, you can reduce the time your employees spend taking wrong calls by ensuring that all incoming calls get directed automatically to the right desk every time.
Furthermore, you can also boost your company’s efficiency by reducing how much it spends on phone systems and channeling the saved cost in a more productive direction. To bring about this reduction, you can switch from on-desk call personnel to dispersed call centers, most of which are a network of remotely based individuals.
Some of the best virtual phone systems in the game include MyOperator, Grasshopper, RingCentral, Talkroute, FreedomVoice, Vonage, and so much more. Check them out today and choose the one that fits your business operation.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software
Customers are the heartbeats of any business, no doubt. And the more you can understand their behavior and response to your services, the better you can improve your relationship with them.
Unfortunately, keeping tabs with customer interactions can be an incredibly cumbersome task for a business. But by switching to a more automated solution like the use of CRM software, your team wouldn’t have to waste precious time juggling spreadsheets and managing databases.
Here are some of the most common CRM tools and what they can bring to your business
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Hubspot’s Sidekick: This tool helps you to track emails to customers and analyses what emails went to which customers and what the customer’s response to each email was.
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Salesforce Sales Cloud: This tool comes in the form of an app. Once your sales team downloads it on their respective devices, it helps them coordinate their sales efforts regarding leads while on the field.
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Monday.com: Monday will allow you to manage customer data, interactions, and processes the way you want. It will keep all your data safe and protected and will allow you to capture leads online through an integrated contact form.
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Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM: This tool will help you develop a deeper understanding of what your customers need. It provides AI-driven insights, gathers information from customers' behaviors, and ensures that every bit of customer information gathered is utilized.
Marketing software
At one point or the other, your business needs to market itself. But instead of going through the old-school methods, you can save costs and boost results by using some of the available marketing software out there.
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Mailchimp: Helps you send bulk emails, but based on the stage of the funnel where each prospect is.
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Hootsuite: Helps you take advantage of social media marketing by scheduling posts in advance, engage your audience through replies, comments, likes, and mentions. You can create content and schedule them to go live months or weeks later.