4 minute read
Entrepreneur Tool Kit
IT Tools that your Small Business can use to increase efficiency
Small businesses can benefit from increasing their work efficiency by aligning their team goals with their business goals. These IT tools that we have identified can help you with just that.
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Project Management Software
— Bogdan Marinescu Managing Director of Digital Trails
Managing projects in a small business setting can be deceptively challenging. Sure, there are fewer people involved and fewer processes to navigate. But big businesses often have a dedicated project manager for marketing, another for sales, and another for product development. The small business project manager, on the other hand, oversees multiple departments and likely wears lots of other hats. It’s important to find project management software that can help you maximize output while juggling everything else on your plate.
Here are some of the best project management software for small businesses:
• Asana for ultimate project flexibility • Airtable for spreadsheet fanatics • Trello for visually managing projects • AND.CO for freelancers • Paymo for complex projects that require invoices • Wrike for managing projects via email • Yodiz for Agile and Scrum teams • Basecamp for automating team check-ins
Content Management System
For many small business owners, their CMS platform can end up making or breaking their business. This is why it is important to take an in-depth look at all of the options available to you before jumping right in. Don’t simply take our word for it. Each website builder offers a free option for your business to test out before fully committing. Try out how the platforms will benefit your content management schedule, and which one best complements your technical aptitude. So now, without further ado, here are
the top CMS applications that your business can use:
1. Wix – A website builder that centers on site presentation, Wix offers hundreds of designs to their users. Manage your blog, content, and social media all in one place. 2. WordPress – Everyone knows the prominence of WordPress in the CMS market. As one of the most popular tools for managing content, WordPress is an excellent, free option for users. Although WordPress is not 100% simple once you begin installing plugins and design, it may be your go-to product if looking for function over stylish animation. 3. Adobe Business Catalyst – Business Catalyst is the all-in-one business marketing and CMS solution that you’ve been looking for. With advanced analytics, built-in modules, lead generation and reporting, business owners should definitely try the Business
Catalyst tool. 4. Squarespace – A bevy of features are at your disposal with the
Squarespace robust platform. Experiment with a wide range of tools for your desktop or mobile site. In addition, sync with
Google Apps, MailChimp, or multiple publishers to make this software truly invaluable.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Tools
Customer relationship management (CRM) is a technology for managing all your company’s relationships and interactions with customers and potential customers. The goal is simple: Improve business relationships. A CRM system helps companies stay connected to customers, streamline processes, and improve profitability. Make sure you, as a small business, first try out a few different CRM software and then decide on the one which seems most suitable and the best value for money. The best CRM softwares: Zoho and Salesforce consist of full-featured and premium features CRM programs. Simple and easy to use, Insightly is another alternative for small business mainly because it’s simple and easy to use and compared to other CRM software
Human Resources Software
There comes a point in the growth of every small business when they must stop bootstrapping and invest in a ladder—and the right HR software can provide the boost you need to unlock the benefits of wellmanaged employees. Some great HR software options for your small business include JazzHR, Cezanne, BambooHR, Zenefits, Zoho, People and EffortlessHR.
Webmaster Tools
Make use of vital data to help you analyze traffic and site performance by installing Google Analytics and Google Search Console (both preferably via Google Tag Manager), and Bing Webmaster Tools.
Social Media Management Tools
The best social media management tools can make managing and marketing simpler and easier. Getting the most out of your chosen social media platforms is going to be an integral part of your content marketing, as part of your overall online marketing strategy. That’s why we’ve picked out some really useful social media analytics tools that will help you understand which of your posts are working, and which get a thumbs down. Here are some useful social media analytics
tools that will help you with your small business: 1. Hootsuite 4. Hubspot 7. Agorapulse 2. Sprout Social 5. Zoho Social 8. Traject Fanbooster 3. Buffer 6. SEMrush 9. Sendible 10. SocialPilot
Conclusion
The relevance of the different tools listed above will depend upon your business type and needs. Identifying the pain points of your business can help uncover areas of opportunities which can help you in deciding the types of IT tools to prioritize.
BBI can help!
If you would like support pricing your product or service, please contact one of our knowledgeable Entrepreneurial Engagement Managers at bbi@bbi.ns.ca, call 902-426-8683, or visit our website www.bbi.ca
