Owning a business can be challenging, especially if you don’t make use of modern technology. Over the last decade or so a great deal of investment has gone into the business sector, with developers working tirelessly to produce technology designed to simplify and streamline complex business-related tasks.
If you are a business owner who’s struggling to maintain and manage their business, then you need to consider investing in technology. Even if you aren’t struggling, technology can still be very useful.
This post will tell you about some useful tech tools that every new business owner needs to know about:
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Remote Access Programs
Remote access programs are a great investment for you because they have quick response times, are affordable, and can be used for any device, anywhere. Remote access programs allow for the access of systems remotely. Put more simply, these tools give remote users access to files and system resources on any device or server that they are connected to. If you need remote access across all devices, then these tools are a very useful asset. The use of these tools means that business owners are able to increase employee productivity and colleague collaboration.
Project Management Tools
Project management tools are another fantastic investment, especially if you are responsible for leading a team. It can be very challenging to manage a team without the help of these tools, especially if you don’t have previous experience in it. Project management tools aid with communication, improve transparency, and can be used to convey a clearer message to one’s team. These tools are very affordable and more often than not can be downloaded on a trial basis at first, then later purchased in full if you find that the tool works well for you.
E-signature Tools
E-signature tools have been used in business for some time now, mostly because they are an extremely effective way for businesses to hand contracts over to clients and even colleagues. The use of these tools became extremely common during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw people unable to freely mix due to lockdown restrictions. Businesses had to turn to e-signature tools in order to ensure the completion of contracts. Some industries (like real estate) have come to rely upon it now. If you need to have contracts signed remotely, then e-signature tools are an investment that you need to make.
Customer Relationship Management
If you have to foster relationships with your customers in order to make sales, then customer relationship management software is a type of software that’s worth thinking about. This software can aid you in maintaining relationships with your customers, in addition to helping you to create a sales funnel. On the subject of customer relations, it’s also a very good idea to invest in an automated customer support bot. A customer support bot can be loaded onto your website, and then used to communicate with customers and answer any questions that they might have.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is one of the marketing world’s most effective tools because it allows businesses to reach out to customers who are already engaged. Because unsolicited marketing emails are against the law, businesses are only able to send out emails to customers who have willingly given them their email addresses or signed up for their newsletters. Email marketing works very well in conjunction with SMS marketing, which is more or less exactly the same, except it involves sending out SMS messages in place of emails. Email marketing is also extremely affordable.
Social Media
Social media isn’t necessarily a tool created to aid businesses, but it does come in very handy. The reason that social media’s so useful is because it gives businesses the opportunity to reach out to and communicate with their audiences directly. It also makes market research a lot easier, because it can be used to see what the most current and popular trends are in any given industry. On social media, there is a category of users called ‘influencers’ who can be used in product marketing. Social media is a very effective marketing tool, as long as it is used professionally and wisely.
Accounting Software
Every business needs an accountant. Managing a business’s finances can be a full-time job, so it’s unlikely that you will be able to manage yours while running your business at the same time. You don’t have to employ an expensive accountant to manage your finances for you, though. You can download and use accounting software. An alternative to using accounting software is to outsource your organization’s accounting, which is also a very popular option. Outsourcing can save your business money, while still giving you access to trained and expert accountants.
Messaging Apps
Since the pandemic first began, most people have been working from home. The one challenge that many people had in the pandemic’s early days when working remotely was maintaining communication with their colleagues and employers. Businesses very quickly introduced the use of messaging apps and software, to counter this. You can use messaging apps in your business (even if your staff work out of an office) to improve overall company communication. Many other businesses use messaging apps too, so you can use them to collaborate with clients and partners. Video messaging software is particularly useful because it allows you to meet with people virtually.
Anti-virus Software
Lastly, make sure that you have invested in anti-virus software. The internet can be a dangerous place, and cybercrime is on the rise. If you don’t ensure that your business has some kind of safeguarding measures in place, then you could end up falling victim to cybercriminals. It’s not uncommon for cybercriminals to target small businesses so that they can take their customer’s information. The main way that they do this is by infecting a business’s devices with viruses and the information that’s saved on them. Anti-virus software will prevent a hacker from being able to do this to your devices.
If you own a business, then you need to invest in technology. The tech that has been outlined in this article could save you thousands of dollars, maybe more. The best thing about much of it is that you can access it on a trial basis, so you get to try it out before you commit to buying any of it.
