Many things have changed in the last 12 months, and as a result, businesses have seen a radical shift in operations. All of these changes have thrown structured workflows into chaos. As the world rebuilds itself, managers and executives need to organize and prioritize certain tools to grow quickly. Here are five essential tools businesses must use to succeed this year.
1. Content management system (CMS)
Your website can be a part of your lead generation funnel, SEO strategy, point of contact, storefront, or everything together. Regardless of what you use your website for, you’ll need to push out regular content to keep your site relevant. A content management system (CMS) puts you in control of every element of content creation. From simply dragging and dropping to advanced graphics management, CMS tools like WordPress visually organize your website just the way you prefer.
2. Team communication tools
As the breakdown of communication quickly leads to workflow disruptions, businesses need to keep improving team communication. While communication tools like Slack have been adopted by quite a few people, most companies are yet to iron out their collaboration and communication strategy for better productivity. Going beyond Slack and using solutions like Chanty, Bit.ai, Microsoft Teams and Miro can expedite your business operations.
3. Email marketing tools
Effective marketing strategies are a large part of successful businesses. When it comes to marketing in 2021, you have to take a multi-channel approach. This can range from flyers and banners to online ads and email marketing. While social media marketing is what’s trendy today, emails have quickly risen back to popularity. You need to focus on email marketing because it gives a higher ROI than other channels. If you’re not a fan of MailChimp or tired of seeing your emails being flagged as spam, you can take a look at better alternatives to get your emails up and running.
4. Transcription tools
Many companies don’t pay enough attention to transcript and document creations. Having everything recorded on paper is important to close out deals, negotiate terms and avoid legal troubles. By using transcription services that are fast, accurate, and comprehensive, you’re not only mitigating the risk of data loss but also strengthening your SOPs.
5. Accounting tools
Keeping tabs on the financial structure of a company is essential for budgeting. Accounting being a technical domain, businesses hire professionals to handle payroll, tax, and finance reports. However, you can use accounting software like Xero to simplify paperwork and bring transparency to your cash flow. Xero is particularly useful for companies that look to scale quickly. It seamlessly integrates with other apps, giving comprehensive solutions to your accountancy team.
Today, there are more business tools than you can possibly count. While considering the tools you need for your business, you need to make sure they don’t have steep learning curves or bloated designs. Tools meant for internal teams must have integrations and should be easy to use for everyone. On top of that, you should pick tools that have robust customer support.
