Digital tools are changing the way we do business. Now, companies are jumping on the bandwagon and shopping online, too, in search of manufacturers and vendors offering easy online quotes and simplified ordering options. Here are some of the most common digital tools business owners can use to streamline processes.
1. Customer Relationship Management Systems
A customer relationship management (CRM) system can help businesses save time and cut costs by providing an all-in-one solution to the customer experience. A CRM lets you track and monitor all sorts of customer information that helps you make better business decisions, and provides the customer with a seamless, unified experience. CRMs enable increased sales, faster tactical decision making and stronger data security. If you haven’t implemented a CRM system yet, now’s the time to start considering it.
2. Inventory Management Systems
An inventory management system helps achieve greater productivity and efficiency throughout your operations. This technology is helpful to any growing business because of the simple analytics and reports that allow you to see which products are selling fast and which aren’t. It can also help you determine which channels those sales are coming from, which ultimately helps you make better purchasing decisions. So if you need a way to quickly and easily manage products, an inventory management system can do the trick. This technology can also help with maximizing profits and minimizing costs (because you won’t be ordering more than you need).
3. Materials Estimators
Entrepreneurs who are short on time might find online tools like materials estimators quite useful and time-saving. If you make it as easy as possible for people to order your materials online, you’ll continue to see repeat business. Companies like Apple Rubber make it easy for companies like yours by providing online tools like a seal design guide and o-ring size estimators to help customers with their online orders. Business owners have enough to worry about without stressing about whether they’re ordering the right size materials.
4. E-Mail Marketing Tools
If you haven’t been set up for e-mail marketing, your company is missing out on some huge selling opportunities. E-mail marketing can allow you to create personalized e-mails and landing pages that really resonate with your customers and prospects. It also helps you plan your e-mails in advance and schedule when they go out to your e-mail list. Creating an e-mail list using e-mail marketing tools is one of the smartest things you can do to gather warmer leads faster — leads that actually convert to sales.
5. Social Media Listening Tool
A social media listening tool allows companies to keep tabs on what their customers are saying. With high-quality social media listening software, you should be able to track how many followers you have on each of your social sites and determine which posts are getting the most clicks. Add-on features give you access to analytics and provide more than one user profile so that your team can keep track of these things as well.
6. Automation
Certain tedious, repetitive tasks completed within an organization that take up a lot of time. What if you could automate some of those tasks and free up more of your time? You could spend more time focusing on other aspects of your business that need attention. Automation can help your system automate online transactions and automatically enter them into your system as sales, rather than having someone to do it manually.
Digital tools can help a company in a multitude of ways. If you’re looking for ways to help streamline processes and organize interactions with the people you come in contact with every day, consider some of the above digital tools to help make your life just a little bit easier. Business owners like you have enough on their plate already. Why not consider something to make the load a little lighter?
