To run a successful business, you need to have a competitive edge. However, in modern business marketing, you're required to be in a million places all at once to reach your target audience. With the evolving workplace, businesses now run on digital tools. From storing data, communication, protection of assets, and collaboration — there is a digital platform for everything. The following digital tools will help you stay ahead of the competition and succeed.
By Team Savant
Image: Petter Lagson
VPN (Virtual Private Network)
As more businesses move online, cyberattacks are also on the rise. These cybercriminals end up collecting sensitive information and demanding ransom. One way to form a secure connection online is by installing a VPN on all your devices. With this, you can use public networks from anywhere, even in your local coffee shop.
Digital File Storage
A company's information, including that of its employees, is sensitive. Failure to store important documents such as certificates, project files, employee data, and articles of incorporation properly can lead to loss or they may fall into the wrong hands. Store these documents in the cloud using applications like Dropbox or Google Drive, and use them as backups. These applications make it easy to share important files and grant access to users in different locations.
Video Conferencing
Recently, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many businesses have embraced working remotely. Video conferencing software allows you to communicate with consultants or employees and hold productive meetings with clients. Nowadays, there are free video conferencing applications like join.me, hangouts, Google meetings, and Zoom that also allows you to create webinars.
Website
A website is among the most vital tools that any business should have. It is where you reach out to your audience through quality SEO content about your products and services. However, for your website to benefit your business, it has to give a good first impression to potential clients. To achieve this, create a user-friendly website design that is appealing and easy to navigate. Otherwise, potential clients will click away when they find an unprofessional, complex, or outdated website.
Digital Payment Solutions
As your business continues to expand, you will need to incorporate digital payment solutions. These allow you to make or receive payments for products or services sold. The most common payment processors are debit and credit cards. You can also include other digital payment processing platforms such as Paypal, Square, Payoneer, or Stripe. However, ensure that the payment processor of your choice is secure, capable of making recurrent bills, and intuitive.
Timesheet App
Time management is critical in every business. You want to make sure that your business uses every minute wisely to make a profit. Delays in a business can result in loss of clients and money. A timesheet app is essential as it enables you to monitor all business operations and employee activities. It allows you to establish if employees are clocking in on time and working when they are supposed to. Ultimately, you get most of the day's work done and meet your business goals.
Accounting Software
Business is mostly about making a return on your investment. To stay on track, you must monitor outgoing expenses and gross profits. Outgoing costs include rent, taxes, electricity and water bills, and employee salaries. Although a professional can manage your business accounts, they are prone to errors. With accounting software, you can leave it to work the numbers for you instead of doing manual calculations that are time-consuming and overwhelming.
Analytics And Data Tools
As your business transitions into the digital platform, it is necessary to know your performance online. Although there are vendors that claim to have tools that can solve your analytics and data problems, Google provides free solutions. These solutions are not only free but also easy to use and meet your business's level of functionality. They include:
Google Analytics: It tracks and gives you reports on your website’s traffic.
Google Data Studio: With this tool, you can create informative, appealing, and interactive reports through shareable graphs. You can obtain data from sources like Google AdWords, Google Docs, and Google Analytics to make this possible.
Google Tag Manager: Although it requires a bit of learning to understand how it works, you can use it to add scripts and update tags on your website.
Bottom Line
Beyond social media, there are several digital tools that can help your business to grow and thrive. Use SEO tools to increase brand awareness, video conferencing tools to communicate with employees and clients, and VPNs for a secure connection.