Give your employees the right tools and watch your business thrive. It’s that simple. Think about it: without tools to organize their work and increase their productivity, teams are at the mercy of their judgment and the devices available to them. Enter human error. If there’s one reason why businesses in the United States shut down, that’s a failure to adapt to new technologies, which business tools can help foresee thanks to competitive research.
It’s understandable, however, that with thousands of business software to choose from out there, selecting the right ones can be overwhelming. After all, will they be worth it, or just a waste of your money?
Granted, the tools you use will depend on the field you’re in, but the ones mentioned below are fitting for every company of any size. Keep reading if you’d like to learn how they can keep you one step ahead of the competition.
(Search Engine Optimization) SEO Tools
Search engine optimization is by far the best way to boost online presence and reach potential customers the right way. With Google’s ever-changing algorithm, keeping up with updates without the help of tools is extremely time-consuming. That’s because SEO tools give companies access to accurate analytics and marketing insights, as well as noteworthy data on your strongest competitors. In fact, yet another reason why businesses fall short is poor marketing research, so keep that in mind.
Also, being on the first page of results requires proper keyword research. Whether you’re trying to rank for terms like “accident statistics for self-driving cars” or “marketing research best practices”, you’ll be able to find the best keywords and variations to target for success. Maybe your landing page should include phrases like “car accident,” or “human drivers,” or even “Tesla,” but without SEO tools, you’ll never know.
With SEO tools, businesses can streamline workflow by filtering through the clutter and working with the relevant information only.
Credit Card Reconciliation Tools
Larger companies aren’t the only ones at a risk for fraud. Small businesses are more vulnerable to this type of fraud, especially when the right measures aren’t taken right away.
Business owners often have so much on their plate that a few things may go unnoticed, including suspicious credit card charges and missed transactions. Relying on traditional credit card reconciliation processes exposes bank accounts to the risk and fraudulent activities. So, what’s the next step?
Investing in reliable credit card reconciliation software can detect fraud in QuickBooks, as well as keep track of your transactions with the least manual effort. If unauthorized transactions or suspicious behavior takes place, you’ll be notified in time to prevent harmful consequences that put your small business at risk.
Email Marketing Tools
If you’ve read any of the best email marketing practices for 2021, you already know that ultra-personalization is a defining characteristic of emails that convert.
See, a lot of people end up unsubscribing to or outright ignoring certain email list because the content no longer suits them. Personalization will make sure every single subscriber receives emails they’re likely to open, whether they’re promotional or simply informational and nurturing. The thing is, there’s no way to personalize emails without automation and customer segmentation, and only great email marketing tools can help with that. Just imagine having to manually send unique emails to your audience. That wouldn’t be optimal workflow at all, would it?
The great news is, with email marketing tools, you’ll be getting more for your money. Besides automation, they offer customizable templates, performance monitoring, and much more.
Professional Web Design Tools (and a Professional Website Designer)
Although you may not be an expert in website design yourself, hiring a website designer is a sure-fire way to bring in more customers. For the web designer on your team, the right tools can go a long way.
There are plenty of reasons why you should hire a website designer. Firstly, ready-made templates no longer cut it. WordPress may have a lot of nice themes available on the platform, but nothing guarantees that hundreds of websites haven’t adapted to that same design. Secondly, a quality new website should have a unique and professional design. In this case, hiring a pro web designer who works with cutting-edge software (or who is provided this software) is the best option to have your website stand out in a bustling web environment. Their knowledge in HTML, CSS, and current web design best practices (such as a responsive design) will put your business ahead.
What’s more, a great design is a powerful SEO ranking factor. Not only does it look good and display your branding effectively, but it’s fast and easy to navigate, making it a magnet for potential clients.
The bottom line is, it pays to take advantage of business tools that are increasingly efficient, user-friendly, and more often than not, do most of the work for your team. Take note: every successful business has a great set of tools behind it.