Online tools to improve efficiency in small businesses

Posted in Apps and mobile devices.

Unless you want to outright start firing people or not pay them for their work, the only way to improve your business revenue is to improve efficiency. A lot of small businesses struggle with this concept, even though it is quite easy to understand. Using the right tools is what makes sure that your business efficiency truly sees improvement over time. The following tools are not only proven for their efficacy but might provide noticeable results in terms of revenue improvement as well. The fact that all of them are already being used by both small and large businesses says plenty about the place they should have in your business.

Communication: Slack

One of the best tools for efficient communication within a business is Slack. This multi-platform communication software makes it incredibly easy for colleagues to talk to each other and share practically any business communication and documents, and more. It is a shared working space where you can stay in touch with members of your team to make sure your projects are going according to plan. A lot of small businesses also rely on home-based working where the team is not in the same space. This can be a big issue in terms of keeping the team up to date and on the same page, but with Slack, they can update each other on work progress, set up meetings, and improve overall work efficiency by creating a seamless workflow. The less time you spend wasting means the quicker you can move on to a new project which may translate to more revenue.

Project Management: Trello

Managing projects effectively is one of the biggest challenges that any business faces, especially when they are working on a small scale. Getting a customised solution to keep in touch with your team regarding project progress may seem a bit out of your budget but this tool solves exactly that problem. Imagine working on a large project and having a big noticeboard that you would need to maintain for months to track your progress. To avoid that nightmare, why not do that thing online, on a software that is sophisticated, intelligent, and easy to use? With reminders, meetings, and even the smallest parts of any project getting their dedicated space, you can keep track of your projects and the people involved in them easily! The streamlined work will mean you are wasting minimum time and improving your team’s efficiency incredibly, thereby improving revenue as well.

Marketing: MailChimp

The formula for revenue is quite simple: the more you sell the more you earn. Being able to efficiently acquire those sales is the simplest path for improving revenue. To make sure you have more customers buying your products or services, you need to reach them more effectively. MailChimp is a great tool for doing so as it uses one mode of communication that everyone has access to these days which is email. Even if a customer does not respond to your email, they recognise who the sender is which creates a relation subconsciously. With the automation of MailChimp, you can effectively reach more customers by constantly reminding them of your products and services.