In order to ensure optimal business growth, entrepreneurs and small business owners have to constantly innovate to reach their customers. From online ordering for restaurants, to ecommerce for retail, to accepting payments for services online for trades, there are so many companies who have had to learn new tricks.
Learning these new systems, or learning how to attract new customers can be so time consuming and seem overwhelming. But honestly folks, don’t be afraid. True story – There are a variety of easy tools available that small businesses can use to help grow their business. Here is an overview of the 7 major small business tools available to entrepreneurs to elevate their small business to unparalleled heights: –
Google Analytics
Every business, irrespective of its size, should have an online presence. People need to be able to find you, regardless of what type of business you are in. Monitoring where the people who are looking for you are, who they are, and how they are searching for you can help you make great business decisions. Google Analytics is an important free tool that can help you do this. Google Analytics provides insights into website traffic and details how users engage with you. It’s easy to get set up (you don’t need to be a web developer), and you can learn a lot about what is happening with your business online.
JungleScout
For new retailers, selling on Amazon can allow you to service new customers. While it is simple to sign up on Amazon as a seller, it doesn’t assure success. JungleScout not only educates new business owners about how to sell on Amazon but also gives them an idea about what to sell on Amazon. If you’re a retailer who already has an ecommerce presence, you’re going to want to look into this.
Hootsuite
Hootsuite is a social media management tool that will post your social content for you. You don’t need to log in to facebook or twitter every day to post something for your customers, you can literally spend an hour pre-populating specials, or other content and hit go.
Shopify or Woocommerce (it’s up to you)
Shopify necessitates the creation of e-commerce websites and is a selling platform. Shopify is typically for people who don’t already have a website, Woocommerce is for people who do already have a website but want to throw up the ability to sell something on it. Both of these tools are one stop shops to get your retail store set up online and allow you to process payments quickly and easily.
Slack
Communication is necessary for any business’s growth and Slack helps small business owners manage that. It is a communication platform designed for businesses to communicate with their team. While it has a paid version, its free plan would be more than enough for small business owners. It’s kind of like text messaging for business – but it keeps all of your messages and files in one place.
Cloud Storage (Google Drive/Dropbox/OneDrive)
Businesses have to store stuff, pictures – documents – files…whatever it may be. If you’re keeping files on your personal computer for your business, you should stop doing that and get yourself some cloud storage (it’s free). You can totally upgrade to a paid account and get unlimited storage for your files, but the free version will do the job. It’s totally secure, and you’ll have access to all the files you might need for your business while not having to be at your computer.
