Digital tools to supercharge business builder’s productivity
Today’s digital tools can help take the stress out of managing your day-to-day tasks and collaborating with your team. Using these tools can save your business money and supercharge your productivity.
One survey commissioned by Google and conducted by Deloitte found that connected small businesses in the US that have adopted advanced digital tools earn twice as much per employee, and were three times as likely to be creating jobs than businesses with basic digital engagement.
Slack is a communications tool available on web, iPhone, and Android designed to streamline internal communications and help your team to collaborate efficiently. Conversations are organised in ‘channels’ by project, client or team, and private channels can be set up for sensitive information.
Trello is a project management tool that gives an overview of all ongoing projects within your business. It’s a simple and visual way to show the status of various projects from initial interactions to writing proposals and launching a project.
Buffer is a web and mobile-based social media automation app which allows you to schedule posts across the six main social networks. It takes the pain out of managing your social media marketing.
G Suite (formerly Google Apps for Work) is a set of tools which allows businesses to communicate with teams, store files and collaborate with colleagues. Combining domain management, user management, email, calendar, instant messaging, and shared documents, G Suite is a one-stop solution for office productivity.
Google Analytics for web analytics
Google Analytics is the gold standard for web analytics. It allows you to track and measure your marketing and SEO efforts. Google Analytics provides detailed metrics including how you acquired visitors, their path throughout your site, site loading speed and which devices are being used to view it. The free version is more than adequate for most small/medium sized businesses.
Declutter your desk by using Evernote to store your notes in one place. You can capture, organise, and share notes from anywhere, rather than jotting them on sticky notes or scrap paper.
Sage Business Cloud Financials for business and financial management
Sage Business Cloud Financials is a cloud-based accounting solution that brings together finance, sales, CRM and operational data to provide you with a single view of your business. Built on the Salesforce platform, it enables you to run completely in the cloud. It allows you to manage multiple team projects, business units, geographies, products, clients, and currencies.
MailChimp makes it simple to automate your email marketing. It even includes email analytics tools that can help you track your success in engaging with and converting customers via email marketing.
By Viresh Harduth, Vice President: New Customer Acquisition (Small & Medium Businesses) for Africa & Middle East