Top tech tools for entrepreneurs [Opinion]

When the world shut down because of the pandemic, every little thing modified, particularly for small companies. All of a sudden, the power to connect with clients turned much more vital, and the protected method to take action is thru expertise.

Whereas corporations have lengthy relied on e mail or textual content messaging to speak, many entrepreneurs discovered they wanted to broaden their expertise toolkit, changing into extra artistic and resourceful with how they conduct enterprise and compete successfully.

As a expertise knowledgeable who advises greater than 3.4-million entrepreneurs around the globe on expertise options that may assist them serve their clients and handle their enterprise, Rhonda Vetere, Chief Data Officer, Herbalife Vitamin and serial entrepreneur gives seven important tech instruments each entrepreneur should use. 

Customer support 

We live throughout a time of great technological transformation. Gone are the times when folks waited for what appeared an eternity to ship or obtain a message. Time has sped up, and with it’s the demand from clients for rapid consideration. In keeping with current research, 82% of shoppers count on a fast response from manufacturers. Maintaining or forward of shoppers requires staying on prime of expertise tendencies and making certain that you’ve the instruments to compete within the digital age.  

For web site assist, many entrepreneurs use a reside chat device that may assist clients with fundamental questions. Many of those instruments can be utilized on social media as effectively. If paid chat choices are value prohibitive, there are additionally helpful and free instruments, together with Zoho Desk.

Communication and collaboration 

Video conferencing and video chat functions grew exponentially in the course of the pandemic. In March, video conferencing apps noticed 62 million downloads. Entrepreneurs are utilizing video apps for connecting with clients, companions, and distributors. Whereas these instruments are glorious for conferences, they’re additionally helpful for sustaining connections with trade organizations and networking teams. Lots of the instruments permit break-out rooms for a small assembly inside a session, creating an intimate and collaborative area. 

As you proceed to construct your repute as an knowledgeable in your trade, video conferencing can be used to host a webinar for current and potential clients.

Many entrepreneurs are internet hosting panel discussions, bringing in different companions and collaborators. These periods could be taped and repurposed as content material on your social media channels, web site, and e mail advertising. There are numerous video conferencing choices, together with, Joinme, which has a free plan that permits you to invite as much as 10 video members 

Social media 

Social media isn’t just for sharing movies and memes – it’s a prime enterprise device. Your clients are on Fb, Twitter, Linkedin, YouTube, and Instagram. When you determine which channels you need to use, you’ll want to publish participating content material.

These can vary from information about merchandise, gross sales, and impactful data. Posting throughout a number of channels each week could be daunting. Fortunately, many social media instruments make it easier to schedule and publish content material that may be calendared and posted mechanically. These instruments vary from Hootsuite (which has a free choice) to Zoho Social to Buffer. 

Slack  

Increasingly more manufacturers, corporations, and entrepreneurs use Slack to speak with their clients. It’s a terrific place to offer related updates, ideas and advisement, and new product bulletins. It additionally provides your clients a spot away from social media to share tales and entrepreneurs a spot to attach with their staff extra visibly simply. 

Storage  

There may be plenty of dialogue in regards to the time period “the cloud.” Consider the cloud as an off-site storage locker, the place all of your vital data is protected and safe – and simply sharable. Google Drive, Dropbox, or Microsoft Sharepoint safeguard your backups and permit customers entry from any location. Transferring your work to the cloud, not solely advantages you to work from wherever and any system, however it additionally makes it straightforward to share content material together with your clients.  

E mail Advertising 

Your advertising toolkit could comprise quite a lot of choices – one in all which is e mail advertising. Sending professionally designed, informative newsletters to your clients is a good way to keep up a correspondence. Probably the most fashionable corporations within the enterprise is Mailchimp. Even higher, If your organization sends fewer than 12,000 e mail messages monthly to fewer than 2,000 subscribers, you’ll be able to benefit from Mailchimp’s Ceaselessly Free plan. 

E-commerce 

The pandemic has modified how we store. In a single day, folks started to buy every little thing from groceries to furnishings on-line and in file numbers. Clients now count on to purchase their merchandise on-line.

They count on the expertise to be straightforward and quick. There are numerous nice e-commerce platforms on the market, equivalent to Shopify, a one-stop-shop for establishing your e-commerce retailer, to Amazon’s past fashionable platform. Shopify presents a 14-day free trial, and you should use it to talk with clients on-line, monitor orders and ship invoices.  

One closing observe. As a technologist, I remind everybody that interplay together with your clients is as much as you. Nothing supplants human interplay and connection.

With limits on our in-person conferences, it’s much more important to search out methods to construct companies. Combine up the way you join with others – decide up the cellphone, or schedule a Zoom, to name a handful of shoppers daily. Don’t forego a private e mail that isn’t meant to promote a buyer or colleague – however to check-in with them and see how they’re doing.

Expertise is a improbable device that helps small companies act massive. The problem is to make the expertise connections really feel extra three-dimensional vs two-dimensional. Expertise may help us be extra environment friendly and productive, and whereas it could improve our communication, it can by no means change the unimaginable energy of the human relationship. That half is as much as you.  

This text was written by Rhonda Vetere, Chief Data Officer, Herbalife Vitamin.

Featured picture: Humphrey Muleba through Unsplash