Running a small business takes focus and delegating tasks to the right qualified team members. There are plenty of digital services that fit within a small business-budget designed to streamline business operations. Whether you need tools for accounting and communication or content scheduling and human resources, there’s a business solution out there. Take a look at some of the essential digital tools that modern startups are using to gain a competitive edge.
Build a Professional Website
You need to make your brand visible and easy to find online by creating a professional website. Building a strong web presence is an effective way to improve your rankings on search engines, even more so when you use SEO best practices. Potential customers are attracted to a clean, strong website that’s user friendly and mobile optimized.
You’ll want to monitor your new web site’s performance and see how users are interacting with it. You can use analytics to make adjustments and influence potential customers’ decisions.
The best way to increase brand awareness is to work with a professional website designer who can strengthen your online presence. Web designers know about the latest technology being used to create custom web sites and can use the latest search engine optimization techniques to attract organic web traffic. Shoot for the Edit explains why you should hire a website designer. Working with a web developer means spending less time to set up a new website and the work will be done well the first time. Another good reason to invest in a professional designer is to gain a competitive advantage with a well-designed, functional website.
A professional web designer understands that your website is the first impression potential customers get of your brand. A good designer uses your OKRs to ensure your business goals align with your website, and they can include built-in analytics tools.
Collaboration and Learning
The smart small business owner understands the benefit of collaborating and working with team members who offer a range of skills and expertise. There are several business tools that you can use to manage communication with remote teams, teach new skills with online business training, share files and data via cloud-based services, and team messaging platforms that expedite communications.
You aren’t expected to be an expert in all aspects of your business. Let’s say your expertise is in brainstorming and designing the ideal product or service to meet the needs of your target market. You’ll need to hire a development team, whether you have the budget for a permanent in-house team or rely on outsourcing your needs, to bring your product to life. Working with a software outsourcing company is the best way to bring your software products to market in a faster time according to your specifications.
Devsu offers software development outsourcing and works with business users at every step of the development process. Their talented software development teams are vetted from the top of the talent pool and use the latest technology to produce quality results. The software development company takes a user-centric approach to software development and builds complex architectures that meet business objectives.
The expertise of their outsourced team includes mobile and website development, UI development, IoT development, and process automation. Collaborating with an outsourced team is a good idea when working with time zone differences. You can choose to work with integrated teams of software developers and your in-house team, or managed teams of software developers overseen by Project Managers to deliver results that align with your business strategy.
Virtual Private Network
Small businesses face the constant threat of cyberattacks, data breaches, and other data security issues by hackers and cybercriminals. It’s a good idea to take cybersecurity precautions to keep your startup safe from attacks. The best way to keep your business processes secure is to use a verified private network (VPN). It creates a secure network connection whether your network is public or private so that you can share and collect sensitive business data.
You’ll need a verified IP address to host your business website, and the best way to purchase a clean IPv4 address block is through an IPv4 broker. IPv4 Brokers have over 15 years of experience giving buyers and sellers exclusive access to IPv4 addresses on the secondary market. IPv4 brokers use their technical expertise to ensure each IPv4 address space is clean and verified by the appropriate regional internet registry (RIR). The broker offers a large inventory of IPv4 blocks in the ARIN, RIPE, APNIC regions, and their expert consultants facilitate the entire transfer process. When it’s time to buy IPv4 space to host your business website, working with a broker is an efficient way to find what you need at fair market prices.
Social Media Management
Maintaining a strong social media presence is just as important as a professional website. Building traffic and converting potential clients on social media means posting quality content, engaging with users, responding to questions, comments, and feedback, and being active on other profiles. Using a content management scheduling tool helps you monitor newsfeeds, schedule posts, interact and engage with users, and access analytics from a central dashboard.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is an effective marketing strategy that helps you engage with loyal customers and keep them up to date with your brand. Platforms like MailChimp make it easy for you to design, send, and monitor email newsletters to determine who opens emails, what links are clicked, and which customers should receive a follow-up offer. Regularly publishing an email newsletter is effective when you create content that speaks to your audience’s interests and delivers value.
Prioritize Security
The best way to keep your business, yourself, and your team members safe from data breaches and cyber threats is to prioritize network security. Require all team members to reset their passwords regularly, and ensure that all mobile devices are in a secure mode. Make sure all devices are running the latest anti-virus and malware programs as well. It’s a good idea to have an information technology expert on your team who can handle all your cybersecurity needs.
Keyword Research Tools
Effective content marketing causes your startup’s website to appear on the first page of results on search engines. Driving organic web traffic to your own site is the best way to see conversions of potential customers into paying customers. Optimizing keywords on landing pages, meta descriptions, blogs, and social media posts will give your brand a competitive edge, establish authority, and attract customers.
Adopting digital tools from the beginning is the smart way for startups to enjoy long term scalability and business agility while gaining a competitive edge.