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If there’s anything modern businesses can’t do without, it’s software.
Stephen O’Grady, founder and principal analyst at RedMonk, insists that: “Few businesses today can exist without software.”
Some people will argue that the differentiating power of software has diminished throughout the years.
Software adoption used to mean competitive advantage for companies that can afford them.
Today, software is being commoditized at an accelerated clip, largely because of the growing adoption of open source software.
Whatever your take on the importance of software (growing versus dwindling), at the end of the day, software remains a fundamental component of many operational processes, e.g., hiring and talent management, billing and invoicing, accounting, skills training, manufacturing, market research, desktop publishing – the list goes on and on.
Why business software usage is now a must-have, instead of a nice-to-have
This article will tackle the reasons why software applications are a must-have for businesses.
In no particular order, here are the Top 5:
5 Solid Reasons Your SmallBusiness Needs the Right Software
- Enhanced productivity
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Business applications automate tedious, repetitive procedures that, if done manually, are prone to costly, time-consuming human error.
- Imagine giving ridiculous year-end projections at an executive board meeting because the sales figures you based the forecast on were not the updated ones, no thanks to an unfortunate file-naming error.
- How about fulfilling an order twice because the first shipment wasn’t properly documented and tracked?
Workflow engines, once configured, tirelessly work in the background to push projects forward and alert relevant employees of next-step tasks.
Files, documents, or web forms can be integrated into workflow steps, making team members less prone to mistakes.
Productivity means more tasks done, less people doing repetitive tasks, and more employees focused on value-adding activities or projects.
Jill Duffy of PCMag defines productivity as all about achieving goals, ultimately, or “making the most of your time so that you have time and energy left over to do more.”
Business software, such as point-of-sales software providing individual logins for each employee, track and analyze workforce performance, keeping them motivated because they know that their contributions count and they’re accountable for their own actions.
The right software also brings people and ideas together as it streamlines communication and enables real-time collaboration through discussion threads, instant messaging, group messaging, videoconferencing, and email.
Below are some software examples that help boost productivity in the workplace:
- Time tracking: RescueTime, Toggl, TimeCamp, Harvest, and TSheets
- Project management: Asana, Basecamp, Trello, Huddle, Wrike, Workfront, and Zoho Projects
- Task management: Google Tasks, Any.do, Evernote, Wunderlist, and TeuxDeux
- Billing and invoicing: Xero, FreshBooks, Zoho Invoice, Recurly, and KashFlow
- HR management: TribeHR, PeopleFluent, BambooHR, iCIMS, and Zenefits
- Increased sales, less costs
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Because just about any business function imaginable has gone digital, it’s not surprising that sales and marketing professionals use automation software to make their jobs easier.
Various sales and marketing tools allow them to send the right message to the right people at the right time, boosting overall conversion and increasing revenues from sales as a result.
CRM software carry relationship management features that track every interaction your clients, prospects, and leads have with your company – data that, when properly leveraged, enables you to pinpoint with ease the message or offer that resonates with them, and when.
To expand their capabilities, these software systems can be synced with third-party applications such as:
- Calendars to manage your schedules and appointments
- Helpdesk solutions to quickly and efficiently address customer queries and concerns
- Email automation systems to create, deploy, and gauge marketing campaigns
- Document managers to share documents, presentations, spreadsheets, and PDFs
- Email services so correspondence with contacts regarding events or projects are automatically attached to the correct CRM record
For CRM software examples, we have Salesforce.com, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Insightly, HubSpot CRM, and Infusionsoft.
Conversion optimization tools, on the other hand, let businesses squeeze more revenue from the same traffic.
Software applications belonging to this category include A/B testing tools, market research systems, analytics tools, and heat mapping services.
A Qualaroo article lists 10 reasons why conversion rate optimization (CRO) is important, including:
- Improve your site’s performance
- Spend less on paid advertising that’s continually getting more competitive and costly
- Attract the right customer type
- CRO is essentially free
- Maximize costs
- Better working environment
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There’s creative chaos. And then, there’s organizational chaos.
One can fuel significant creativity. The other can cause people to pack their bags and leave the company, never to be seen again.
The right software helps create a business environment that excites and inspires people through a number of different ways:
- Keep communication lines open. Slack and Flowdock are examples of enterprise tools that streamline communication within organizations. Social intranets come with built-in tools such as a status indicator, group chat, private messaging, videoconferencing, voicemail, and an announcement board. They facilitate conversations, simplify the exchange of ideas between teams, and, if deployed in the cloud, are especially useful for geographically dispersed teams.
- Make work more fun. Gamification, which is the incorporation of game elements into an activity, is a core feature in most project management or collaboration platforms. Leaderboards promote a healthy competition among colleagues, and awarding of points and badges engenders a sense of achievement within teams.
- Hire the right staff. Building a culture of happy, motivated employees starts at the hiring process. Finding the best possible candidates can take time if the recruitment process is done manually. Talent management software such as TribeHR and Workable provide end-to-end talent recruitment solutions, from job posting to applicant screening.
- Evenly distribute workload. One way to sow discord and discontent within teams or departments is to unevenly distribute workloads, constantly peppering certain individuals with assignments while others are left with nothing or very little to do. Scheduling and workforce management solutions such as ShiftPlanning and com help you manage work schedules, employee availabilities, as well as their time-off requests.
- Be transparent. Being left in the dark breeds distrust. On the other hand, transparency boosts company morale. Transparency means people knowing what others in the team, department, or company are up to, resulting in them being more involved not just in their own work but with organizational goals as well. It starts with policies that promote open communication and a culture of collaboration. Software with communication capabilities, such as private messaging and real-time conversations, encourage transparency.
- Develop your people’s skills. Training and development platforms like TalentLMS allow you to build relevant courses to hone your employees’ skills and align their competencies with project requirements, industry standards, and government regulations.
- Give and receive feedback. The best and most effective way for people to recognize their strengths and weaknesses is through honest, objective feedback. Software that monitor employee performance such as BambooHR carry 360-degree feedback and performance assessment functionalities that gauge how each employee’s performance track against personal, team, and enterprise targets.
- Better customer experience
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Similar products and services abound, but what often makes or breaks it for consumers is how companies treat their clients. With Tony Hsieh in the driver’s seat, Zappos.com established itself as a customer-centric company. Zappos nurtures its workforce so they can deliver positive customer experiences across all levels of the organization.
Inc.com’s guide on how to use technology to improve customer service emphasizes the importance of understanding “how new technologies can help you anticipate customer needs, tailor business processes to best serve customers, and ultimately improve the efficiency of your business – the latter of which can keep costs down.”
Technology solutions like CRM software (examples: SugarCRM, Zoho CRM, and Pardot), helpdesk support systems (examples: Zendesk, Freshdesk, and Help Scout), live chat software (examples: Zopim, LiveChat, and Comm100), and call center software (examples: Nextiva, 3CLogic, and 8×8 Virtual Contact Center) all function as data-gathering tools, which, in turn, allow you to better address your customers’ needs.
Analytics features that are inherent in these applications enable you to:
- Determine customer preferences and establish buying patterns, setting the stage for more cross-selling and upselling opportunities
- Personalize the way your company interacts with each customer
- Send the right message at the right time using the right medium
- Improve your business processes to more efficiently serve your clients
- Flexibility, agility
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You no longer need to do repetitive, back-office jobs manually.
Therefore, you’re left with more time and energy to focus on growing your business.
Speed
In an era where mobile apps rule, quick decision-making as a result of readily available information is a capability that today’s consumers have come to expect from the organizations they do business with.
Because data analytics and business intelligence can now be accessed in easily digestible formats with just a few clicks through self-service portals, instead of coursing a report request to IT that without software may require them a few days to generate, companies are afforded the ability to tweak their processes at will or pursue a totally different tack in real time, when and where it makes sense.
Easy customization
Open source software has taken flexibility to a whole new level. Developers can tweak the software’s source code to create a solution that optimally works for their organization’s unique requirements.
Anywhere, anytime access
And last but not least, there’s the flexibility and agility that cloud-based applications – meaning those that can be accessed anywhere, anytime, on any device as long as you’re connected to the Internet – bring. They allow people to work from anywhere, be productive even when on the go, and be connected with colleagues from different parts of the world.
Final word
The use of software to simplify usually complicated processes is a big plus for businesses, especially the small ones.
Aside from the ability to better use your employees’ skills and not bore them with repetitive, tedious work, software gives you access to tools similar to what your larger counterparts use.
The challenge lies in finding the right one.
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