Running a business in 2023 has its challenges. If you are running a small company, essentially, you need to focus on four main areas: social media, employees, customers and security. One important way of managing these areas is through technology. In order to build your own business, these tools must be taken advantage of. Most are not too complicated. In fact, some of the best tech tools are the most simple ones, such as an Image Resizer or an email. But it’s how these tools are utilised that is important, as they can help to streamline specific processes that would otherwise waste time or money. With this in mind, let’s take a look at eight tech tools that can help these four areas and maximise their potential to build your own company.
Social Media
● Video Maker
Social media can be a useful tool in itself, but, as a business, you need to focus on specific tech tools that can optimise your profile and build a strong community. In recent years, TikTok has become the most popular platform for small businesses. To fully utilise its opportunities, you will need a strong video maker that will create custom videos to promote your business and get people talking.
● Image Resizer
We said some of the tools you need will be simple. Looking at social media again, the majority of content comes through videos or images – something that immediately grabs a user’s attention and gets them engaged in what you are selling. An image resizer can allow you to quickly crop and change the dimensions of your images before publishing them on your social media feed or site.
Employees
● Applicant Tracking And Testing System
This is a little more complicated, but an applicant tracking and testing system can give you all you need when it comes to finding and training new employees. The process of onboarding, assessing, training and goal-tracking can be difficult, so you need a way to simplify each task, ensuring that you have the best employee base possible. This is also important when it comes to cost-saving. According to recent reports, the average cost of hiring a new employee is $4,129. For this reason, any method that can get the cost down and make the process time-efficient must be taken advantage of.
● Productivity Planner
It’s important to know how to track employees, and one of the most popular ways to ensure engagement and motivation is through a productivity planner. This is especially helpful if you are a remote company with employees spending the majority of their time working from home. Although remote working is getting more popular, it can be hard to engage and organise a team without being with them in the flesh. One of the best ways to boost productivity can be found in a productivity planner, which clearly lists out targets, helps your company meet its goals and keeps the team on track.
Customers
Once again, this might seem like quite a simple tool, but optimising email marketing can be the difference when it comes to standing out from the crowd. In 2023, most businesses put the majority of their budget into social media marketing, leaving their email marketing as an afterthought. But emails — especially personalised emails — remain one of the best ways to gain new customers and engage existing ones.
● Chatbot
One of the latest tech tools that companies are utilising is the AI Chatbot. This is a way to answer customer questions and help them navigate a website without using the time of an actual employee. Oftentimes, employee concerns and queries are simple and quick to answer, meaning, a chatbot can not only answer simple concerns but can do it quickly, and can ensure that the customer is catered for and has a pleasant experience on your website – making them more likely to return.
Security
● Firewalls
One of the biggest concerns small businesses have is cybersecurity. The cost of cybercrime is said to reach $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, and most small businesses that are breached – approximately 60% — end up failing six months later. Simple technological defences, such as online antivirus or firewalls, can fend off an attacker and do enough to protect a business and stop the attackers at the source.
● Observability Softwares
Observability software can also be very beneficial. Businesses with a multi-cloud environment can find it very difficult to keep track of every network, meaning attackers can breach the system without being seen. Observability software helps to give the IT team a full view of the multi-cloud environment and pinpoint attacks in real time. This, in turn, will keep a company safe, so although it cannot stop the hacker from forming an attack, it can recognise any issues when they occur and start the process of remedying them.
Conclusion
When it comes to running a business smoothly, it is important to cover every area and ensure that you have the best tools to make an impact. For instance, if you are targeting social media as your best outlet to broadcast your brand, don’t allow this focus to become a detriment to other areas such as email marketing or innovative web design. In business, it is essential to keep every cog turning to ensure that your company continues to prosper as a whole.
