Discovering the right tools to help automate your systems and processes may be advantageous at times with the plethora of options available. Great automation tools are like having an extra employee or for a minute monthly cost. I have gone through several expensive and cheap ones throughout my years in business and I have compiled a few of my favorites that stand out as exemplary. Just don’t take my word for it. Take the time to test them out for yourself by taking advantage of the free trial periods before you enter into a long-term contractual commitment.
Project Management:
Click Up: A cloud-based workflow platform for all types of business industries. It centralizes all the company’s information into a single online solution. You can assign tasks to team members, manage projects for clients, and collaborate with colleagues on documents. This program helps you micro-manage your team without you becoming a micro-manager. It increases productivity and efficiency 10x. You can also pair it with Zapier for even more functionalities.
Asana: A project management system used to keep all the projects in your program organized and on track. You can map, manage, track, and talk about your team's projects to go beyond planning and get results. This program allows you and your team to save time, reduce distractions, and work more productively by centralizing your team's work.
For Communication:
Slack: This is by far one of my favorite communication tools. I really don’t like checking my email or responding to them, so slack works perfectly for me. My team knows the fastest way to get my attention and get a response is to send me a text in the Slack app. It is very much like sending a text via phone but in a more professional manner. It allows you to easily communicate with your team between major meetings to make sure that the workflows smoothly.
For Sales/Accounting:
QuickBooks: This software has most of the tools you would need to manage your sales like invoicing and managing your profits and losses. No need for a ton of spreadsheets that you are always forgetting to update and reconcile. With QuickBooks, everything is at the touch of a button.
For Marketing:
MailChimp: Because people still read emails contrary to popular beliefs, and it is one of the one pieces of “real estate” that you own, you need to have a CRM. Being able to connect and market to your ideal client directly on a regular basis is money in the bank. MailChimp allows you to create automated email campaigns, landing pages, and email funnels for free with less than 500 subscribers. This makes Mailchimp a great alternative for startup businesses.
ConvertKit: When you are ready to take your email marketing to the next level, ConvertKit is a great next step. It has all of the systems and processes, and bells and whistles to put out visually appealing campaigns that will get your prospects to click the buy button. It can also help you to find your audience, turn them into true fans, and earn a living as a creator.
For Customer Service:
Zendesk: Customer is paramount. If you are not in the position to hire an assistant that can be dedicated to customer service, then Zendesk is a great alternative. Remember that happy customers become loyal customers that keep buying. Zendesk gives you the ability to offer different options to best serve your customers.
Groove: This is another option for setting up customer service options quickly. Zendesk can be a bit much for smaller businesses, but Groove might be the right fit. It focuses on helping small businesses grow through their offerings and keeps customer service simplified but effective.
Your business has a lot of options to help it work smart and effectively. Yes, it will cost you a bit of money, but it will be well worth it for the streamlined workflow that you will have because of it. This streamlined workflow will allow you to have more time doing revenue-generating activities that will help you increase your revenue.