Embracing digital tools accelerates revenue growth and simplifies daily operations for small businesses.
In today’s fast-paced business landscape, a variety of digital tools can boost business growth. They can help small business owners reach new audiences, collect more data and even handle some of their day-to-day work in an easier, more efficient manner. Yet despite the advantages of digital tools, many small business owners are hesitant to take the digital plunge.
Small business owners often worry about whether digital tools are effective or secure. However, most owners who make the leap do so to increase sales, build brand awareness and reach new customers. Embracing technology allows you to run your business more efficiently, connect with your local community and expand your market to a larger audience.
When exploring digital tools, make sure that they work well for your particular business. Start by establishing clear goals, identifying what information and data you need to collect and deciding how you want to measure and use that data to move your business forward.
Here are online marketing tools small businesses should consider:
Every brand needs a strong online presence to kickstart its growth. A professional website with an easy-to-use content management system (CMS) allows customers to learn about your services, find your contact info, and buy products directly from you at any time. When designing your site, pay attention to the platform’s mobile compatibility and make sure you are using the most effective local SEO terms to help you rank in local searches and reach your target audience. Depending on your need, small business content management systems like WordPress and Squarespace are good places to start. If e-commerce is needed, check out Shopify or Ecwid.
To grow your online sales, you need an easy way to accept payments. The right system lets your customers pay invoices digitally or use their credit cards to buy directly from your website. Direct processors, like Professional Solutions Financial Services, connect your website's shopping cart directly to major card networks. Taking the time to set up secure small business online payment options removes the hassle of checking out, making it much easier for your customers to buy from you.
Billions of people around the world are active users of social media, and your small business should be too. Social media allows you to build brand awareness and let people know who you are while they are scrolling through their newsfeeds. Comments and messaging features allow you to interact directly with your current and potential customers so you can build a personal relationship with them before they even visit your location.
However, keeping up with these platforms can quickly become a time-consuming chore. That is where specialized social media management tools can help. Platforms like Hootsuite and Sprout Social can make this easier by helping you schedule posts and reply to messages in one spot. Many of these tools will also provide data and metrics so you can see how many people are viewing and engaging with your content.
As a small business owner, chances are that accounting and bookkeeping are some of the many tasks on your plate every day. Accounting software like QuickBooks can help you more easily manage your finances, invoice your customers, pay bills, generate reports and much more — so you can better track your profitability and cash flow.
Industry studies show that the vast majority of shoppers begin their search for local products and services online. To get noticed by these nearby customers, it is crucial to claim and optimize your online business listings on platforms like Apple, Google Business Profile, Yelp and Bing.
Make sure your hours of operation, phone number and physical address are consistent across each channel. Keeping this information updated ensures that search engines can trust your data, making it easy to get your small business listed on Google and found by local shoppers when they are ready to buy.
Email marketing is a great way to send special offers, updates and helpful tips directly to your customers' inboxes. It helps your business build trust, drive more visitors to your website and find new customers.
Using an email marketing platform like Campaign Monitor or Mailchimp allows you to send bulk emails to custom lists that are personalized and targeted. It also allows you to track performance so you can see how many emails are being opened and how many users are clicking through to visit your website.
Selecting the right digital marketing tools can help you grow your business, simplify your operations and scale your brand. However, digital growth also requires strong financial tools. Partnering with a dedicated community bank, like Northwest Bank, gives you access to treasury management solutions that secure your cash flow and streamline your operations. Contact a commercial banker or a treasury services representative at Northwest Bank today to learn how our digital banking and treasury services can make managing finances for your small business a breeze.
