Digital Tools for Your Small Business

Digital Tools and Ways to Grow Your Business

In today’s business landscape, there is no shortage of digital tools that can serve as ways to grow your business. 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. Despite the far-reaching capabilities of digital tools, many small business owners are hesitant to get on board.

According to Deloitte’s report, “Connecting Small Businesses in the US,” the most common barriers holding small businesses back from embracing digital tools are thinking that digital tools are not relevant for their business or that they will not be effective for their business, followed by privacy and security concerns. The same report reveals, however, that digitally advanced small businesses achieved the following:

• Earned twice as much revenue per employee.
• Experienced revenue growth over the previous year that was nearly four times as high.
• Were almost three times as likely to be creating jobs over the previous year.
• Had an average employment growth rate that was more than six times as high.
• Were three times as likely to have exported over the previous year.
   

The most common drivers of small business engagement were to increase sales and revenue, promote brand awareness and access new customers in the U.S. Embracing digital tools can allow you to operate your business more efficiently, better connect with your community and expand your market to a larger audience.

What Digital Tools Should You Be Exploring?

When exploring ways to grow your business, it’s important to make sure that the digital tools you are considering will work well for your particular business. You should establish your goals, determine what information and data you want to collect, and decide how you want to measure and utilize that data to drive your business forward.

Here are some of the digital tools you should consider:

Website Builder/CMS for Small Business

A small business content management system (CMS) and website allow customers to learn more about your business, what you offer, and how and when they can reach you; they can even buy products from your business online from wherever they are. Be sure to pay attention to the platform’s mobile compatibility and SEO tools to help you reach your desired 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.

Small Business Payment Processing Options

These programs equip you to accept online payments, whether that’s allowing customers to pay invoices online or actually selling products online and allowing customers to pay with a card. Direct processors, like Professional Solutions Financial Services, have a direct connection to card networks and can link with your payment gateway on your e-commerce platform.

Learn more: Small Business Online Payment Options

Social Media Management Tools

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, helping you build a personal relationship with them before they even visit your location.

It can be exhausting and time-consuming to bounce back and forth between tabs to manage Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts. Social media management tools such as Hootsuite or Sprout Social can make this easier by helping you post updates and manage your social media profiles in one spot. Many of these platforms will also provide data and metrics so you can see how many people are viewing and engaging with your content.

Small Business Accounting Software

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.

Online Business Listings

According to retaildive.com, 87% of shoppers in 2018 begin product searches on digital channels, which is why it’s important for your business to be included in such online listings as Google My Business, Yelp and Bing. Find and claim any online listings for your business and make sure that the details, such as hours of operation and address, are correct and consistent across channels.

Learn more: How to Get Your Small Business Listed on Google

Email Marketing for Small Business

Email marketing for small business enables you to communicate special offers, company updates and other helpful information for existing and prospective customers directly to their inbox. This can help your business gain credibility, increase web traffic and generate leads. Platforms like Campaign Monitor and Mailchimp allow you to send bulk emails to custom lists that are personalized and targeted. They also allow 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.

Choosing the Best Digital Tools for Your Small Business Needs

As you can see, there are many digital tools that provide ways to grow your business, including those that help you manage your finances more easily. 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.