A wise person once said “You are only as good as your tools.” This saying definitely holds water in the business world, where the right tools can increase productivity and improve efficiency and operating procedures. As a small business owner, you should make sure these clever tools are in your company’s toolkit.
Dropbox: Store Documents on the Cloud
Think of Dropbox as the modern-day equivalent of a filing cabinet, an innovative tool which stores a range of files including images, videos, and text documents. Just like a traditional filing cabinet holds documents in cardboard folders, Dropbox uses virtual folders for easy organization. However, its search tool is probably more efficient than your old filing system!
Dropbox uses cloud technology, so you needn’t worry about your documents taking up space on a hard drive, or what might happen if your hardware fails. Dropbox makes your documents accessible from any device, so it’s ideal for small businesses with remote workers. This tool also makes it easy and more eco-friendly for you to share your files with colleagues, clients, or media outlets.
Best of all, basic Dropbox accounts are completely free to use, so they suit those notoriously tight small business budgets. If you need more space for your files, consider upgrading to Dropbox Pro, which has one terabyte of storage space, or Dropbox for Business.
Sage Payment Solutions: Increase Your Payment Options
More than nine out of ten retailers say their customers want a range of payment options, but many stores are reluctant to invest in the necessary infrastructure. With nearly half of retailers noting increased costs for payment technology in the last 18 months, the expense is a significant barrier to adoption. However, online credit card processing options from Sage require no upfront fees, so they’re a great choice for small businesses.
Sage’s handy tool allows you to accept payments from all major credit and debit cards. It also integrates with your existing accounting or ERP software for easy record keeping.
More than half of retailers haven’t adopted new payment technologies because they’re worried about security, but Sage’s Payment Card Industry certification, PIN transaction security, and merchant validation/certification should give you peace of mind. The Sage team also handles things like loss prevention, charge back assistance, and underwriting in house, so there’s less for your small business team to think about.
bMobilized: Make Your Website Mobile
In 2014, Internet use on mobile devices exceeded browsing from personal computers for the first time. This seismic shift reminded business owners of the importance of making their websites mobile-friendly. If you still haven’t developed a mobile site, bMobilized can make the conversion process easy. It’s already created more than 3.2 million mobile sites, and yours could be next.
Its Automatic Content Analysis promises to make your website mobile-ready in mere minutes. If you’re not comfortable with web design, use an existing mobile web template. Or play around with customizable options to make your site more unique. Once you’re done, bMobilized claims your site will look great on more than 14,000 different smartphones and tablets. A 14-day free trial lets you get a feel for the bMobilized tool before committing.
Wistia: Video Marketing Made Easy
Marketing is crucial to the success of any small business. It’s key for creating awareness and generating buzz and brand loyalty. Seven out of ten marketers say that video offers better conversions than any other marketing medium, so it’s understandable that many small businesses are switching on their cameras.
If you’re entering the world of video marketing, Wistia is an essential tool. It’ll host your videos, add buttons to make them shareable and embeddable to improve their reach, and even turn your videos into Flash and HTML5 versions so they’ll reach more consumers. The video heatmaps are a really intriguing feature, as they’ll show you which parts of each video you post get rewatched, where viewers switch off, and much more. Use this information to constantly improve your video marketing campaigns.
With the tools above at your disposal, you can improve a variety of facets of your small business.
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