With more people prioritizing their own well-being in terms of flexible working hours as well as their reluctance to work under someone, it is unsurprising that there has been an increase in the number of start-ups globally.
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The idea of seeing their own ideas bloom into something successful has prestige, and people want to call the shots and set their own deadlines while doing something they are passionate about.
Here are the top 5 online tools we think are useful for effective management at any start-up:
1. The Company Website
It’s important for the start-up to have its own website because it allows for personalization as well as the development of its own unique branding. You’d be surprised by the number of businesses who use a Facebook page as a substitute for a company website – it’s tacky!
Having a website also means you get the opportunity to impress consumers with fancy graphic designs, and allows them to manage traffic to the website by using SEO related strategies, with online tools that will be recommended below.
Consumers can also get to know the business at a more personal level when they provide regular updates on what the start-up has planned for the year, and additional information on the relevant industries. For example, if it is a start-up focusing on building forex trading platforms, then links can be provided for consumers to learn to trade or to read up about the latest forex updates.
2. Google Tools
Google has managed to create applications that branch out to various functionalities, ranging from data analytics to simple note-taking.
An even more popular tool that’s often used is Google Analytics, which is used to monitor the company’s website.
It tracks visitor traffic to the website and will allow the start-up to see if they are reaching their intended target audience.
If they are not, Google Analytics can help them take a step back to reflect on their various marketing campaigns and decide on new campaigns.
There’s also Google Trends, which highlights ebbs and flows for search terms to find SEO (Search Engine Optimization) opportunities for relevant content related to the start-up.
When certain keywords related to the start-up are entered into Google Trends, there will be a detailed compilation of statistics showing the monthly search volume of the keywords, as well as other alternative keywords to consider.
Another Google tool that complements this would be Google data studio, which is used to visually track metrics.
They can be congregated into a single dashboard for easy monitoring and reference, which will ultimately also contribute to SEO opportunities.
3. A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) Tool
CRM is important for any business because it allows the maintenance of long-term customer relations, to build a network of a satisfied customer such that they will continue to do business with the start-up. It’s also an essential tool for long-term growth.
An example of an online CRM tool would be Salesforce. It stores information regarding every single client that has interacted with the company, such as every single transaction ever made.
This is an easy tracking of cash flows that do not need much management, which is advantageous for small companies like start-ups.
In addition, Salesforce can be used to send newsletter campaigns to clients, to constantly keep them in the loop on what the company has been up to.
Salesforce is also known for being powered by automation and hence is highly recommended because of its convenience.
4. A Marketing Tool
Most start-ups have to rely largely on their marketing campaigns in the first few years to get their name out in the industry.
Being a start-up would mean that they are essentially a new player, and have to build their consumer network from scratch. Marketing has to be done right in order for a start-up to grow and develop.
An example of a popular online marketing tool would be HubSpot Marketing. This can be used in conjunction with any data analytics tracker for monitoring website traffic. It easily converts website traffic into leads without any coding required, which also means less cost for the start-up as it can easily manage it themselves.
However, HubSpot is used more for B2C marketing, and an alternative for B2B marketing would be Marketo, as it places a much larger emphasis on nurturing leads.
5. A Communication Tool
For start-ups, teamwork is very important, especially since they generally don’t have much manpower at their disposal.
Small-scale operations will mean that everyone constantly needs to be updated with everything that goes on in the company. Because of that, a good communication tool is required for effective communication and constant updating.
Slack is an example of a popular communication tool among start-ups. Conversations can be searched by everyone in the channel, and thus remain accessible to all employees. Conversations can also be divided into sub-channels based on departments, for better organization.
In addition, the conversations are organized in threads, which reduces the chance of side-tracking and helps to keep the focus on the project at hand. Conversations can also be shared with external parties when working with external vendors for a project which allows for easy access to information.
Setting up a start-up can be done by almost anyone, but managing it well for a long period of time is where most challenges are faced.
These are some of the essential tools we recommend to help with the development of start-ups to save cost so that money can be better spent, and to promote easier management of the start-up for new entrepreneurs.
