If you become a business owner or CEO, then you need to be prepared for a lot of responsibility. As the chief decision-maker for the company, it is up to you how the business will conduct its operations and achieve success in the future.
This is a heavy burden to bear on your own, which is why the right tools need to be in your back pocket. In 2024, those tools are likely to be found on the Internet. The online world provides plenty of innovations and solutions for business owners and executives to take their companies to the next level. The key is finding the right ones that will fit your business model and make for a smooth transition.
Here are a few online tools that your business should consider adopting in 2024 to keep up with the competition or even gain an edge in your industry.
Time-Tracking Tool
In many circles, time-tracking software comes with a negative connotation, especially for employees. They might associate time-tracking with micromanagement or obtrusive oversight. However, the reality is that many companies that have adopted time-tracking software programs have seen an uptick in productivity. These tools help keep employees focused so that they can get their work done faster. It is also useful when performance review season comes around. Time-tracking tools can also be an opportunity to reward your hardest-working employees, incentivizing the whole team to greater heights when they see how you treat those who work hard.
Client Portal
Personalized experiences are key to attracting and retaining customers in 2024. Many consumers prefer self-service options when interacting with a brand so they do not have to wait for a salesperson to call them back or for another party to respond to their request. For customers to do what they want, you need an online client portal set up. Through this portal, clients can log in and perform various actions themselves, such as viewing billing statements, making payments, purchasing goods, or sending in questions or complaints. A portal for your business will also cut down on the time burden for your employees when interacting with customers.
Doc Sharing
While you can hardly find many businesses that do not take advantage of programs like Google Drive, there are still plenty out there that are missing out on these tools. Document sharing is an important process in many internal operations, and the smoother the process is, the more efficient your company will be. If your company is not taking advantage of an effective document-sharing program, then you are needlessly wasting time. In many cases, these doc-sharing programs integrate smoothly with other online tools like task management programs. Put all this together, and you have a better process for employees to collaborate effectively and quickly on all your projects.
CRM
Keeping track of your customers is key when you are in charge of a growing business. You need to maintain those relationships to build a repeat customer base for the company, and this requires a lot of data and communication between teams. Customer relationship management tools, or CRMs, are the ideal solution if your team is struggling to keep track of client data and outreach. When you use a cloud-based CRM, it can be integrated with larger enterprise resource planning programs with the help of firms like GSI. If your business is not already using a CRM in 2024, then it is time to research the benefits of this online tool.
AI Content Creation
Marketing is an important pillar of every business. Customers need to be communicated with to hear about your company and its products. However, creating great content can be time-consuming and difficult, especially if you already have a small team that is pushed to its capacity. In this case, it may help to focus on artificial intelligence for your content creation needs. Although AI still has a long way to go before it is indistinguishable from human communication, it can be an incredibly efficient producer of basic content. From this process, you can then use your discretion to edit the content until it is consumer-ready. AI can produce some truly incredible work, both visually and textually, so you can significantly cut down on the time burden on your team by using these newer tools.
Choose Tools That Will Mesh With Your Processes
A common mistake that business leaders make is adopting the latest business technology trends, whether they make sense or not. Just because something is new does not mean it will work for your team. Instead, take the time to research the product and see the pros and cons of integrating it into your company. In some cases, your team may not be ready to transition to a complex online tool. Evaluate your current operations to determine if a new online tool would be worth the transition.
