US Small Business Administration conducted and stated that there are 30.7 million small businesses which count to be 99% of all the small businesses. Most of these businesses have been severely affected by the COVID 10 pandemic. Almost each of these businesses has been forced to increase their online activities. They also had to make a lot of investments in technology, artificial intelligence, internet security, and customer satisfaction. All these factors have become the new reality of the world.

At the current time, it is observed that almost 50% of the businesses have increased their client interactions over the internet. Such interaction also requires a number of tools and technologies to favour smooth business operations. So we have a list of top tools that a small business must have to enhance its business operations.

Trello: Project Management Tool

Every business, small or big, must have an efficient project management tool. This tool helps the managers to manage resources, assigns projects and tasks, and keep track of all the projects.

In this area, the top-performing tool is Trello. The tool offers a free, flexible, and visual way to manage projects by its users. The tool uses Kanban boards, where within each board, there are cards. Each card represents a task containing a list to track the progress of a project.

The tool is a minimalistic interface that works perfectly to keep all the complex projects in focus. The tool allows its users to create customized boards that can include images, files, links, due dates and other checklists. The tool is easy to understand and use. It is also good for businesses of all sizes offering unlimited personal boards.

NordVPN: Virtual Private Network Application

The Cyber Readiness Report shared by Hiscox revealed that approximately 47% of the small businesses had reported at least one security incident over the past year. This number is likely to increase in the year 2022 and ahead. Therefore, the startups and the small businesses which are concerned about the security of their businesses must install the Virtual Private Network (VPN). This technology is able to hide online activities from hackers and limit the users who can access the network content.

This is said to be one of the most trusted VPN service providers, already having  5 249 servers across 60 countries all over the world. The tool also offers different types of services to choose from for its users. The tool not only adds security to the business it also allows its users to maintain stability and consistency.

accessiBe: Website Accessibility Tool

This is an AI-powered automatic solution provider that makes websites WCAG and ADA compliant. This tool helps users to fully protect their businesses from any kind of fines or lawsuits. The tool is able to convert the inaccessible website into WCAG and ADA compliant websites. The tool also provides a Litigation Support Package to help its users prove their ADA website compliance and guides them through the process.

The tool is extremely simple to install. The users only need to add a single line of the JavaScript code to your website or can even use the Google Tag Manager. The tool is highly customizable and can easily match the user’s website design.

Slack: Team Communication Tool

Slacks are said to be one of the best tools for smooth communication for the team members. This tool helps all the team members to collaborate on a single platform and have a day to day chit chat. The users can create channels dedicated to a task, a project, a team, or a specific client. Slack also offers rich features such as audio and video calling. Additionally, the tool offers seamless integration with other business tools such as Mailchimp and Google Drive.

It is also easy to upload and share files on this platform. These files can be PDF files, Word documents, and other files from Google Drive.

Mailchimp: Email Marketing tool

Mailchimp is said to be one of the top-performing email marketing tools available in the market. The tool offers features such as behavioural targeting, custom templates, and advanced segmentation. Mailchimp is said to be a fully functional marketing platform that offers features such as websites, landing pages, and podcasts.

These services help the users to design and share attractive podcasts with loyal customers, business prospects, or anyone who is interested in their business. The tool has a drag and drop feature that allows the users to create highly professional and branded emails even if they are not skilled designers. The tool also allows the users to send out targeted emails based on user behaviour.

Establishing and running a small business is not an easy task. The activity involves great challenges, critical decision-making skills, and a careful review process that impacts your business. The small business owners thus must work smarter and harder in order to meet all their desired goals. They must also work harder to stay competitive when there is continuous growth in technology. There should be a quick adoption of mobile payments and contactless transactions.

This also means increased use of a number of tools from the very first step, right to the delivery of the product or the services. The tool mentioned above will help small businesses to cover a lot of functions and processes and help them to stay competitive in the market.

Source – Business2community