The pandemic has brought a large amount of uncertainty to the business world, with some industries still managing to stay afloat, while others are currently closed for business. A recent survey found that online operations such as digital TV orders and video on demand saw a 174% year-on-year increase following distancing measures, showing that some sectors are booming.
With the lockdown set to continue, businesses are pivoting to continue to operate during these times. With this in mind, for those needing some inspiration, Claire Brumby, a qualified and accredited Business Coach, offers some advice on top tech tools to help businesses adapt:
Create a business successfully online
As consumers move online it’s important that businesses have a fully functioning and easy to use website. A recent study found that the UK’s internet usage has roughly doubled as we take our lives online during lockdown.
Wix.com offers a range of free and paid-for features to help create and manage an online business. This includes sales and marketing, video and audio, plus hosting and invoicing. It also offers a range of website optimisation features such as content management, analytics and mobile optimisation. For those that need to grow their online business, there are tools to help with capturing leads, content marketing, driving sales and growing customer loyalty.
Use email marketing to your advantage
During social distancing, businesses need to invest in new ways to market to their customers. Email marketing is an integral way to reach consumers during this time, whether it be promoting new products and services or updating your customer base on any changes being made to the business.
MailChimp is an all-in-one email marketing platform that allows you to set up and send out a number of different email marketing campaigns all from one place. Upload your customer data, design and schedule send-outs and see analytics all in-platform, allowing for easy monitoring of campaigns.
Manage workflows easily
While working remotely it can prove to be difficult for employers to have full sight of what their staff are working on. TRELLO is a digital workflow manager allowing for a full view of task progression through a digital work board. The online platform allows managers to assign tasks to different employees along with functionality for members of the team to add notes, feedback and mark when tasks have been completed. There is also options to add due dates for each stage of task progression helping ensure employees complete their tasks in a timely manner.
Business banking made easy
As we move our businesses online it can be helpful for our finances to follow suit. CountingUp is a business banking app that aims to take the hassle out of corporate finances. Whether you’re a freelancer, sole trader or limited business, this app enables you to manage invoices, run financial admin, automated banking and provide real insights into your business finances all in one place.
During COVID-19, small businesses will be looking into what additional support they can receive. CountingUp has launched a free Coronavirus grant calculator for self-employed sole traders who would likely be eligible to apply for upcoming self-employment income support schemes.
Streamline your social presence
A recent report found that 45% of global consumers are now spending more time on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic . As your customer base moves to become more digital, your company will need to follow suit. Sales Force Social Studio is an online CRM resource built to help you manage all your business’ social media in one place. Their integrated system allows for publishing, engagement and reporting all in platform making it easy to keep on top of your social presence.
While users take more of their conversations online it can also be harder for businesses to gauge the public’s sentiment around their brand. This resource also has an easy to use social listening tool allowing businesses to scan public facing social media posts to gain insight around the sentiment and type of conversations consumers are having about your business including keywords, location and frequency of conversation
