One of the disadvantages that small businesses often find themselves laboring under is the discrepancy between resources at their disposal and what large corporations have available. National organizations usually have large operating budgets that allow them to conduct extensive market research campaigns and put important commercial software solutions in their hands.
There are more affordable applications and programs tailored to small businesses than ever before, meaning that small business owners who find their companies struggling can benefit tremendously by using some simple and affordable software tools. Here are some that can be a boon for organizations trying to make their mark.
Customer relationship management
One of the most important things that companies must accomplish is to properly engage with their customers. By staying in constant contact with clients, businesses can show how much attention to detail they give to all matters. Customer relationship management (CRM) software is perfect for accomplishing this task. It allows sales professionals to record quite a bit of data about each and every client, which improves the outcomes of every single sales call or interaction. By remembering previous purchases, financial information and crucial preferences, agents can show people that they are accounting for every relevant detail and providing a high level of service.
Enterprise resource planning
Companies that have quite a few resources, raw materials or products that they need to track often devote time and effort to recording and analyzing lists of items that move from one facility to another. Not only does this raise the chances of mistakes being made, it also draws away funds and resources from marketing and outreach programs. By using ERP systems, a company can increase the efficiency with which it deploys goods and provides services and will make it easier to appeal to customers with a high level of service that cannot be denied.
Human resources software
Staffing is a crucial consideration for most companies, especially small businesses. That’s because when budgets are tight and personnel are hard to come by, marketing and advertising are some of the first departments to go without staff members. When the hiring process and compensation methods of a company are automated, there is a good chance that funds and positions can be found for graphic designers, copywriters and other employees who can help to create an effective marketing campaign. Otherwise, promotional materials might not be as effective and professional as they could be.
Accounting applications
Any strategy that helps to save money is a good one. Most organizations use accounting software as a means to trim excess expenditures and bring operations in under budget. However, it can also be used to find more efficient uses of finances. If a manager or supervisor can use accounting reports generated by this kind of software to show executives that a positive return on investment from additional marketing spending is likely, the programs have already paid for themselves.
Business intelligence
Knowing which segments of a market to deploy advertising or promotional materials to can be difficult. One misdirected campaign can burn through a marketing budget quickly and will cause subsequent efforts to suffer. Business intelligence helps to project trends in an industry or for a particular business and gives a tighter focus to advertising efforts for a company of any size. Investments in this kind of application help organizations to divine the future a bit better and promote themselves accordingly.