With thousands of marketing tools available today, knowing which ones you actually need can be difficult, and doing the research to figure it out can be daunting. But this isn’t a reason to back away from them altogether nor is it a good justification to use whatever your competitors are using.
No marketing team is exactly the same, so the tools you decide to use should be picked for a certain business need. This can be anything from increasing team collaboration to tracking campaign performance to managing communication efforts. The following three tools will maximize your small business marketing efforts, allowing you to focus on what matters most.
Table of Contents
1. Customer Relationship Management Tool
Putting your customers first is of the utmost importance. From the moment they land on your website, you want their experience to be seamless. The same goes for your customer service. A new or returning customer who reaches out expects their inquiries to be answered promptly. One way to accomplish this is by using a CRM, or customer relationship management tool.
A CRM allows for small business marketing automation because it inputs new customer information into your system, organizing it so you can follow up when needed. Instead of shuffling through emails, DMs, and random off-the-cuff messages, you can easily search and find the customer you need to respond to. The software allows you to filter and tag customers based on messages. So if you have the same type of complaint happening over and over again, you can go back and refer to it easily.
Because the main goal of a CRM is to improve your relationships with your customers, it can be advantageous for retention. If a client feels like their needs are addressed efficiently, they are more likely to return to your brand for future business. And because you can access all of your customer messages within one platform, you can better identify pain points and address them as needed. Meeting the needs of your customers, after all, is one of the best ways to keep them happy and earn authentic referrals.
2. Project Management Tool
While a CRM helps manage processes externally, a project management tool helps manage them internally. As a small business, you likely have various projects happening at the same time. Perhaps you’re gearing up for a new product launch while also simultaneously thinking about your holiday promotional efforts and strategizing about influencer collaborations. Keeping all of these projects afloat can be challenging, no matter how large your marketing team.
A project management tool can assist in tracking, sorting, and staying on top of deadlines. Anyone on the team can see where a project currently stands and who is working on it. This can help with resource allocation, shifting projects from one teammate who is bogged down to another who has some time to spare. Real-time visibility can enhance communication within the team as well as collaboration.
There are numerous project management tools available to marketers today. Some of the most widely used include Asana, ClickUp, Trello, and Monday.com. All of these platforms have different interfaces and capabilities so choosing a project management tool can seem like a big task. Ask for a demo or trial period to see which one will be the most beneficial, keeping your budget, project size, and overall team needs in mind.
3. Social Media Management Tool
Small businesses can soar overnight thanks to social media. A branded video or an influencer collaboration can go viral in a matter of minutes. But even if you’re not in the virality mode yet, having a social media management tool can ensure you’re staying on top of all your social channels. Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and X, formerly known as Twitter, can help find potential new customers and nurture loyal followers. Staying organized across all of your brand’s social platforms is not only important but necessary for your brand’s success.
The main reason for utilizing a social media tool is to manage your content. With this tool, you can access all of your social channels in one consolidated platform. This lets you plan and schedule posts across these channels in an organized way. This can help with content planning as well as sticking with the social calendar.
As consumers today are expecting more from their favorite brands on social media, there is a growing need to connect with them regularly. With this tool, you can reply to comments and DMs and engage with your community regularly. You can also download reports and analyze which types of content are receiving the most love from your followers. Marketers can use these insights to show up for their community in a way that is most appealing and worthy to them.
Takeaways
While there are countless software tools available to marketers today, these three are a good place to start. They allow you to prioritize your customers, keep up with various projects, and build a strong social following. Whenever you decide to adopt a new tool, be sure that it’s helping you streamline processes as opposed to creating new ones. These tools are intended to make your life easier, so select the ones that will enhance your current workflow.