Total Decentralization And Outsourcing For Less
With 2020’s emergency, the whole world experienced a shift which forced many to lean on options in the IT realm that aren’t centrally rooted. Cloud computing and mobile apps make it possible to outsource on-site server arrays. Instead of buying hardware and software at a massive cost, businesses instead pay a recurring monthly expense for the services.
When operations have to expand, scaling out is as simple as increasing monthly expenses. Bonus advantages include reduced site-maintenance fees, and the ability to foster a workforce which can be international if that suits a given business model.
As a result, quite a few top-tier tools are available online for free or a cost more affordable than older options are now available. Here we’ll explore several online tools to help optimize your business stack. Whether your operation is small or large, these tools can prove efficient, cost-effective operational enhancers.
1. Slack And Zoom
Slack is a messaging app that makes it easier for businesses to communicate in a secure way across diverse platforms and devices. Slack works on basically everything and is always being updated to provide users with the greatest level of convenience. All sorts of staff using pretty much any modern device can be notified and managed remotely with Slack.
Assignments can be given, questions can be answered, correspondences can be archived, those who shouldn’t have access can be barred from communication, those who need it can be on-boarded. Remember MSN Instant Messenger? This is essentially the next generational iteration of that, with notable improvements and cross-platform compatibility.
2. Field Pulse For Contractors
Many businesses only function with a handful of employees, and the cost of a secretary or other internal management staff person is too high for the value they would bring. This means appointments get lost, paper trails disappear, and other issues happen that are easily avoided with such personnel. Apps exist to surrogate such issues for contractors.
One app that’s an extremely time-saving, cost-managing solution for many contractors is Field Pulse. Features of this app include invoicing, estimates, job scheduling, customer communications, route planning as well as optimization, and varying integrations. This isn’t the only app making such common business tasks more manageable, but it is one of the best.
3. The Surprising Potential of Crazy Egg
So you’re getting site traffic online, but what does that traffic do once it gets on your site? Does it follow the cunningly-devised site layout, or does said traffic simply pause for a few moments before moving on? Is anyone clicking on anything? How do you know?
Well, it turns out there are a few apps for that. Neil Patel lists 22 online business stack apps, among them Crazy Egg. In a nutshell, Crazy Egg lets you monitor the things visitors do once they get on your website.
This can help you optimize design for greatest overall effectiveness. You can eliminate unnecessary aspects of your site and give whichever features of your site your traffic most commonly hovers about, proper attention. When visitors immediately get what they want at your site, they’re more likely to come back.
Designing Your Cutting-Edge Online Business Stack
Quite a few different apps exist which can help an online business move from treading water to making waves, if you’ll pardon the metaphor. Here’s a list of even more business software worth exploring, and designed specifically for online businesses.
Crazy Egg, Field Pulse, and Slack have a lot of value for a lot of businesses, large and small. And they’re not the only apps.
The needs of your particular business are going to shift based on your market, your clientele, and varying branding proclivities as related to customers and economy. To that end, plenty of online apps exist that are totally free, and can do the work of several skilled employees.
