Even though most businesses have moved their operations to the cloud and have gone fully digital, some companies have yet to make the move. While a handful of small business owners prefer managing their business manually, others just don’t know where to start.
While digital transformation sounds complicated, it’s really not. However, it is multi-faceted and requires in-depth planning, which could be why many business owners are stalling.
What is digital transformation?
Box.com, a popular cloud storage platform, explains that digital transformation is more than just a digital technology overhaul – it’s a strategy for streamlining business processes and generating better insights. Box has been helping companies make digital transformations for years by providing a secure, cloud-based file storage and organizational platform. The end result? Less staff turnover, higher levels of productivity, and more revenue for the company.
Digital transformation begins with moving file storage to the cloud, but it’s much more involved. Other elements of a digital transformation include:
- Using tools that provide high levels of visibility across all departments
- Tightening up security at the hardware level in addition to securing the company’s network
- In-depth data analysis
- Optimizing the user experience for remote employees, including employees using mobile devices
- Stronger project collaboration and task management
Collaborating in a digital environment can exponentially improve business outcomes. If you’re looking for tools to help you make your digital transformation, or if you just want to improve your current efforts, check out the following tools.
1. Email marketing automation
While automating things like content creation (article spinning/AI-generated content) is a bad idea, you’ll benefit from automating other marketing tasks. For example, email marketing actually works best when it’s automated.
Marketing automation is an efficient way to nurture your leads. According to data published by Invespcro.com, companies that excel at lead nurturing generate 50% more sales. Those companies are using automation.
With automated email marketing, emails are pre-written and programmed to be delivered to each new subscriber on a schedule. You don’t have to log into your account to send the emails – the entire delivery schedule is automated.
Some of the most popular email marketing tools include:
- Mailchimp
- Infusionsoft and its lighter version called Keap
- Constant Contact
There are pros and cons to each. If you don’t need to send many emails, you can probably use Mailchimp until you grow your business. However, if you’re running a large-scale business with tens of thousands of subscribers, you’ll do better using Infusionsoft.
2. Automated workflow tools
How many times do you create the same tasks each week for your employees? Do you find yourself performing repetitive tasks that require inputting the same information day in and day out? If so, you need automated workflow management tools.
Automated workflow management tools allow you to create conditions that trigger certain actions. For example, you can program software to automatically create a deadline 5 days out and assign it to an entire team each time you create a task.
Depending on the tool you choose, you could automate a large number of tasks that will save you and your team hours each week. Automating repetitive aspects of a workflow also helps to reduce employee frustration and overwhelm.
If you’re not familiar with workflow automation, Kissflow is one of the most popular tools on the market. However, you can find other tools that will get the job done.
3. A customer relationship management (CRM) platform
Your business won’t keep up in your industry without using a CRM to manage your customers, leads, and clients. The level of insight and data you can collect from a CRM far exceeds any manual efforts you can make.
A strong CRM, like Salesforce or Infusionsoft, will collect and segment leads in a database, rate leads on a scale, automate and track where leads are in the sales funnel, and seamlessly integrate with your email marketing program. Some CRMs even come with a built-in shopping cart and software integrations for payment gateways and payment processors.
There’s no way around it – all businesses need a digital CRM if they want to keep up with their competitors.
4. Website tracking tools
Google Analytics isn’t enough. If you want to track more details and have a chance at obtaining those coveted keywords Google likes to hide from webmasters, you need a tool like Matomo. Formerly known as Piwik, Matomo is the ultimate website tracking tool that can be self-hosted for full control.
Why wait? Digital transformation will give you a boost
If your company hasn’t made a digital transformation, there’s no reason to wait. The faster you make the switch, the sooner you’ll see bigger and better results in your business.
