One of the biggest strains on businesses is time and studies have found that one in ten SME owners spend less than one hour per week on business growth activities. Taking this into consideration, businesses need to find a way to free up more time so that they can focus on the growth of the business.
In this article, we will look at the different technology that is available to business owners so that you can streamline your processes and make everything more time-efficient.
Zapier
The first tool that any business owner should be using is Zapier. Zapier is a tool that allows you to integrate different apps and automate the process between them. For example, if you wanted to add a form to your website using Mailchimp, you could connect Mailchimp with Google sheets using Zapier so that the data is automatically added to your spreadsheet whenever someone submits a form.
The options with Zapier are endless and I could spend all year discussing the possibilities but to get an understanding of this platform, I recommend experimenting with Zapier and see how you can make it work within your business. There is an integration for everyone and I can guarantee you will save time by setting it up.
Productivity Apps
Using productivity apps such as Trello is a great way to save time if you’re struggling with prioritising and managing tasks. To work more time effectively within your business you will have to start prioritising tasks to ensure that you are contributing your time to the most important aspects of the business. These tasks include; client management, business development and marketing etc. Without these important tasks and goals, moving your business forward is going to be very difficult.
An app such as Trello can help you organise your tasks, set deadlines and assign priorities so that you are always working towards your goals. Trello can also be integrated with other applications that you might already be using such as Teams. Once again, integrations are super simple and they are great for saving you time and improving productivity.
Website
The simplest way to improve time efficiency in your business is through creating a website and building your operations around the site. If you don’t have a website yet, this is something that will have an instant impact.
If you have decided to build your website through WordPress, this is even better because WordPress offers you a huge range of plug-ins that can be used for automation. I can’t tell you the exact plug-ins that you will need because this will depend on your operations and business model, but to give you an example, plug-ins can help you to add fully automated chatbots to your site, automate form submissions and much more. If used correctly, you could automate your entire customer journey helping you to save time when dealing with customers face to face.
Over time, you could start to integrate tools such as Mailchimp so that you then have a full digital sales funnel running through your website. With Mailchimp integrated you can send customers/prospects automatic emails so that they are always engaged. The best part is that you won’t have to do any of the manual work once it is set up.
Summary
There are many different options available to you as a small business owner and I would recommend exploring each of them to see what works best for you.
If you are looking for support around taking your business digital or improving your operations to save time, please contact one of our team.