Today's Technology Promotes Business Success, Growth

“Time is money.” — Benjamin Franklin

Profit is what remains after you pay all your expenses. Pretty obvious. How do you make your business more profitable? That’s straightforward, too — increase revenue, reduce expenses. If only it was that easy.

Leveraging online tools and services is one way to help you trim costs. Time focused on administrative tasks don’t add to your revenue. Focusing on customers and services are the money makers. Online business tools can help you streamline everything in your business from inventory management to social media and assist with tasks beyond your areas of expertise. Here’s a look at some business areas that can benefit from online tools and services. It’s likely that whatever you need, “there’s an app for that.”

There’s always an investment
There are numerous time-saving, online business tools and services to help anything from routine, administrative tasks to developing custom marketing materials. Some are free, others have a free trial period, and others are subscription based with monthly fees. All of them require varying degrees of investment of time to learn and fully utilize. When you’re evaluating an online service solution, consider the long-term advantages and time savings. 

Research, shop around
There are many business-tool options out there and one-size never fits all the needs of every company. Assess your needs and develop criteria. What tasks are the most time consuming and, honestly, which do you dislike doing the most? That’s a good place to start. 
• What’s the ROI? Cost of ownership versus time savings?
• Are there industry-specific solutions?
• How much time and money are you willing to invest?
• Will off-the-shelf work for your business or is customization needed? 

You can start your search for the right tools and services at Capterra (www.capterra.com). On a single site, you’ll be able to research and compare business software in more than 500 categories, and read tens-of-thousands of reviews. Free.

Appointment reminders
It’s costly when technicians arrive and the customer isn’t home. An appointment scheduling and reminder tool can help reduce “no shows.” There are several online tools available that allow PCOs to send appointment-reminder text messages and emails to customers..

Advertising
Advertising can be expensive, but it can be cost effective when it’s digital. Check out Google My Business. You can create a free listing, which includes your phone number, hours, location, and pricing information, as well as photos. They’ll show up when your business appears in the Google search results. A more complete Google My Business listing can also help your website’s overall SEO ranking. Free.

Design
No budget to hire a graphic designer? There are online tools that can help you design business cards, stickers, and other printed marketing materials when placing an order, such as Vistaprint and Moo. 

Canva is a graphic-design tool for websites, blogs, Facebook, flyers, and much more. You’ll have access to templates and millions of photos, graphics, and fonts. Free.

Internal communications
Okay, not across-the-hall “internal communications,” but chatting with your crew across town, state, or country. Stay in touch with Skype, the standard for video conferencing between computers and WiFi-based calling between mobile devices. It may also be the best solution when you need a little face time with vendors or customers who aren’t around the corner. Skype to Skype voice and video calls are — free.

Inventory management
Managing inventory starts at the time of purchase. Univar’s PestWeb Online store allows pest management company owners and managers to keep an eye on purchases, starting with product research. It provides purchasing managers the ability to create pre-approved purchasing lists, purchasing limits, and pre-approval of all orders. After orders are placed, owners and managers can review their purchase history using the PestWeb dashboard. View order history in total, by supplier, or by individual product. All of these features are free for Univar customers.

Online analytics
Ensure your online marketing efforts are paying off. Google Analytics offers a free tool to quickly evaluate what’s working on your website and what’s not. While you’re there, check out all the free analytic tools Google offers — you might be surprised. Free.

Social Media
Social media is a must for every business. Hootsuite allows you to streamline the process and manage multiple social media accounts, schedule posts, manage content, track effectiveness, and measure ROI — all in one place. 30-day free trial.