4 Reasons Why Digital Tools Are Crucial to Running a Business
Running a business involves many resources. Most people quickly think about time, money, and staff. However, digital tools are also an important resource for many small businesses.
Many businesses use digital tools to help them achieve better results. These tools can help with productivity and sales, two vital metrics for any business.
Some small businesses struggle to function properly without their digital tools. These tools can provide you with more capabilities than you'd get without them.
We'll share some of the reasons why you should consider adopting digital tools for your small business and how to help protect your business while using these tools.
1. Digital Tools Can Help Save Time
Time is one of your most vital resources as a business owner. Sometimes mundane tasks need to be completed in order to keep your business running.
Digital tools could save you time by helping to complete some of these tasks faster so you can focus more of your time and attention on other areas of your business.
One mundane task is scheduling appointments via email. You can ask a prospect what times work for them or suggest times to them. Then, the prospect follows up based on your suggestion.
Digital tools such as scheduling calendars can help save you time and reduce the number of emails in your inbox. Instead of volleying emails back and forth, you can send a link to your scheduler.
Your scheduler can lay out your availability. The prospect can pick a date on your calendar and schedule the appointment.
You will then receive an email confirming the prospect scheduled an appointment. This feature can help save you valuable time while also reducing cracks in your sales funnel.
2. Digital Tools Can Help Save Money
In our example with the online scheduler, there is another option to consider before choosing to use an online tool.
You could hire someone to respond to your emails. You can share your availability with an employee. They can manage your schedule and relay your availability to potential prospects.
However, with hiring someone comes an additional expense for your business. Instead of hiring someone, you can invest in a digital tool. You can use the saved money to hire an employee for a different role or to use the money to cover other business costs.
3. Digital Tools Can Help Grow Your Business
Many small businesses rely on digital tools to reach new customers. Some digital tools can help you find new prospects based on various criteria.
For example, you can search for leads on LinkedIn or run online ads to scale your efforts. Various tools can also allow you to optimize your efforts on these fronts or capitalize on existing growth opportunities.
Social media scheduling software enables you to plan out your content. It can allow small businesses to schedule their social media posts weeks in advance.
Without these tools, an employee would have to schedule posts manually in real-time. Some businesses may forget to publish he posts. Forgetting to publish posts could limit your social media growth.
Having a social media scheduling tool can help to fix this problem. Businesses should not just limit themselves to these scheduling tools. They can incorporate many digital tools to potentially reach more prospects.
4. Digital Tools Can Help Manage Tasks
When you run a business, you most likely have many tasks. You'll assign some tasks to your staff and manage others on your own.
Digital tools like management software or workflow tools can help ensure everyone remains on the same page. These tools can let you add team members and assign tasks.
Team members can monitor progress across all tasks. This can help identify each step of the journey and can detect if assistance is needed if a task is not moving forward.
Get Protection for Your Digital Tools
Many small businesses have realized the power of a digital presence. Unfortunately, hackers discovered this strength as well.
A single cyber attack could hurt a small business. If your company gets hacked, customers might not trust you. It could take a long time to rebuild your reputation.
Many companies practice inadequate cybersecurity protocols. They leave the door wide open for savvy hackers.
You would never intentionally leave the office door unlocked late at night. You shouldn't do that with your digital presence, either.
It's best to prepare for a cyberattack before getting hacked. A cyber insurance policy could provide an extra layer of security to help protect your business if it is impacted from a cyberattack.
Cyber insurance could cover expenses related to a cyber-attack such as the following:
- Legal expenses
- The cost of notifying impacted customers
- Expenses to investigate computer systems to help determine the cause and extent of damage
These expenses could cause financial issues for some businesses without insurance. Having the right insurance policy can help reduce this risk if disaster strikes. A BOP from PolicySweet® includes cyber-risk coverage along with general liability and property coverages to help protect your business against several liabilities it could face.
Running A Business Requires The Right Resources
Running a business isn't easy. However, digital tools can help reduce the challenging aspects of a small business.
Digital tools can provide greater efficiency. If you want to be protected, your business should consider insurance.
PolicySweet can help set you up with insurance policies that fit your company's needs. Get in touch for a free quote today.