There are too many things to keep track of as a small business owner. What may have started out as an exciting path towards bringing your dreams to life can quickly turn into a nightmare, if you are not prepared and if you lack the proper tools. Fortunately, there are many modern tools available for boosting the growth of small businesses in any niche.

According to a survey conducted jointly in 2013 by FICCI, Google India and Nathan Economic Consulting India, 69 percent of SMEs using the Internet to promote their brand have seen a surge in customer base, 65 percent a rise in profits, 64 percent an surge in sales, 63 percent arise in their geographic reach to customers, and 44 percent a surge in employment records.

Clearly, the process of creating a brand value and effectively marketing products and services has begun for Indian SMEs.

Applying the General-to-Specific modelling on World Bank Enterprise Survey data for 266 economies, this paper models five performance indicators based on 80 potential factors derived from firm characteristics, finance, informality, infrastructure, innovation, technology, regulation, taxes, trade and workforce concerning small and medium enterprises (SMEs). We find that the factors vary regarding statistical significance and magnitude between small and medium enterprises.

Investing in the right software is a great means of providing your business with the support it needs and bolstering the productivity of your existing staff. By learning about how other small businesses are doubling or tripling their productivity through the judicious use of the right software, you can follow in their example. 

Let’s look at some business software that is great for supporting small business growth.

1. Small Business Accounting Software

Most small business owners have lofty goals and big ambitions. You may specialise in bringing these things to life, though most business owners have minimal knowledge of financial fundamentals.

When it comes to bookkeeping and accounting, owners are often at a loss regarding how to keep track of such things, especially as a business starts to grow and you begin to add employees to your roster.

To make the process of accounting easier on yourself, it is a great idea to invest in small business accounting software. This technological tool is great for streamlining the accounting process and for ensuring a high degree of accuracy in your books.

You will be able to quickly adjust to new changes in the tax code when using such software and keep your energies focused on doing what it takes to bring your business to the next level.

2. Email Marketing Software

To grow your business, you will need more customers. More customers can be gleaned in many ways, though one of the most effective is through the use of email marketing. Personalising emails to your customers is a great way of capturing attention and getting people to visit your store, online or otherwise.

However, email marketing can be tedious and time-consuming. Taking the time to email prospects can also be discouraging if you cannot seem to send out enough messages to make it worth the effort. With email marketing software, however, you are able to automate much of the email marketing process.

You can create lists based on the automatic collection of visitor data and send automated messages to pre-identified segments of your market. All of this combines to make a highly powerful software package that will prime your business for growth. 

3. Inventory Management Software

Being able to fulfil the demands of your customers is one of the most important factors in a business’s ability to continually grow. Without having an organised and consistent means of keeping track of what you have to offer, however, you will be at a loss to keep up with a surge in growth.

Inventory management software takes much of the pain out of the inventory management process. Especially if you have multiple brick-and-mortar stores, in addition to an online eCommerce website, you will need to have real-time information regarding what you have in stock. Make the investment to stay ahead of your competition.

4. Content Marketing Software

Content Marketing is one of the most popular ways to promote your products and services. And if done in the right way, it can help you increase brand awareness and profit.

With the plenty of methods available to catch the attention of your target audience, the most efficient way among them is through the use of content.

By educating your target audience about your products and services, rather than relying on ads or aggressive sales pitches, you can build your brand’s credibility, trust, increase more leads and conversions.

Either way, planning your content can be more complicated than it seems. And this is why many businesses rely on content marketing software to unravel the process. 

5. Social Media Marketing Software

According to Search Engine Land , “Social media marketing refers to the process of gaining traffic or attention through social media sites.” Nowadays, most businesses engage in some form of social media marketing.
Over the outer years, a lot of companies have unhitched tools, apps and other forms of social media marketing software.

Social media can be a huge time suck, and anything that can free up valuable time for a firm’s employees must be of merit. Good social media tools help you find more relevant content to share. You can use them to schedule posts at the right time, as well as track the effectiveness of your campaigns. What’s more, they give actionable insights you can use to improve your social presence.

6. Upgrade Your Systems

Sometimes all it takes to succeed is the right tool in the right hands. You will be providing your business with the right tools if you upgrade your systems to feature some or all of these software options.

For best results, automate as many of the day-to-day processes involved in your business to spend the bulk of your efforts on higher-level concepts and boosting growth.

However, there is a growing understanding among Indian SMEs exhibiting a vigorous entrepreneurial spirit, that marketing and an effective brand strategy can wake up the revenue cycle and increase sales. Brand recognition is the keystone of any affluent business.

While multinationals see branding as an essential part of their business plans, Small and Medium Enterprises, which operate on inadequate budgets, often stand at a tough crossroads when marketing and brand building is concerned.

Author: Suzanne Elly

Subscribe to weekly updates

You’ll also receive some of our best posts today