Article Contributed by Josh McAllister
If your company doesn’t adjust routine business tasks and processes periodically, you run the risk of wasteful practices that cut into your margins. You can find many different productivity apps that improve various aspects of business operations, such as project management, communication and collaboration, marketing, and even day-to-day administrative tasks.
Project and Task Management
Apps for project management provide tools that help your internal business initiatives to come in on time and under budget, as smoothly as possible. These apps improve your project planning from start to finish so you can count on meeting your goals. Many project management apps not only let you schedule teams and resources to meet deadlines, but provide forums for teams to review data, ask questions, and share insights.
1. Basecamp
This app allows you to manage multiple projects from a centralized location. All the relevant information, such as lists, comments, meetings, and files can be accessed by team members and stakeholders to review progress.
Basecamp allows you complete visibility. It’s designed as a communications hub providing an overview of the entire business, with separate team sections and project areas accessible from a single screen.
2. Trello
Trello acts as a virtual whiteboard that organizes tasks. This is done through posting notes that outline steps, assign team members, and more. You can attach files, add or delete notes, and create as many boards as you need with automatic updates whenever someone moves a card. Team members can find information at a glance and, best of all, Trello is free.
3. Asana
This app is designed to streamline task and project management by allowing you to create and share lists with your team, such as requirements for materials, task assignments, and more.
Your team members can also hold dialogues, manage attached files and schedules, and monitor progress on reporting dashboards. Asana is simple but efficient; it essentially integrates a range of helpful applications.
4. Evernote
The Evernote app isn’t so much a project management tool as an organizational utility for both individuals and large companies. Evernote is based on a notation principle that lets multiple teams organize and share information or initiate dialogues from a single administrative interface. It’s simple to use, yet provides great features like search tools and synchronization across mobile devices.
Marketing
If you’re able to make lasting connections through social media you can optimize your marketing programs to draw more interest, create brand advocates, and make more sales. Social media tools can help you manage multiple platforms to schedule posts, analyze audiences, collect feedback, and much more.
5. Buffer
Buffer can be very helpful when you’re planning a new campaign or product. It can help you achieve greater reach across social sites without much time and effort. You can take advantage of its analytics to find the best response times for posting content and schedule postings accordingly. Monthly prices are scaled to business size and include a 14-day free trial.
6. Hootsuite
Hootsuite makes it easy to schedule posts to various social platforms using multiple profiles. You can also track and engage conversations about your brand as they are happening. Hootsuite includes statistical analytics and infographics reporting, all from a user-friendly central interface.
7. Mailchimp
Mailchimp has become very well known as a solution for managing email campaigns. It integrates well with major platforms like Facebook to help you build subscriber lists, customize campaigns, and access reports on how your campaign is performing. Mailchimp also provides professional templates, drag-and-drop interfaces, and collaborative tools to focus your team’s efforts.
Administration
Your staff can spend a large part of their day on routine tasks like file backups, meetings, and data updates. Fortunately, there are some good tools to simplify these chores.
8. G Suite
This is the online productivity tool from Google, specifically designed for small businesses. It’s a comprehensive package that includes productivity apps like Gmail, Google Voice, Google Docs, Google Calendar, Google Hangouts, and document sharing on Google Drive. It provides a central admin console for configuring and accessing a powerful collection of cloud-based apps.
9. DropBox
DropBox is a tech company providing a service comparable to Google Drive. It allows companies to store files and documents securely on the cloud. You can add, view, edit, and share media types including video.
You can coordinate designs and data with your team members anytime and from anywhere. DropBox also has the functionality to attach comments to documents and synchronize updates to numerous mobile devices.
Communications
Secure and fast communication among employees is important to success on any business operation. Misunderstandings or missing information can lead to failed initiatives and lost opportunity. Communication is especially important with remote teams and mobile workforces typical of today’s companies.
10. Skype for Business
The Skype for Business app allows end users to make individual or conference calls with video. Visual interaction is important to building team relationships and providing clues you don’t get with text. However, Skype also allows you to send live SMS messages to save time and facilitate easy conversation. Some additional features include screen sharing, secure encryption, file transfers, and integration with Microsoft Office.
In summary, your business could be losing ground if you don’t implement modern tools and technologies to refine processes and promote faster communication. The right tools for improving productivity, leveraging social media, and promoting collaboration between teams will provide advantages to both you and your customers. In a digital marketplace, the right tools can drive rapid company growth.
Author info:
Josh McAllister is a freelance tech writer and business consultant based in New York. In his free time, he enjoys all things geeky and gadgetry, the outdoors, and spending time with his family. You can reach him on Twitter @josh8mcallister