A lot of people are obsessing over improving their enterprise without actively analyzing what it would take to get there. This is like wanting to improve the house and calling a contractor over and not giving them any directions.
What would it take to improve a home? A new roof? New windows? A new facade? Probably all of the above, and it’s the same principle for improving a business. There are many small things which, when you learn how to do better, your business as a whole will grow.
- Use a good accounting software
A good accounting software is cloud-based, which basically means that you can use it whenever and however you like. You can use it from home or from the office, and as long as you’re careful enough with your cybersecurity, you can easily use it via any device you own.
This is so important because your accounting is always a pressing matter. You’ll often be in a position where you have to file or check something urgently, and having 24/7 access to it can make such a difference.
The fact that this is so easily accessible also means that your remote teams and even teams you’re outsourcing to can easily access it. If you go with top accounting software tools, chances are that they already have experience with these tools.
The biggest advantage of good accounting software is the chance to track your finances in real-time.
Also, this way, you can generate reports and file taxes with a single click. There’s no need for a complex audit process.
- Optimize project management tools
Project management tools give you a single platform to track everything, from small tasks to big milestones. Instead of juggling multiple apps and spreadsheets, everything will be in one place. This will make it easy to assign tasks, set deadlines, and even ensure that nothing falls through the cracks.
Endless email chains are one of the most annoying things, where, even despite the fact that you have a search feature, things just get lost. Well, now you can say goodbye to them, with real-time collaboration, your team can comment, share files, and update tasks on the platform, without having to resort to email communication.
There’s no need to waste time on repetitive tasks when you can automate most of them. With good project management tools, you can automate task assigning, reminder sending, and even update project statuses.
Many projects depend on cross-department information sharing. A project management platform can make some of these things transparent. For example, a marketing person doesn’t have to ask when the article is going to be finished. They can just go to the right tab and see the progress for themselves.
- Improve customer relationship management (CRM)
With a CRM, you can keep a tab on every interaction you have with your customers. This spans from initial inquiries to ongoing support. In a way, this will allow your team to quickly pick up where they left off instead of having to restart the relationship-building process.
Instead of having to set calendar reminders manually, you can let your CRM handle it yourself. It doesn’t matter if it’s time for a follow-up call or a check-in email; when you automate this, you’ll never miss it. When it comes to customer relations, timing is the key. How quickly you respond might determine whether or not you close the sale.
Just think about taking notes on a subject in school but always forgetting your notebook and noting this somewhere else. Even if you are the most careful and concise note-taker in the world, you’re in trouble if it’s not all in the same place. This is one of the biggest and most notable perks of a CRM.
Most modern CRMs come with analytics tools that help you understand your customers better. By examining patterns in customer behavior, you can identify what’s working and what’s not and make data-driven decisions to improve sales, marketing, and overall customer experience.
- Enhance communication systems
Instead of bouncing between email, phone calls, and instant messages, unified communication platforms bring everything together. Keep in mind that you cannot allow your employees to use personal messages (Instagram DMs or Messenger) for business communication, even though these platforms now come with advanced encryption.
We’re not just talking about chatting tools like Slack and Skype either. You want to integrate VoIP and messaging. After all, VoIP (voice-over internet protocol) is a superior alternative to telemarketing, and you would be surprised at how much work still gets done via phone in the modern business world.
In the past, businesses wasted the most time on unnecessary meetings. Then, when the video conferencing revolution arrived, productivity peaked on this end. It doesn’t matter if it’s a team meeting or a call with clients, a video call lets you connect face-to-face without having to leave your desk.
Storing all your communication in the cloud makes it easy to search and retrieve past conversations when needed. This is especially useful for keeping track of important details discussed in meetings or emails. This way, nothing is ever forgotten or lost.
- Streamline supply chain management
One of the most important aspects of your enterprise logistics is the supply chain and its management. In the past, you had to keep track of everything coming in and out of your storage, but today, you can do this digitally.
Think of it like firing from a gun, counting every round in the process. When firing from a gun in a video game, you can see the number of rounds in the chamber (and in total) displayed on your UI somewhere.
Automating your purchase orders can save time and reduce the likelihood of human error. In the past, you had to make an order every time your stock started running low or every time you sold something and wanted to replenish it. Now, this will be done automatically, which will eliminate the likelihood that you’ll ever run out.
By coupling this with AI chatbots in your customer service, both your logistics team and your customers can always get up to date information.
With the help of predictive demand analytics, you’ll be able to anticipate future demand and plan your inventory and supply chain more effectively. This further reduces the risk of running out, but it also minimizes the amount of capital that you’ve tied up in these orders.
Most important but often overlooked is the importance of keeping an eye on your vendors and how well they’re performing. A good system can track metrics like delivery times, quality, and cost. This allows you to quickly address any issues or even switch to a better supplier if you feel like you have to.
Tending to individual aspects of your business improves your business as a whole
Of course, this is far from all you have to improve or upgrade. Boosting your cybersecurity and boosting your HR processes are long-term investments that are difficult to get started with. We chose the above five because we’ve noticed that many people struggle with these basic organizational aspects of business. By eliminating these problems early on, you’re slowly creating the conditions under which your business can grow.
