There are thousands of online businesses that started as just an idea but transformed into fully-fledged online companies. Every aspiring entrepreneur who wants to start an online business wants to be in a success story category. However, the question remains what tools an entrepreneur requires to start and run their online business smoothly? Hard work and determination are the fuel necessary to run the engine, but that engine will have trouble running effectively without the right tools.
Thankfully, various tools offer affordable payment plans and effective management solutions for first-time online business operators. As a first-time business owner, your goal should be to shoot for eCommerce management tools that do not put a big dent on your wallet and get the job done at the same time. In this article today, we will tell you about seven such tools and software. They are listed as follows:
Webhosting Software
If you are willing to start an online business, creating a website should be on the top of the list of things you require. You may have a choice of free web hosting software. However, these are usually low quality, and you will see that spending a few dollars on a paid web hosting plan can make a huge difference. Depending on the traffic you expect, you may need a different web hosting plan. If you hope to expect a large amount of online traffic, you will be better off getting a hosting plan from a site like Inmotion. It will be expensive, but there will not be any lags due to many online visitors due to the presence of a dedicated server. If you are e small online business, you might be better off with a hosting plan from Siteground. It is easy to use and affordable at around 12 dollars per month.
Inventory Management System
Finding the right tools for managing inventory is crucial for every online business out there. An inventory management system will not only allow you to organize and easily track your existing stock, but it will also reduce unnecessary expenses such as outages and overstocking. It is a centralized inventory management system that ensures that if a product is not in stock on your web page, it automatically updates its status as out of stock. They also offer flexible payment plans, depending on the amount of inventory you currently have.
Customer Communication Tool
Effective customer communication is a necessity for online businesses that want to succeed. There are thousands of ways nowadays to accomplish such a thing. Communication between a customer and a retailer needs to be natural and streamlined. To achieve such a feat, online business owners need to take advantage of communication and engagement tools that offer automated communication through email and texts, provides payment reminders, and allows appointment scheduling.
Fortunately, tools such as Weave and Mailchimp are two tools that allow owners to communicate effectively with their customers and give them customizable features such as automatic synching newsletter and email campaigns and custom landing pages.
Content Management Tool
After getting communications in a web hosting tool in place, now is the time to search for a content management system so that you can manage your online presence. Online business owners need a customizable tool that comes with an array of resources, plugins, and tools to increase their online presence as their business grows.
It is where options such as Squarespace and WordPress can offer them the best bang for their buck. They allow you to manage your online content without the need for any computer coding. While Squarespace comes in at 12 dollars per month, WordPress is a little cheaper at 8 dollars per month.
Bookkeeping Software
Accounting is a necessary part of running a business, whether it be online or physical. Bookkeeping allows you to keep track of all expenditures, such as inventory payments, invoices, and employee payroll. It is crucial if you want your online business to still exist two or three years from today.
Freshbooks is an easy to use accounting software that allows you to handle online payment acceptance, invoices, and monthly expense reports. With a starting payment plan of 6 dollars per month, it is an affordable bookkeeping tool for first-time online business owners.
Social Media Management Software
After starting an online company, you need to market it to the masses if you want your products and services to sell. We all know about social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Linkedin, but how about social management software that allows you to manage all platforms in one place?
Zoho and Hootsuite are two software that allows you to manage your customer engagement and online posts on all social media platforms in one place. They start at 29 and 10 dollars a month, respectively.
Product Shipping Services
A smoothly delivery process for products is a necessity for every online business. Aftership and ShippingEast are two services that allow online companies to ship products to their customers without a hassle.
These services allow users to fulfill deadlines, offer product tracking and notification via texts, and provide them the best shipping rates. However, the best feature about them is that their services are free for an online business with less than 50 shipments per month.
Final Words
As every online business is unique, not every business management tools will work for everybody. As your online presence grows and your operation goes smooth, you will see that your requirements will change. However, the tools we have shared today are a must-have for entrepreneurs just starting in the world of eCommerce.