Small, medium-sized businesses and startups should already be investing in digital transformation tools by now. The many technologies available have made it totally feasible for businesses of any sizes to take advantage of the improvements technology can bring to every aspect of businesses.
Digital transformation brings benefits for the efficiency of business internal processes and workflow, customer service and experience, and sometimes the whole solution offered by a business.
According to a previous report by SMB Group, only 16% of businesses in the US don’t have an ongoing digital transformation plan. Which means that if you are still not looking into digital transformation, your business can be far behind and it is time to consider it.
If you own or work for a small, medium-sized business or startup, then here are the greatest tools to start transforming digitally within 2021.
5 Great digital transformation tools for businesses in 2021
1. Improving customer service easily with chatbots
One of the most promising digital transformation tools right now are chatbots. Chatbots are now widely available and they are extremely easy to integrate. No matter how small your business is, you can still get a chatbot running quickly and easily.
Chatbots now go further with improving customer service by enabling customers to buy products directly from the chatbot. They are also easily integrated with any website, Facebook page or WhatsApp account, without costing much.
2. Implementing machine learning with TensorFlow
Google is one of the world leading companies when it comes to artificial intelligence and machine learning. It wants all businesses of all sizes to take advantage of its advancements.
TensorFlow is an integrated machine learning framework. Huge companies like Nvidia, Twitter and Uber are using it. The framework has reduced the complexity of writing machine learning software, while bringing all the needed functionalities, alongside a low level library to be the ultimate tool for machine learning developers.
3. Improving team communication with Slack
Internal communication between your team members is one of the greatest aspects to look for when considering digital transformation. And while there are bigger solutions you can consider that can be developed specifically for your business, you can start with a small tool like Slack.
Slack is a widely known communication application just like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. But with features made for business communications to become more efficient. Slack is available on PCs and smartphones to keep connected with employees at any time.
4. Managing marketing activities with Hootsuite
A workflow automation software can be a great addition to your digital transformation tools. But you can always start small with an off-the-shelf automation tool for managing one aspect. This aspect can be marketing and social media platforms.
Hootsuite is one of the most known marketing management automation tools worldwide. It gets you to know how workflow automation can work. Then offer your business great benefits with saving time, keeping processes managed in one place and reducing missed opportunities.
5. Managing customers and sales with a CRM software
CRM software, both paid and free alternatives, offers many features that can make a great digital transformation start for a small business or startup.
These software allow businesses to manage leads and sales activities in one place, without having to follow traditional processes. This brings many features including generating powerful analytics instantly at any time.
Bottom line
There are many available entry-level tools and technologies to start with digital transformation. And which is more like a necessity currently. From programming technologies to tools that can be integrated in one-day. The list offers great choices that make up great opportunities to start with digital transformation.
Of course these tools are just a start. You can surely invest in an integrated workflow automation software to improve your business process efficiency or develop a customer self-service platform to boost customer satisfaction.
You can also read on your first steps for digital transformation here on our blog, and always come back for more on digital transformation tips.
