Conversations around business growth circle around sales numbers. Sell more, earn more. That’s the simple mathematics of business. I’m more interested in internal growth and maturity behind the scenes rather than outward expansion.
A business might gain traction with an audience, but if its internal structure is pure chaos, then no popularity can push the brand to grow. Different departments have to work together seamlessly. A task all the more difficult for smaller outfits that have employees cover numerous roles at the same time.
In my book, it’s essential to strategize on how to improve internal performance and iron out those weak spots in communication to facilitate stress-free, sustainable growth over a longer time.
Why Is It Important to Use Mobile Apps as Part of Your Business?
It’s 2021. We’re in the age of the Internet of Things. You can have meaningful conversations with your fridge now and have your lamps automatically create a moody atmosphere with a clap of your hands. It makes zero sense not to take advantage of the most widespread connectivity there is – that of mobile applications.
The market for apps is thriving. The archetype of the entrepreneur working on a new radical app is already ingrained in pop culture. This means you have a lot of options and thanks to the high level of competition, prices are not as exuberant. Apps are designed for mobile devices so they’re not overly complicated to use and streamline the work process easily.
5 Innovative Apps to Try and Why
Obviously, the number of apps available goes beyond five, but I want to give you the essentials as well as go through five different areas from marketing to accounting and day-to-day business processes. The one thing that unites all five entries is – price, usability and versatility.
In concert, they promise smooth sailing through the fiscal year.
Evernote
I’m team analog – a pen and planner are my preferred modus operandi. Alas, living in a digital era creates specific challenges only a digital alternative can solve. Evernote is considered a simple note-taking application and it certainly hits the mark. You carry everything worth remembering in your smartphone, neatly organized according to your personal system. You might forget to bring your notebook, but you’ll never forget your phone!
But isn’t there a note-taking app on my phone already? What’s so special about Evernote?
Upgrade Evernote to its Business tier and unlock collaborative features. One of the biggest is that you are able to create notebooks with shared access between multiple users. This way Evernote turns into a project management tool, a document repository and knowledge base quite easily.
Inoreader
RSS readers are making a definitive comeback and you can’t tell me otherwise. If you’re not using one already, then you really should. The current advanced generation with Inoreader at the helm reworks how you approach information whether it’s the news, deep research or performing brand monitoring. Inoreader gives you plenty of tools to get the most out of your online reading. You can follow everything from blogs to YouTube channels to Reddit.
Transfer your newsletters, filter out specific feeds to receive only what interests you or create custom in-office newsletters to send out for your team. Inoreader does it all. The discovery mode has been designed with a focus on what the user base reads by promoting the most subscribed feeds. Then there’s the browser extension, which integrates Inoreader with Chrome. You’re able to subscribe more easily and check for new updates without leaving your tab.
Business owners can certainly find much use in the Teams feature, which adds a collaborative element all around and helps on large research-intensive projects.
SurveyMonkey
Inoreader might get you valuable insights through social media listening, yet the best way to get direct answers from your customers is to ask them. Surveys have been foundational in marketing circles since the discipline’s dawn. It’s never been easier to get the job done than today, because you can send them out and your audience is online anyway.
SurveyMonkey is the obvious solution for the job rather than starting from scratch. Affordable and easy to use, this app has been an industry gold standard and there’s a reason it has yet to be fully overshadowed by anything else. You have access to numerous templates as well as the tools to build your own complex surveys.
Branding takes no time. Delivering them to your audience and receiving results has also been made as simple as possible.
Google Workspace
You might recognize Google Workspace by its previous name prior to its rebranding – G Suite. If you are a small company, one way to organize your office at a fraction of the cost is through this service. There are many of the hallmarks you’ve potentially already used: Google Calendar, Gchat, Google Drive and Google Mail.
So what’s so special? Google Workspace integrates all these business apps in a way that facilitates free flow of work. In essence, it’s a one-stop solution for your whole team, which has other perks such as cutting down on distractions. Better performance. No ads in your business email, which is quite nice to experience.
Even better, it’s low priced and at its cheapest, it gives each user 30 GB of online storage, and you have the ability to upgrade.
Expensify
We close this list with an app designed for your accounting needs. No matter how small you are, expenses mount in unforeseen ways – especially if your team has to get involved with running errands, attending professional events and going out on business trips.
Rather than keep having spreadsheets and physical receipts, go digital with Expensify. Scan your receipts and keep them in one centralized location. As a manager, you’re in charge of keeping track of all expenses and Expensify has integration with multiple platforms including linked bank accounts or credit cards. When tax season comes around, you’ll be thankful to have used Expensify.
