With a million and one things to do, it is in the best interest of the small business owner to automate operations and save time where possible. Identifying and using tools to automate repetitive tasks can improve efficiency and streamline operations. No coding tools like Zapier allow business owners to automate processes without needing to write code, making it accessible to improve efficiency and drive growth. However, with cash flow and expenses in tight balance, making thousands of dollars automatically is impossible. This is where free automation tools come into play.
How To Build Your Small Business For Free
Check out the following ways to automate your small business for free.
Automate Marketing Efforts
Bring your small business marketing campaigns to life with Leadsuis. Cited as the world’s first free marketing platform, small businesses can use the free version of Leadsuis to create landing pages, emails, reporting, web analytics and more.
Integrating Leadsuis with an email marketing platform can simplify the process of adding subscribers and managing email campaigns.
File Sharing and Document Collaboration
Avoid endless emails and thus save time and effort with Google Docs. With Google Docs files are shared in your Google Drive and can be easily accessed among team mates. You can also create and organize important documents easily with Google Docs.
Hold Remote Meetings Effectively
Create a free account with Join.Me and start holding free meetings with team members and clients remotely with this conferencing solution tool. By hosting meetings online, a ton of time, money and effort is saved by avoiding scheduling face-to-face meetings.
Automate invoicing requirements
Invoice is a free, powerful invoicing platform that tens of thousands of small businesses use to take care of their invoicing needs easily, securely and without costing anything. You can also track time, cost, distance and other invoiced activities.
Project Management and more
Take care of your business’s project management needs with Apptivo, a suite of small business management applications that handle project management, collaboration, time sheets and expense reports. With Apptivo you can also manage CRM, including tracking the entire sales process.
Submit and recycle blogs with a WordPress plugin
Use Revive Social, a WordPress plugin, to post and repost your blog articles regularly, to ensure you get the most out of your written content.
Manage Business Finances with Online Accounting
Brightbook is a great solution for small businesses looking for an online accounting system without the large costs often associated with such platforms. With Brightbook you can create invoices, upload bills and get paid online quickly, securely and for free.
Generate Leads with Free Email Automation
Send 400 emails per month designed to generate leads and create more sales, with the free version of SalesAutoPilot. Businesses can access the platform for free by requesting a free trial account.
Automate Social Media Posts
Posting on social media is time consuming but necessary if you want to increase your business reach and customer engagement. Recurpost offers robust social media management features that automate posting and improve engagement. It can also distribute regular blog posts to social media feeds.
Plan, Track, and Grow Leads and Customers through Customer Relationship Management
HubSpot CRM provides everything your business needs to plan, track, and grow leads and customers for free. This powerful, free CRM has everything you need to build relationships with your customers.
Customize emails
Designed to simplify emails, Thunderbird is an email app that’s easy to set up and customize. You can personalize email addresses to make your business look professional in no time with Thunderbird.
Configure Remote Connection
Slack is one tool to streamline communication for small business owners and their teams. With the free version of the platform, you can search up to 10,000 messages and have 1 to 1 video calls, making long distance communication easier.
Find Apps and Devices that Talk to Each Other
IFTTT helps you create a more connected business by synchronizing all your apps and devices so they connect seamlessly for free!
Improve Social Media Engagement
Register your business using Hootsuite’s free plan, and you can benefit from support for up to three social media profiles and two campaigns for individual users. By automating social media work, Hootsuite can help increase social media engagement across more than 35 global networks.
Organize Regular Reports on Key Metrics
EBSuite provides marketing, sales and customer support in one place, including CRM integration and project management. You can schedule hourly, daily or weekly reports based on the metrics most important to your business. EBSuite offers a free 30-day trial for businesses.
Create POS and loyalty program solutions
If you run a small shop, a beauty salonor other small business, Loyverse can to give you the help you need. This POS solution and loyalty program includes inventory management. This free POS tool is available on iTunes and Google Play app stores.
Integrate Sales Process Data from Various Channels
Sellsy allows you to aggregate sales process data from various channels, such as online, POS, and in-store sales. You can try the platform with a free 7-day trial.
Simplify Task Management
Save time, stress, and effort by simplifying tasks with Asana, a task automation tool that simplifies and automates task management. This free task management solution allows you to create repetitive tasks and assign them to team members.
Integrate Production and Distribution Processes
Save your business time and money by integrating all manufacturing and distribution processes into xTuple, a single business system created for simplicity. This free open source ERP solution with an integrated CRM system is designed, in particular, for businesses that manufacture products.
Track Correspondence and Email Schedule
Save your business time and frustration by keeping track of correspondence and organizing emails with MixMax, a powerful browser plugin. The free version is limited to 100 follow-up emails and ten scheduled emails per month.
If you know of any free automation tools and services for small businesses, share them in the comments section.
CRM Automation
Customer relationship management (CRM) automation is changing the game for small businesses looking to streamline their processes and improve customer engagement. By using CRM automation tools, small businesses can perform tasks such as lead scoring, contact management, and sales forecasting. This not only increases the productivity of your sales team but also ensures that your customer data is properly managed, allowing for a more personalized customer experience. Popular CRM automation tools like HubSpot, Salesforce, and Zoho offer robust features that can greatly improve your business automation efforts without breaking the bank.
Customer Support and Automated Onboarding
Providing exceptional customer support and a smooth onboarding process is essential for small businesses aiming to retain customers and reduce support inquiries. Automation tools can help with scheduling tasks like ticketing, chatbots, and database management. Onboarding automation ensures that new customers are active and fast, which improves their overall experience. By automating these processes, small businesses can improve customer satisfaction and retention rates. Tools like Zendesk, Freshdesk, and Intercom are popular options for automating customer support and onboarding, making it easy to manage customer interactions and support tickets efficiently.
IE-commerce and Order Management Automation
For small businesses that use online stores, e-commerce and automated order management can be a lifesaver. These automation tools help streamline operations by automating tasks such as order tracking, inventory management, and shipping integration. This not only improves the order fulfillment process but also improves the customer experience, reducing cart abandonment rates. By automating these processes, small businesses can reduce errors and improve efficiency. Popular ecommerce and order management tools include Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce, which offer comprehensive solutions to seamlessly manage your online store.
Password Management and Security Automation
In today’s digital age, internet security is very important for small businesses. Password management and security automation tools can help improve your business’s cybersecurity posture by performing tasks such as password generation, storage, and access control. These tools ensure that your passwords are secure and reduce the risk of password-related breaches. Additionally, security automation can improve your incident response capabilities, helping you mitigate cyber threats more effectively. Popular password management and security tools like LastPass, 1Password, and Dashlane offer robust features to keep your business data secure and reduce the risk of cyber attacks.
If you know of any free automation tools and services for small businesses, share them in the comments section.
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