Service-based businesses can benefit from an online presence as much as those that sell products. Research shows that more than two-thirds of shoppers use the Internet to search out a local business, and building your website is the first step.
The next step is using online tools to enhance your website’s presence. Here are some of the most useful tools available to service-based businesses.
1. MailChimp
Email marketing can be used for any business, which means service-based operations as well. It’s one of the best tools for attracting potential customers, encouraging conversions, driving website traffic, retaining customers, and more. Email can also be used to welcome new customers and keep them informed of progress on their service ticket.
MailChimp is an incredibly useful email marketing tool for businesses of all sizes. It helps you curate email lists, create more effective emails, reach a wider audience, and automate your marketing. It puts data to work so you can cater completely to your audience and deliver an excellent experience.
2. Yocale
Inefficient appointment booking systems create a variety of problems for businesses. It takes time to schedule appointments over the phone, and you always run the risk of making mistakes.
It’s better to use an appointment-booking program, like Yocale. This is a free website that can help your customers find you and totally automate the appointment-booking process.
Once you fill out your profile, customers and clients can easily make their appointments. Both you and the client will receive a reminder of the upcoming appointment, and things should run so much smoother as a result of your diligence.
3. ZenDesk
Customer relationships are even more important in service-based businesses than they are in product-based ones. When a potential client asks for a service to be performed, he or she needs to know the person behind it is worthy of trust. This requires a good customer relation management (CRM) software.
ZenDesk is a useful tool for making your excellent customer service stand out. It’s designed to increase speed and efficiency so you can establish yourself as a more reliable business.
By improving your customer relationship, you’ll increase word-of-mouth marketing in your favor. Since two-thirds of customers use the insights of others to make their purchasing decisions, this is a huge point in your favor.
4. Hootsuite
All businesses, no matter what they sell, should use social media to promote customer engagement. The type of social network you use will depend on the type of business you’re in, but you should be using multiple platforms for optimum efficacy.
Hootsuite empowers you to monitor and automate all your interactions across multiple platforms. The firm works for more than 35 global networks so you can plan posts, publish them, share them, and interact on social media.
This program helps you make stronger connections with your customers, which is key in any service-based business.
5. Needls
Digital advertising has grown in prominence over the last decade. It takes your local advertising one step further since more than 85 percent of customers have searched online for local businesses at some point.
Needls is a useful tool to help you automate your digital advertisements. It assists in targeting the right customers and properly optimizing your ads. You can easily create an advertisement within Needls’ framework and use social media data to monitor and promote your outreach.
6. Printful
For brick-and-mortar, location-based businesses, physical marketing is a huge part of your successful self promotion. When you go to community events, it’s useful to have something to represent your company.
Swag gifts can spread the word about your business and endear customers to you. With the help of Printful, you can create the designs for your swag products online. It’s easy to design each product (ranging from pens to coffee cups to tote bags) at a price you can afford. Then … you can have it printed and shipped right to your door.
7. 99Designs
The ability to market a consistent logo is essential for success in business, especially if you’re marketing online. When people recognize the brand, they’re more likely to trust it and make purchases.
