What's Needed at the StartUp

5 min read

We recently surveyed small business owners and asked what software they needed and how it helped them in the early days. A few of them subscribed to what was the cheapest, the easiest to figure out and what looks the best. These factors may seem shallow, but for a start-up business, these are important.  

Further in that survey, we asked them what they subscribed to and how these platforms worked for them. 

1. CRM is gold. Contact details for suppliers, clients and potential clients are vital.  Emails are more sought after than gold these days. We might as well call it the “Email Rush”. Sadly the act of rolling the Rolodex on desks would cut it anymore. CRM has been around for years, and it has expanded its functionality. Not only to store names and email addresses but also to document client journeys, tags and reporting.  

2. Email marketing. Besides social media, email marketing is still one of the most effective marketing strategies out there to date.  May it be an introduction, a promotion, or reminding your clients about your offering and include a link to the landing page/website. Email marketing is the new way of keeping those connections and ensuring consistent communication. Done right, emails convert to sales. 

3. Landing page/website. When you start promoting the business, you want your potential clients to have somewhere to go.  A shopfront isn't necessary to start a business, but having a landing page/website is as good as bricks and mortar. You can create the vibe and use imagery to get your brand message across. 

 It didn’t stop there, we discussed what else was frustrating for these business owners. Though these subscriptions may be cheap, they still add up to being quite an expense every month. That's where it hits them the most. This moment is called subscription shock and they have given a few tips and tricks to avoid this.

Conduct a software health check. Is what you are currently using a healthy option for your business? Does it give you peace of mind as you use it for sections in your business? If it’s making you feel unsure due to not being able to provide confidence in your business, maybe it is time to rethink the subscription. 

Conduct a software subscription cost check. Each platform you subscribe to is taken out from your business expenses. For example, if your email marketing costs $250/month, are you utilising and getting returns at a minimum of $250/month? If not, maybe it’s time to look at other options that would suit your business activities. 

Are you finding it easy to understand and use? The last thing you want is to feel frustrated with the platform you have subscribed to. There are a lot of snazzy platforms out there that require you to watch countless hours of video tutorials.  For a person learning the ropes in the business, this is time-consuming and gets frustrating. Jargons and the ever confusing navigation to fulfil a task can be too much at one point. If you are experiencing this, maybe it is time to look for another platform that you are confident to use so productivity and ease and not frustration is part of your business experience. 

 It’s a series of trial and error in the world of software subscriptions but it can be solved. You are able to climb out of that endless abyss of platforms you have subscribed to over the years and utilise the ones that serve your business.  At Dashboard Online we invite you to come and speak to us about conducting software health check, costs check and productivity measures for your business when it comes to your software subscriptions. There is a resolution to the subscription shock and once you get through the wall you are able to focus and move forward with your mission to change lives.