A thriving business requires numerous areas of digital output. You need a web presence, you need quality graphic design, your computer systems have to run smoothly, and you need people to manage those operations.
Your business might have dozens of these output areas, and all systems have to work together. That’s difficult to manage even if you have an IT team on staff.
When issues arise, there are typically software solutions out there that can help. We’re going to talk about business software solutions today, giving you some examples of common problems and how to fix them. Hopefully, the ideas below can help you work out the kinks in your workflow.
Let’s get started.
Table of Contents
1. Customer Relations Issues
Let’s say that your customer relations aren’t where they need to be. You have access to a lot of customer data but you don’t have a way to channel that data into something meaningful. Lack of organization leads to poor marketing and product selection.
All of your business’ efforts, then, are heading in a direction that doesn’t help sales. On the other end of the process, customer feedback isn’t listened to or recognized in any meaningful way.
What do you do?
CRM Software
Customer relations management (CRM) software addresses all of the issues above. There are options for small businesses all the way to large corporations. You can manage data, receive algorithmic insights, curate customer profiles, produce marketing content, schedule mass emails, and do everything in one place.
2. Disorganized Application Software
Application software is a business software that serves specialized purposes. Most of the software we use every day is application software. Things that professionals use to take care of their job, such as Photoshop or Powerpoint, are examples of application software.
Even though your application software might work well for your needs, it might not fit well into the grand scheme of your business workflow. It might be hard for employees to access the software through your business’ computers, for example.
System Software Updates
The solution to this problem is finding a system software that meets your needs. System software, in contrast to application software, embodies your whole business.
It’s the ground floor upon which other software operates. If you find different system software options that accommodate the day-to-day needs of your employees, you might remove all of that bottleneck and improve your output a great deal.
3. Poor Project Planning
Let’s say that you have a large organization and have to manage the workloads of dozens of people. You’ve got professionals out in the field, people in the office, and higher-ups to adhere to.
All of these individuals are working on the same set of projects. They all do different things every day, however, and none of them are in close contact with one another.
That requires you to plan and execute projects in such a way that everyone is on the same page without having to check in at every step. If you fail, projects bottleneck, clients are unhappy, and the whole operation skips a step before it stumbles.
Project Management Software
Project management software (PMS) allows you to organize all tasks and communication in one interface. You create the outline, employees reference the application, and any questions or concerns run through the platform.
Further, all employees can see the work or progress of all others if you want them to. You can keep everybody in the loop that way. Projects don’t get completed in a lopsided manner and all parties are able to understand the progress.
4. Large-Scale Deficiencies
When an organization is failing, it’s often the case that there are issues with data management. Good data management and resource planning lead to successful businesses.
Everything from the use of copy paper to how executives spend money should be tallied and examined. The same goes for shipping routes, employee protocols, responsibilities, and more.
The process of handling this large-scope responsibility is called Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). It’s a big job, but it’s one of the most important aspects of managing a successful business.
ERP Systems
Enterprise resource planning software is available to facilitate this kind of work. In a lot of cases, though, the process of managing that information requires more than just a software download.
Good ERP resources involve professional help from employees that work for the software service. Take a look at what an IFS ERP system might do for you.
5. Difficulty Getting The Word Out
There’s a lot of buzz about the promise of working hard on your own digital marketing strategy. Because most marketing processes can be done without a professional’s help, people imagine that the work isn’t that time-consuming or significant.
While you can do a lot of digital marketing and SEO work on your own, that doesn’t mean you can do it well. If you’ve ever tried to fire up a website or marketing plan on your own, you know what we mean.
It’s complex.
There are numerous metrics to watch, skills to develop, and hours of the day to carve out to do the work. You need a little help, and there’s a software solution for you.
Content Management Software
CMS is an excellent way to facilitate your content creation and digital marketing efforts. A website is mainly a vessel for marketing and content, so a system that streamlines those practices is endlessly useful.
In most cases, the software comes with access to professionals on the other side. You can work with talented marketing professionals who understand the nuances of digital marketing and can drive real success.
6. Low-Quality Promotional Material
In the spirit of marketing and advertising, it’s fitting that we talk about videos and advertisements.
Anybody with an old camcorder or a cell phone can make a promotional video. The quality of that video, however, will be up in the air.
You could hire professional actors, videographers, and marketing teams galore, but you might not have the budget to do it. Still, you’ll fall behind the competition without compelling advertisements and videos.
Workflow Editing Software
There’s software available that lets you drag and drop different aspects of videos to produce clean, compelling content. The same goes for constructing advertising images.
You don’t need any of the knowledge that you used to in order to create quality videos that customers will enjoy. All you need is the right software to make it extremely easy to piece things together.
You’ll always lose some quality when you avoid the professionals, but the gap between professional work and personal work is a lot slimmer than it once was.
7. Creativity Issues
Software solutions aren’t limited to business bottlenecks. There are numerous personal jams that are benefited by software as well.
Let’s say, for example, that you’re having trouble coming up with an idea for a piece of promotional material. You need to tell a story, and you’re coming up short. You realize how much you slept through literature class in college and you’re kicking yourself.
Creativity Apps
There are apps that work solely to improve your creativity in particular areas. Take Squibler, for example, which helps individuals come up with ideas for storylines in a number of different applications.
You use your original ideas, but the software integrates them into different formats in order to produce new insights.
8. Writing Challenges
Emails and memos are hotbeds of miscommunication.
Employees and executives alike waste hundreds, if not thousands of hours per year drooling over confusing email copy. When you extend all of the written communication your company does in the course of a year, you see just how much time and effort gets wasted.
Artificial Editors
It’s possible to require that all of your employees use software that cleans up their writing. In a lot of cases, that software is free. If you want, you can invest money in company-wide writing software that will significantly improve the quality and clarity of your written communication.
The result? Improved productivity and far less confusion.
9. Storage and Information Management
In a workplace where everyone has different devices, software systems, and methods of communicating, information gets lost.
If there isn’t a streamlined method of communicating and sharing information, you will experience a loss of productivity. You might even lose information or make yourself more vulnerable to data breaches.
Cloud Software
Software like Dropbox, Google Drive, and iCloud all give you the ability to share information in a uniform way. You can also store a significant amount of information on those platforms, often for free.
If you need to scale up, cloud storage is more affordable than buying physical computer memory.
10. Abstract Issues With Clouded Solutions
Generally speaking, there is software to address almost every business issue that a company could have. Employee relations, coding, videography, marketing, writing, thinking, financial management, HR software solutions, and more are all available.
Any time you have a complex issue, ask yourself if there’s an aspect of that issue that could be solved with new software. If you can’t find an answer, you could always ask a software solutions company to find a solution.
Need More Ideas on Software Solutions?
Hopefully, our look at common software solutions was useful to you. There’s a lot more to learn, though. We’re here to help you with more insights into business solutions.
Explore our site for more ideas on technology, customer software solutions, financial management, and a whole lot more.
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