The vast majority of septic service companies are new, small, or medium-sized businesses. While we have identified processes and business strategies that are necessary for a small septic service company to grow, there are also tools that any small to medium-sized business (SMB) should leverage in the digital age. Most septic service SMBs have a blind spot when it comes to these types of things, but forward-thinking business leaders in the industry can take the lead in their markets by adopting these tools as rapidly as possible.
Here’s our top ten list of digital business tools local-level SMBs need.
10 Digital Business Tools Your Local-Level Septic Company Needs
1. Cyber Security & Cyber Insurance
Everyone needs cyber security, especially businesses. Any person or organization that handles customer payment data cannot do without cyber security insurance. This is because hackers ultimately cannot be stopped forever. If your customers are hacked when making a purchase from you, your business could be held liable. The answer isn’t avoiding online business activity. The answer is to lean into it and invest in strong security.
2. Business Management Software
Business management software (BMS) automates a lot of tedious processes that pull your attention away from the things that you do best. The information age has made it so that outsourcing is cheaper and more profitable than ever. This means outsourcing HR, accounting, payroll, compliance, and more can save you time and money. More importantly, it can save you from making costly mistakes.
3. Sales Portals
Especially after Covid, people expect to be able to do things remotely. A lot of people are still afraid of human contact. Therefore, you can retain a great deal of business by offering them low or no-contact ways to buy your services. Being able to complete a purchase with ease online also removes barriers to conversion that can put you ahead of the competition.
4. Project Management
If you have multiple teams in the field coordinating connected and unconnected jobs, project management software can help to keep them coordinated. It can prevent overlapping routes from reducing efficiency, and it can help you get the right team to the right job the first time.
5. Comms and Collaboration
Making it possible for your home office and field teams to actively communicate and collaborate while looking at the same sets of information is a great way to save time. It can reduce errors, improve customer satisfaction, and give you innumerable ways to solve your customer’s problems as, or before they arise.
6. Web Development
This is one area where septic service SMBs tend to fall behind. If your website is clunky, functions poorly, or looks unprofessional, most customers will move on to the next search result. Good web development helps in many ways, but the first impression customers have of your website is the most important thing a web developer will improve.
7. Online Performance Monitoring
If you take all our advice up to this point, you’ll have some powerful tools to grow your exposure to customers. But to ensure these tools are working optimally, you need to monitor and track their performance. Key performance indicators like website traffic aren’t hard to keep an eye on. It can be done with simple tools. But don’t forget to interpret and restrategize in response to the metrics you get back.
8. CRM
Managing customer relations by the seat of your pants is not necessary. Customer relations management tools can give you automated access to information trails left behind by your customers. You can use this information to improve their experience with your company. In reality, it’s about listening and responding to feedback. CRM tools just make this easier.
9. Video Conferencing Software
This goes back to our point about sales portals. Being able to talk to your customers in real-time using video conferencing can take all the pain and time out of talking in person. Sure, you can do this via smartphone, but it works better with the psychology of customers to have a dedicated online space for video conferencing.
10. Content Marketing
Finally, you need a strong, SEO-optimized content strategy. You need to produce video and/or written content to turn your customers and potential customers into well-informed buyers. This gives them the ability to make the smartest purchase, (which should be from you). More importantly, it instills trust in them.