Here are some of my favorite online tools I use almost every day. They help me streamline, keep in touch with my clients, and make my job easier. We thought you might be interested in learning about these helpful tools.
1. Share files and collaborate: Google Drive https://www.google.com/drive
I love using Google Drive, it is free and its uses are endless. I can open a Google Doc or Sheet, share it with colleagues, and they are able to contribute. If you like to collaborate (like I do), it’s one of the best platforms. I store important files that my clients need in the Drive, I can easily share the file and manage who has access. We also use it to collect quality image files, such as logos from our clients so we can easily create co-branded banners and ads. If you have a Google login, then you too can access the wonderful world of the Drive!
2. Text across the world: WhatsApp www.whatsapp.com
WhatsApp is safe and reliable and most importantly for BEYOND, offers end-to-end encryption. Information shared is secure and no one else, not even WhatsApp can read or listen to the communication. The app has a desktop version and can be used on any device. We use it for internal communication and for contacting overseas clients. It is great at capturing video and photos even on a slow network. Sharing documents quickly across the globe is one of our favorite features.
3. Keeping track of our leads and customers: Hubspot www.hubspot.com
Our sales team currently uses the free version of the Hubspot platform. This CRM helps us keep track of emails, contact information, phone conversations and much more. We can even keep a record of how you found us and what kind of gels and accelerators you use. It has a sales function and also a marketing function. When we are ready to upgrade to the paid version all of our data will transfer. It provides activity reports to our Global Marketing Director, Samuel Brooks. It is easy to use and integrates with Outlook and Gmail. All of our sales team can access information from separate logins and manage their own clients and leads.
4. Keeping our clients informed: Mailchimp www.mailchimp.com
We have been having a lot of fun creating interesting and informative emails for our fans. Mailchip allows us to keep in contact with our customers and leads by sending regular emails full of rich content. We can create segmented lists and ongoing campaigns that target specialized markets. We created branded templates and integrated the platform to our ecommerce sight as well as created widgets for our website. The possibilities are endless! And oh, your employees can all have their own login in with various management levels. Have you signed up for OUR email list? Here is the link to the sign up form: http://eepurl.com/c5e5X9
5. Scheduling and posting social media: Buffer www.buffer.com
So Buffer is a personal favorite because I use it every day. It allows me to schedule and post to our social media platforms from one place. We keep up to date on Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkenIn from right here. It also provides us with data like: comments, likes and popular posts so we can see what posts you like the most. It integrates with Pablo (a design software) for quick image creation.There is an app for Iphone and Android phones that integrates with the account so I can manage social media when I am not in the office.
6. Design beautiful branded images: Pablo https://pablo.buffer.com/
I am fortunate to have Yvonne and Krist to design most of my branded images for social media. But when they are swamped or not in the office, I use Pablo. It edits images and allows me to drop in our logo in under 30 seconds! Of course it integrates with Buffer so there is not disconnect between uploading and downloading wonderful social media images!
7. How are we doing? SurveyMonkey www.surveymonkey.com
Sometimes companies are oblivious to how their clients feel about them. We use SuveyMonkey to create surveys to find out how we are doing. Anonymous surveys gives our customers the ability to tell us the truth both good and bad. We use the data to shape and mold our customer service efforts. Our team loves hearing from you and even on the rare occasion that we have not satisfied our customers, we promise to use the feedback it in a positive way 🙂
