Small Business Tech Stack #1: Communication & Efficiency Tools
January 26, 2024
CONSUME CREATIVELY
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This blog is part of a series about business technology solutions. Additional blogs cover marketing and cybersecurity and business management tools.
Embracing technology helps a small business be more efficient while holding true to values and customer expectations. From communication to security, finding your perfect tech to help you meet your business goals and vision takes some trial and error.
But what does your tech stack have to do with marketing with purpose?
Umm…everything?
At MayeCreate we solve communication problems through technology, building on the foundation of a solid website. Because that’s where most customer relationships start. According to GE Capital Retail Bank’s Shopper Study, 81% of shoppers conduct online research before buying.
But customer experience goes so much deeper than just the initial impression of an awesome website. You need the right technology to back it up, streamline communication, sail through the fulfillment process and boost referral business.
Using technology allows us to more efficiently and effectively deliver on our clients expectations and create time for ourselves.
That’s what tech does for you.
No one understands this better than the team at MayeCreate, which is why I pulled together my team of fellow tech lovers and implementers to have a discussion about building a tech stack to help small businesses.
Stacy Brockmeier
CFO and New Business Development Officer
MayeCreate Design
Travis Schumacher
Co-Owner and Tech Master
Tranquility Internet Services
Monica Pitts
Chief Creative Officer
MayeCreate Design
Implementing the perfect tech stack for your business starts just like every other stinkin’ thing in business with a strategic session of goal setting and homework.
Determine Your Communication and Efficiency Tech Goals and Needs
When adding any technology to your small business, it’s critical that the tools align with your business, objectives and goals.
Technology is a wonderful thing, but only if your employees, team members and customers are going to be willing and able to use it.
Consider your audience and make sure the tools and your audience’s ability to use them are in sync.
Stacy does most of this leg work for our company and some for our clients too. She says, “Every business has to define their specific goals and find what is going to make their business run better. At MayeCreate, for example, one of my main goals is efficiency, because we have a small staff who are trying to do a lot of things.”
When beginning her search for a new tech solution, Stacy asks herself and her team the following questions:
Once she sees which tasks the MayeCreate team might be able to get help from technology with, she starts looking for the right tool to help.
Small Business Communication and Collaboration Tools
There are five categories for communication and collaboration tools we feel like every small business needs:
Email services and productivity suites
Project management systems
Collaboration and communication platforms
VoIP (voice over internet protocol) phone systems
Storage solutions
Some of these are sold in a package while others are sold separately, you can mix match and marry to your heart’s content but at the end of the day you’ll need a solution for all 5 categories to make sure you have a strong communication and collaboration tech stack.
Email Services and Productivity Suites
Travis Recs: Google Workspace and Microsoft 365
Your email service is most likely key to your business communication in many ways. Many of these email services include or offer productivity suites as well. In fact, you may already be using a productivity suite without really realizing it!
A productivity suite includes additional tools like a word processor, spreadsheet creator, design/drawing capabilities, presentation maker and so on.
“You don’t have to use all the services that come along with a productivity suite, but you get them anyway,” explains Travis. “So when you’re ready, you can be adventurous, explore and see how you can bring those different tools that are within the productivity suite into your business.”
Good news for nonprofits – Travis says you can get Google Workspace for free though TechSoup. And Microsoft 365 offers discounts and grants as well. And we’ve seen people use these suites to organize and streamline nearly every aspect of their organizations. From board collaboration to tracking donors to planning events.
Learn all about the ins and outs of Google Workspace in this interview with Travis.
Upgrading is a team sport.
Been thinking about making the switch to a cloud based productivity suite for a while but the looming doom of switching everything over is holding you back from pulling the trigger? Just know there are tech folks like Travis all over the country who specialize in this kind of thing. They plan out the migration, move the data and even train you how to use the new system.
Project Management Systems
MayeCreate Recs: ActiveCollab, AirTable, Trello, Milanote, Google Docs
We dive into these systems in our third blog/podcast of the tech stack series dedicated to business management tools.
A project management system organizes workflow.
If you’re running a team of people, having a way to collaborate — even if it is a Google sheet to let you know where everything’s at or some type of project management system is clutch.
Your project management system is a cornerstone of your tech stack and has a huge impact on the efficiency and communication of your team and fulfillment processes. Your system can range from a simple spreadsheet that tracks status of a project to a full blown system that includes all the information, history, reviews, communications and details about a project.
My tech gurus and I all agree, there’s no shame in starting simple.
Even if your project management system is just a spreadsheet with links to documents you’re on your way to fine tuning your processes AND you’re also learning what you want from a more robust system in the future.
Aaaaand as much as I want to, I’m not going to jump into the deep end on Project Management systems in this article. It deserves way more than a two paragraph shout out. So if you want to know more about project management systems, including our recommendations, check out the third blog and podcast in the Small Business Tech Stack series.
Collaboration and Communication Platforms
Travis Recs: RingCentral, Google Chat and Microsoft Teams
Both MayeCreate and Tranquility have team members working and collaborating from all over the place. But even when we were all in the office we still needed various options to communicate with one another. And sometimes we need different tools to communicate with clients.
Chat tools, such as Slack and Microsoft Teams, can help team members communicate more instantaneously than over email. These tools often include video meeting options so team members can have online meetings, share screens, send files and so on. Employees can also create subgroups for their chats, allowing them to reach just the people they need.
The MayeCreate team uses a pro version of Loom to communicate visual revisions with team members and explain details to clients via video. It not only saves hours of typing, it communicates the message more personally and effectively.
VoIP (Voice over internet protocol) Phone System
Travis Recs: RingCentral and GoTo Connect
Especially if you’re starting a new business, a VoIP system can make a huge difference. Instead of using analog phone lines, a VoIP system sends calls through the internet. This allows businesses to take calls through computers or through an app on their personal cell phones, eliminating the need for juggling multiple numbers or giving out your personal number for business purposes. Some VoIP systems also include fax, text and video conferencing capabilities.
People will ask me for our fax number, and when I tell them ‘573-447-1836’, they respond, ‘But that’s your phone number.’ And I have to explain, ‘That’s everything. You can text it too.’ Even voice messages are just delivered as audio files via email.
There are a number of VoIP providers out there and service packages galore. We’ve always used RingCentral per Travis’s recommendation, he also sets up Go To Connect for clients with specific needs. The right one will integrate with your other systems to keep clients and staff members connected efficiently.
Storage
MayeCreate Recs: Google Drive and DropBox
Travis Recs: OneDrive
Back in the day we had an internal server to house all of our project files in the office. A cutting edge solution at the time (compliments of Travis and his team). The inhouse system was awesome but also required a lot of expertise to keep running AND was clunky to access from afar. So as our team became more remote we transitioned to Google Drive as our storage system.
Cloud based storage for the win.
Google Drive was ideal for our team because it’s cloud based. And cloud based storage automatically backs up files (get more on data security and backups in the second Tech Stack blog/podcast) and gives you a place to share files. Plus we don’t need a team of tech humans to maintain the system, Google takes care of that.
Not only does this type of storage offer places for large files that may not be transferable over email, but it also provides a place to store files so everyone can access them.
“Cloud based storage is basically a file server,” explains Travis. “You can have your own personal storage. And then you can have shared team storage where it’s owned by and accessible by the team, not just one individual. So if an employee leaves, that person’s stuff isn’t getting lost because it’s in the shared drive.”
Another benefit of cloud based storage is some tools allow you to share with people outside of your business. So, if you need to share large files or get large files from a client, a cloud based storage system can help you do that.
Small Business Efficiency Tools
Business owners know that time is money.
By implementing technology tools to improve efficiency, you save time and energy to do the things you really want to be doing in your business. Here’s a quick list of our favorite efficiency tools, but these just scratch the surface of technological opportunities to save time.
Efficient Workstations
I geeked out hard about the importance of a good workstation in my Costa Rica work abroad recap. So it will come as no surprise that my permanent workstation is equally as important to me.
You’re at your computer a lot. So make sure it’s working efficiently too. You’ll want to have an updated processor with enough RAM to run the programs you need.
One monitor is NOT enough.
Many computer users find a second monitor is extremely helpful in improving their computer working experience. If you’re going to add another monitor, make sure your computer has the ability to support it correctly so you’re using it not fighting it.
For more on workstations listen to my interview with Jamie Cote about picking the right computer for your marketing.
Gmail templates
(or really any email templates)
If you find yourself typing and sending the same email over and over again, then check out Gmail templates. This tool allows you to create and save templates so you can access that email with just a click of a button. They’ve even gotten fancier with new layout options.
TextExpander
Use short text snippets to automatically insert code, images, links or fully formatted text anywhere! We use this to speed up programming and save blocks of content we send on repeat.
Loom
Share your screen and make videos with this extension, it even allows you to edit the videos AND makes a searchable transcript. We use it for client training, sharing revisions and communicating information with visual aids.
GreenShot
This program allows you to use the print screen key on your keyboard to initiate a clip style screenshot and choose to save it or open it in a paint like editing window.
Chrome Add-Ons
Chrome offers many add-ons to help users be more efficient. But when you’re looking to make your business more efficient, Chrome Add-Ons can go a long way.
Some of our favs include:
Voice In – lets you voice type anywhere from email to web forms.
Awesome Screenshot – allows you to take a screenshot of an entire web page.
Eye Dropper – selects colors from your screen.
WhatFont – Tells you what font and font size a site is using.
Page Ruler – Allows you to measure the size of objects on your screen.
Implementing Tech Tools into Your Small Business
Take it from us — new tech is fun.
To really!! And there are so many benefits to adding it into your small business. Here are a few more suggestions to keep in mind as you get started:
Understand your goals.
Know what you want to get from your technology before you implement it. This will save you a ton of time because you’ll pick the right tools to start with.
Start simple.
Like really, really simple. Oftentimes a spreadsheet is a great way to find out what information you can and will input and track. Then from there you can determine which technology solutions can best support your goals.
Embrace change.
And we don’t just mean changing to technology but change the tech tool if it isn’t working or if you find something better. Technology is constantly improving. Remember you aren’t married to a tech solution.
Small Business Communications Tools Links
Here’s the shortlist of suggestions from our techies:
Who Manifested This Madness?
This fabulous human, that's who.
Monica Maye Pitts
Monica is the creative force and founder of MayeCreate. She has a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with an emphasis in Economics, Education and Plant Science from the University of Missouri. Monica possesses a rare combination of design savvy and technological know-how. Her clients know this quite well. Her passion for making friends and helping businesses grow gives her the skills she needs to make sure that each client, or friend, gets the attention and service he or she deserves.
