The global macroeconomic conditions make it challenging for startups to raise funds in 2022. The funding crunch makes it essential for both tech and non-tech startups to curtail the average time to reach profitability. Many startups reduce the average time to become profitable through process automation.
They control costs, generate revenue, and beat the competition by investing in technical solutions. But every startup has to prepare an essential tech checklist in 2022 to invest in the right tech tools.
Here is a list of must-have tech tools startups for entrepreneurs exploring ways to achieve and sustain growth.
6 Tech Tools Entrepreneurs Need in 2022 to Leverage Automation
1. Marketing Automation Solution
Digital marketing strategies help startups acquire and retain customers without investing huge resources. But a startup has to deploy skilled marketers to create, distribute, and promote campaign content strategically. Marketing automation tools help startups save both time and resources through the automation of recurring and routine tasks.
A startup can invest in the right marketing automation software to automate important activities like target audience segmentation, campaign performance monitoring, lead scoring, website monitoring, and marketing message delivery.
Also, the startup can leverage the automation solution to boost the performance of digital marketing campaigns based on real-time data.
2. Online Data Storage Services
Customers these days expect companies and startups to remain transparent about the data they gather and store. Hence, it becomes essential for startups in 2022 to focus extensively on data security and privacy to win the trust of customers.
Online data storage services make it easier for startups to store large volumes of customer data securely without incurring upfront and recurring infrastructural costs. Also, a startup is not required to deploy dedicated technicians to backup, synchronize, and protect large volumes of data.
The data stored in the cloud can be accessed by onsite and remote employees using their login credentials. Also, they can share the data with coworkers without putting in time and effort.
3. Expense Management Solution
The ongoing funding crunch makes it difficult for startups to maintain positive cash flow in 2022. A startup can maintain a cash flow positive only by recording, tracking, and controlling operational expenses efficiently. An expense management solution makes it easier for entrepreneurs to manage employee-initiated expenses.
It automates the expense management process through the automation of expense tracking, payment, and auditing. Employees can use the tech solution to claim reimbursements by submitting automated expense reports.
At the same time, approvers can use the same expense management software to review, approve, and pay the expense claims submitted by various employees.
4. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System
In 2022, no startup can achieve profitability without personalizing the customer experience. Startups need tech tools that facilitate customer experience personalization by capturing all customer communications and interactions. CRM systems come with features to automate customer relationship development, nurturing, and management.
An entrepreneur can use the CRM system to consolidate customer relationships into a single repository. Marketing, sales, and customer support teams can access the repository seamlessly while interacting with customers.
The access to up-to-date customer information will make it easier for them to nurture and sustain customer relationships through personalized communication.
5. Travel Management Software
This tech tool is essential for startups that invest in business travel to realize incremental revenue and profit. An entrepreneur can invest in the right software solution to streamline business travel management without having a dedicated travel manager.
The travel management software will boost work travel experiences by providing employees with booking options, up-to-date travel information, and real-time assistance. At the same time, the software will help entrepreneurs curtail work travel costs by making essential business travel solutions at negotiated corporate rates.
6. Customer Success Tools
Startups these days accelerate revenue growth using customer success as a relationship-focused strategy. They build long-term relationships with customers by ensuring that a product/service helps customers achieve their desired objectives. Many startups even reduce the churn rate by making collection and analysis of an ongoing process.
Customer success tools come with features to check the effectiveness of a product/service in helping users accomplish the desired goals. An entrepreneur can use this tech tool to automate routine customer success management tasks like customer profile creation, customer activity monitoring, and customer health score calculation.
Conclusion
Automation helps startups to sustain growth and overcome the funding crunch in 2022. But every entrepreneur must invest in the right tech tools to leverage the benefits of automation. It is always important for an entrepreneur to make custom tech checklists according to her startup’s specific business model and precise business needs.