3 not-so-obvious ways digital tools provide value to SMBs

We’ve talked before about how digital sales tools add value to small-to-midsized businesses (SMBs) by reducing time spent on mundane tasks, helping define clear priorities, increasing access to customers, and accelerating training time. But digital sales tools also add value in less quantitative ways. Let’s talk about how they can improve a company’s presentation and branding, make their employees’ work more engaging and rewarding, and increase the power of collaboration throughout the sales cycle, for sales teams and customers.

1. Improved company image

One of the most important and underestimated advantages a digital sales tool can give is consistency in presentation and branding. Consistent formatting is more than just looking the same; it makes a company and its representatives look professional and competent. Not only that, using the same images and logos repeatedly aids in retention and helps SMBs become noticeable and memorable.

Many SMBs don’t have access or would prefer not to spend money on expensive graphic design resources. Even a less-polished aesthetic, however, will look professional if it’s consistent.

Templates and digital style guides can help small businesses provide consistent messaging and branding across the board, from social media and emails to quotes and estimates and invoices. This solid branding broadcasts a professional image that helps a SMB stand out in a crowd and is sure to build trust in the business’s expertise.

2. Improve employee experience and retention

There’s a lot of argument for how digital sales tools make employees’ lives easier by reducing repetitive tasks and letting them focus on higher-value tasks that need more creativity and critical thinking. This boosts employees’ enjoyment of their work but it’s also good for a business. Not only does enjoying a job improve an employee’s productivity by 12 percent on average, but it also helps prevent burnout’s insidious cousin: boredom.

According to Forbes, boredom is the leading cause of employee turnover. It can cause depression, anxiety, stress, insomnia, and a myriad of other issues that damage employees’ lives at work and at home. Research shows this boredom often comes from the perception that work has no meaning-and how much meaning can you find in updating spreadsheets?

Digital sales tools give employees the flexibility to shift from redundant tasks to making connections with people, making their jobs less boring and safeguarding SMBs from disinterest and low motivation.

3. Improved collaboration

It can be hard to collaborate when everyone is coming from a different perspective. This can happen a lot in small-to-midsize businesses, where few specifications or policies are consistently written down, and it can damage productivity and collaboration.

Assuming everyone in a group knows the same information has been called “ the curse of knowledge “ for its disastrous effects on communication and collaboration. For the information-haver, it can be frustrating for others to not know “basic” information. For those working from a different baseline, that frustration can be perceived as condescension or unfairness.

Digital sales tools combat these gaps in knowledge by creating catalogs of information, through shared dashboards, real-time reporting tools, and centralized data management. They make it easy for everyone to be on the same page, which improves communication, streamlines workflows, and fosters greater teamwork.

This isn’t limited to employees either-a good digital sales platform will even allow collaboration between sales teams and customers, helping strengthen communication and trust between an SMB and their clients.

Conclusion

By improving their image, bolstering their employees, and strengthening their communication skills, SMBs place themselves on a solid foundation that is sure to give them an advantage over their peers. Digital sales tools allow SMBs to deliver better customer experiences, operate more efficiently, and create the kind of long-lasting positive relationships that position them for long-term growth. These advantages might not be as easy to track with numbers, but they are integral parts of a successful, sustainable business and can do a lot of good both short and long-term.

Originally published at https://scalefluidly.com.