Successful businesses in 2024 don’t underestimate the value of trying new things. The ever-changing technological landscape has so much to offer, and it’s important to know what’s what in terms of how it can help your business grow and thrive. Whether you’re a brand new startup in 2024 or just curious about which business tools are the best on the market this year, this blog is for you.
Why are Tools Important in Business?
New businesses fail because of a lack of money, marketing, and motivation. If you love what you do and you’re a skilled bookkeeper, tools can help you make up the gap and navigate the world of effective marketing.
With a range of business tools at your disposal, you can improve your skills in just about any aspect of business, for instance:
- Digital Marketing
- Social Media Management
- Content Writing
- Email Campaigns
- Strategy
- Communication
- Productivity
Getting a solid grasp on the tools available is the only way to ensure you’re continually learning and progressing as a business. Each year, emerging technology and changing markets mean new tools become more relevant to companies looking for growth. Keeping track of them all can be challenging, which is why we’ve developed this list. Let’s cover the 12 best business tools you need in 2024.
The Best Business Tool for Communication
Transparent and open communication is the foundation of any successful enterprise. Ensure your team functions efficiently and communicates clearly with these helpful tools.
1. Slack
Price: Free. Paid plans start at $7.25 USD per member per month.
Slack is a messaging app that keeps remote teams on the same page, ensuring business flows smoothly. This app is great for flexible working, making it easy to stay connected through Slack’s different channel chats. Every team member in a channel can share files and links and access them whenever needed by using the search function. You can create various channels to separate groups or tasks, making it easy to keep your flow productive.
- Pro: Slack can connect to more than 2,600 apps, including calendars and document-storage tools.
- Con: Having an ‘instant chat’ style of communication can lead to notifications building up.
2. Zoom
Price: Free 40-minute meetings. Paid plans start at $ 119.90 USD per user per year.
Most of us first became familiar with Zoom during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the safest way to keep in touch was through video calls. In a post-pandemic world, Zoom has continued to dominate the video call market. Zoom’s easy UI makes it an excellent choice for businesses with remote team members – no need to call in IT support to get things up and running.
- Pro: Zoom’s free subscriptions are typically enough for any business to improve communication.
- Con: The app has faced criticism in the past for lacking appropriate security measures.
3. Calendly
Price: Free. Paid plans start at $8 USD per user per month.
Scheduling meetings can be challenging, especially if you’re working with remote team members or freelance contractors. Calendly is a booking app that makes scheduling and keeping appointments significantly easier. You can use Calendly to highlight your free periods and send a link to any contact, letting them book a time slot to meet with you (in person or digitally).
- Pro: Your contacts don’t need Calendly accounts to make appointments with you through the app.
- Con: Email-online customer support for all tiers isn’t always efficient.
4. Bit.ai
Price: Free. Paid plans start at $8 USD per member per month.
Bit.ai acts as a workplace documentation collaboration platform. This software makes it simple for different team members to create and collaborate on projects from anywhere around the world. Your team can use Bit.ai to make notes, research, and share knowledge throughout the organization effortlessly.
- Pro: Integrates with more than 100 apps, making it versatile for staff.
- Con: The app has limited formatting choices for users.
The Best Business Tools for Startups
Disorganized companies struggle to stay afloat in an ever-changing business landscape. These tools can help you keep everything for your business.
1. Trello
Price: Free. Paid plans start at $5 USD per user per month.
Trello lets each user have their own boards, complete with cards containing various tasks that are easy to label. You can also use Trello to set up shared boards with multiple team members contributing content. Trello makes it easy to see who’s working on what and how projects are progressing at a glance.
- Pro: Its user-friendly design makes it easy for workers to navigate.
- Con: Its limited perspectives mean managers may struggle to track projects closely.
2. Dropbox
Price: Free. Paid plans start at $15 USD per user per month.
Dropbox integrates with crucial everyday tools like Google Docs and Microsoft Office to make keeping your files in order significantly easier. You can use Dropbox to collaborate on projects and securely store files. Paying Dropbox users on the cheapest plan get 5TB of cloud storage for their documents. In contrast, more expensive plans provide unlimited storage, making them customizable and flexible to use this tool.
- Pro: Flexible, collaborative tools make staying organized with multiple contributors easy.
- Con: Free plans are limited to 2GB of cloud storage each.
3. Google Drive
Price: Free. Paid plans start at $2 USD per account per month.
Google Drive uses cloud storage to let users store a range of files, including Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides. Staying organized is simple with Google Drive because it syncs in real-time, meaning it’s easy to access documents from any machine logged into the Google account. Sharing files over Google Drive is also achievable with the click of a button.
- Pro: Straightforward interface makes it simple to navigate and learn.
- Con: Requires an internet connection to access files.
4. RotaCloud
Price: $76 USD per month for 27 employees.
RotaCloud is an excellent app for scheduling shifts and training sessions with your workers. Its app makes it easy for workers to clock in and out when they start and finish work, in turn making it easier to track everyone’s hours. Navigating and editing schedules is also simple, saving managers time on a significant task. Team members can also request time off through a simple step.
- Pro: Customer support is always free with RotaCloud, regardless of the account size.
- Con: Not very customizable to unique businesses.
The Best Tools for Marketing
Marketing is one of the hardest nuts to crack in business, but using tools can help get you part of the way there.
1. Moosend
Price: Plans start at $9 USD per month.
Moosend is an email marketing automation software that can save your business precious hours when creating and sending email campaigns. You can schedule unlimited emails even with Moosend’s cheapest plan, including creating landing pages and forms to complement your campaigns. Moosend’s simple design makes it easy to design appealing emails your clients are more likely to click on, leading to higher conversion rates.
- Pro: The clean interface makes it easy for new users to learn.
- Con: Free trial, but no free tier.
2. Mailchimp
Price: Free. Paid plans start at $12 per month.
Mailchimp is the most immediate competition for Moosend. Another automated email marketing software, Mailchimp, allows users to draft and publish various email styles. Mailchimp offers a range of email templates that are easy to customize for your customers. Using an automated emailing service like Mailchimp increases your efficiency and can help boost your conversion rates.
- Pro: Mailchimp’s free plan includes access to valuable tools like their landing page builder and survey maker, providing great value.
- Con: In recent years, the free plan has become more limited, possibly heading to an even more restricted future.
3. Google Analytics
Price: Free.
Google provides free analytical insights into your company’s web presence. This tool is invaluable for any company looking to boost their rankings. Google can give you unique data that only they can gather, making it easy to assess where your strengths and weaknesses are in your online efforts. You can use Google Analytics to get customer-centric measurements that make it easier to gain customer insight.
- Pro: An in-depth free tool that provides lots of value.
- Con: Time-consuming to set up for your business.
4. Semrush
Price: Plans start at $199.95 per month
For marketers, Semrush is an all-rounder tool that helps every aspect of the role. Semrush’s suite of content marketing tools includes tools to streamline keyword research, identify relevant topics for content creation, and compare your content to your competitors. The tool is excellent for improving your SEO practices sitewide.
- Pro: Provides tools that lead to clear growth and SEO improvement.
- Con: A costly tool for small businesses.
These business tools give you the broadest scope to improve your company in various ways. Consider this list if you’re looking for new ways to expand and boost your brand’s reputation this year. You might be surprised at what tools can do for you.
Bethany is a copywriter at The Author’s Pad. She has always loved stories, spelling, and grammar. When she’s not writing insightful blogs for copywriters at all stages of their career with The Author’s Pad, she’s probably hiking in the woods or relaxing at home with her dog and a good book or video game.
