Small businesses have enough on their plates, especially when they’re just starting out. To get the word out, they need to have a high-quality marketing team that’s willing to put the necessary time and effort into spreading the brand’s name amongst consumers. The best way to do this is to have the best marketing tools at your team’s disposal from the get-go.
Marketing tools come in several forms, and, in the age of technology, that includes automated email marketing campaigns, social media campaigns, and more.
Automated email messages have, on average, a 70.5% higher open rate and a 152% higher click-through rate than standard marketing messages.
With numbers like that, it’s crucial to sit down with your small businesses’ marketing team and determine which marketing tools can help increase your benchmark averages across all your digital marketing channels.
What is a marketing tool?
Marketing tools vary in form and cater to specific functions to help you carry out your marketing strategy.
With so many tools out there, marketing teams can quickly get overwhelmed by choosing what they should have in their arsenal. Before jumping off the deep end and giving everything a try at once, consider the following:
- Who’s your audience?
- Where’s your audience most likely to be found?
- What materials will your audience find most useful/engaging?
- How can you deliver your materials to them in the most efficient way?
Once you’re able to answer these questions, you’ll be able to narrow down the list of what your brand considers valuable marketing tools to have.
What are the best marketing tools for small businesses?
Marketing tools for small businesses come in all shapes and sizes, so finding the right options for your business can seem like a daunting task. We’ve broken down a few marketing tools that should be included in any marketing toolbox, and a suggested platform to help get you started.
1. Email marketing automation platform
Email marketing is the king of ROI when compared to any other digital channel. Many marketers see an average of $38 in ROI for every dollar spent, making it a worthwhile investment.
Email marketing platforms, such as Campaign Monitor, give marketing teams a one-stop-shop for their email marketing needs. With our platform, users can not only build custom email campaigns, but they can also use list segmentation to build smarter email lists, make use of our analytics and insight feature to monitor the success of campaigns, and test it all before sending.
Source: Campaign Monitor
2. Social scheduler platform
Another worthwhile marketing tool that small businesses should consider is a social scheduler. These tools are designed to help marketers plan, schedule, and send content out through various social media channels.
Hootsuite is a popular choice because it allows marketing teams to do not only the tasks mentioned above, but also monitor their profiles and the engagement across each channel. It also provides valuable insight into how each post is performing.
3. Image design platform
While content is key for any marketing team, having top-quality imagery to accompany your content is what’ll get you noticed. Crisp, clean images are the best way to catch a reader’s attention, and having the right design platform can help you create unique, branded images for your marketing materials.
Canva is a simple-to-use image design platform that offers marketing teams many different options for creating branded materials. Not only can you create stunning images, but you can also use this platform to create images specifically for various marketing materials, including:
- Social media posts
- Fliers
- Menus
- White pages
- eBook covers and more
4. Communication and organization platforms
Finally, you want to make sure you have a platform that allows you to easily organize your brand’s projects, while also being able to communicate with your teammates. This is an essential marketing tool because, depending on the platform chosen, it can keep a business running smoothly and keep communication lines open.
Asana is an excellent marketing tool because it can be used in a variety of different ways, such as:
- A team calendar
- Team chatroom
- Project organizer
There really is so much more that this platform can do, especially now that it’s beginning to integrate with other marketing apps for even more customized abilities.
How do you measure the success of your marketing tools?
There really is no one way to measure the success of your marketing tools, only because it comes down to which tools your team chooses. A few ways to monitor the success of your tools can include:
- Monitoring email and social media analytics/insights
- Monitoring engagement with your marketing materials
- Monitoring how well projects are managed
- Monitoring how often users make use of your team organization and communication tools
Do marketing tools really matter?
Marketing tools absolutely matter because they’re the cogs in your overall operations. Tools keep the process going smoothly so that your team doesn’t hit too many bumps in the road. An excellent marketing strategy means nothing if you don’t have the right tools to keep the wheel turning.
What now?
With a good idea of what marketing tools you should include in your team’s toolbox, you’ll want to start honing in on your marketing strategy. Check out our piece on how to build a foolproof email marketing strategy template and get your small business on the right track.