How to Use SaaS Tools to Grow Your Business

In this increasingly competitive world, businesses need to operate efficiently to grow. And you can use Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) tools to help you with that.

In this guide, we will cover:

• What is SaaS?
• Why is SaaS important?
• Recommended SaaS tools for productivity, hosting, customer relationship management (CRM), email marketing, and social media marketing.

Let’s get started.

What is Software-as-a-Service?

SaaS is software used through an Internet connection instead of downloading the software to your computer. It is a cloud-based software delivery system and is one of the three main components of cloud computing, with the other two components being Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS).

Think of Google Drive and Slack. They are software you access and use from the Internet.”

You can utilize the many SaaS tools available to grow your business whether you are in a retail business or an agency.

Why is it Essential to Use SaaS Tools to Grow Your Business?

According to a 2017 report by BetterCloud, 38% of companies are running almost entirely on SaaS. On average, businesses use a whopping 34 SaaS applications.

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SaaS tools allow companies to run operations anywhere and at little cost. In fact, companies that shift to SaaS solutions can reduce their IT spending by more than 15 percent.

To enjoy the service provided by the software, all you need is a device and Internet connection.

Many companies offer SaaS services in a subscription plan or a pay-as-you-go model, providing flexibility at an affordable price.

Another benefit is enhanced teamwork. BetterCloud’s report further pointed out that 86% of businesses that use SaaS experience significantly higher employee engagement.

With all these competitive advantages, it is vital to start using SaaS tools now for your business!

But with the plethora of tools available, which ones should you choose?

SaaS Tools You Can Use to Grow Your Business

Here are some of the best SaaS tools categorized by the service they provide.

Productivity

Google Workspace (Formerly G Suite)

Google Workspace, formerly known as G Suite, offers an array of productivity tools for businesses to help you get things done as a team.

Gmail is one of the most widely used email services. In Workspace, Gmail provides secure, ad-free custom business email as a foundation and offers robust integration with Google Calendar and Google Meet, both of which are easy to use and will increase productivity.

Google Drive offers cloud storage and synchronization services, which allow users to store files on their servers, share files with others, and synchronize files across devices. Team files can be organized in a shared space and use less of your disk space.

Docs, Sheets, and Slides are a web-based productivity office suite. It allows multiple users to simultaneously work on the same document, providing more effective communication and efficient teamwork.

Monday.com

Monday.com is a work management tool that will help you get organized and stay on task. The friendly interface is easy to use and provides a central platform for your organization's projects.

The idea behind the product is to provide a customizable web and mobile app platform for work management, with more than 100 prebuilt automation recipes. The interface can fit any type of business operations, from R&D groups and marketing teams to customer support, IT departments, HR personnel, media production teams, and many others.

Hosted Email

If you are looking for a secure SaaS email, Liquid Web has got you covered with their business email solution.

Business Email Hosting

Premium Business Email by Liquid Web takes the trouble of managing email servers away. Standard mailbox pricing starts at $1.00 for one mailbox per month, and there is no additional cost for maintenance, antivirus, anti-spam software, or backup. You can access your email from anywhere, and it’s easy to start using with no hardware to deploy or software to install.

Customer Relationship Management

Customer Relationship Management is a crucial process for any business. Connecting with current customers and reaching out to prospects is essential for business growth. And you can use SaaS tools to provide a better customer experience efficiently!

Hubspot

Hubspot is an inbound marketing and sales CRM platform that helps companies attract visitors, convert leads, and close customers.

Designed for growing companies, it offers services for increasing leads, accelerating sales, streamlining customer service, and building a powerful website. The software centralizes all your leads and contacts, saving you time to access data.

It also provides customer feedback and knowledge base features to understand customers better and educate them about your products and services.

imBee

imBee is an up-and-coming CRM tool that focuses on instant communication channels. As more businesses connect with their customers through instant messaging apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, having a centralized platform can help sales and customer service teams stay organized, increase sales efficiency, and be more effective.

Besides a fully customizable customer information panel, it offers various features such as chatbot, message scheduling, and templated replies. It reduces response time and connects better with customers.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is an old but effective strategy to build meaningful connections with customers and drive sales. With so much email marketing software from which to use, we’ve picked two of the best.

Constant Contact

Constant Contact allows small businesses to reach a new audience and helps save time in the marketing process. They provide email templates for easy editing and customization, making your emails stand out on every device.

The email marketing automation service they provide keeps your audience engaged and helps in building relationships. It includes a welcome email for new subscribers and resending emails to non-openers.

What’s more, their real-time tracking tools directly provide reports on opening, clicking, and the further sharing of your emails. The data insights also allow you to evaluate your marketing strategy more accurately.

ConvertKit

ConvertKit is another excellent tool to use for email marketing. What makes it unique is that it is designed by creators for creators.

It has a simple and powerful visual automation builder to make aesthetically pleasing and attractive emails. Email templates and clutter-free writing options save you time on editing.

Besides, ConvertKit has a healthy reputation with email providers, meaning your emails get delivered into the inbox instead of the junk box. It has a high delivery rate of 98% and a 30% average open rate.

ConvertKit is also subscriber-centric, meaning that you can easily organize all your subscribers from just one list by adding tags and creating segments to send them targeted content based on their interests.

Social Media Marketing

With more than half of the world now using social media, it is becoming more critical for businesses to leverage social media to grow their business. However, it can be daunting to manage numerous social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and more. You can use tools to schedule posts and manage your social media accounts.

Hootsuite

Hootsuite is one of the most powerful social media management SaaS companies with more than 18 million customers. It offers five primary services to Publish, Engage, Advertise, Monitor, and Analyse. Compatible with all the major social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, you can plan, create, and schedule your posts in one place. It also has team-friendly functions that allow your team to collaborate.

Sprout Social

Sprout Social provides businesses with an easy-to-use platform that makes it possible to engage and publish on social media, as well as provide analytics for more effective marketing.

It offers four primary features: Listening, Publishing, Engagement, and Analytics. This makes it an excellent tool for social media managers, social customer care agents, and social analysts. Similar to Hootsuite, it can integrate with all major social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.

Grow Your Business With SaaS Tools

SaaS tools are like virtual teams that help you take care of and manage many aspects of your business, from productivity, hosting, and CRM, to email marketing and social media management. They save you time and money and can help you to grow your business.