Are Digital Tools Worth the Cost?

Are Digital Tools Worth the Risk? Here’s How to Tell:

For a small- to mid-sized Michigan business owner, every decision can hurt or help the bottom line. It’s smart to take a calculated approach before implementing new staff, equipment, or even digital tools.

Some digital tools are free-to-use, while others may come at a monthly or yearly subscription cost — and the price tag might be enough to give you pause.

What you might not realize, however, is how much you might save in other areas of your business, potentially erasing the cost and creating a net gain.

In this practical guide, we’ll look at how to estimate your return on investment in a structured, informed way before you buy — and highlight the hidden benefits that can make a big difference.

1.    Investigate Pain Points for Your Business

How much time per week do you spend on tasks you just wish would do themselves? What are you doing right now to increase traffic to your website? Could your customer service be improved? Are there opportunities to reach beyond your Mid-Michigan customer base?

These are a few essential questions to ask when considering how digital tools could improve your business.

There are tools on the market that help with the major pillars of daily operations:

• Tasks
• Marketing
• Customer Service

If you’re looking for ways to reduce time spent on manual tasks, answering phones, and emailing customers, many smart automation tools can streamline work in a way so efficiently, you won’t believe it’s not AI.

Tools are also available to help promote your business online, increasing traffic, without hiring an entire marketing division.

2.    Estimate the Total Costs

Changing to new systems may come at a cost, both upfront and long-term. These systems will also take time to implement and may require your current employees to get up to speed on how to use them.

Consider things like:

• Purchase price/licensing fees
• Monthly/annual subscriptions
• Setup or onboarding costs
• Integration/development costs (if any)
• Training time

3.    Forecast the Benefits

If you can afford the time and cost it takes to implement new tools, what will you get in return?

• Time savings (If a new tool will save a $20/hr employee 10 hours of overtime at time and a half, that’s $300/month savings)
•  Increased revenue (More sales, leads, and conversions)
• Cost reduction (Less reliance on contractors, fewer errors, less paper)
• Customer retention (If lifetime value per customer increases)

4.    Estimate Time to Value

How long will it take to start seeing the benefits?

Some tools start to pay off immediately. Implementing a smart tool for your customer checkout, like Stripe, can send receipts immediately, update inventory data, and save and store your customer’s sensitive information for you, reducing manual tasks and the amount of digital storage space you need to maintain. Plus, you lose the burden of keeping your customer’s information safe — Stripe uses encryption, access controls, and monitors data constantly, meaning more peace of mind for you and your customers.

Stripe is just one example of an Application Programming Interface, or API tool. Remember when I asked if there were tasks you wish would do themselves? APIs make it possible. There APIs available to automate a range of tasks, including: filling out reports, scheduling appointments, sending text reminders, and even reducing loss or theft through inventory tracking.

Other tools take longer to see the benefits. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) software, social media marketing programs, lead captures and marketing email tools may take 6 to 12 months to show a strong return.

5.  Consider Risk and Explore Alternatives

Before making up your mind on a new tool, take a little time to explore what several have to offer.

For any task you’re trying to streamline, there may be several tools that come at different costs offers slightly different functionalities.

Many companies offer free trials so you can see how that tool would fit into your day-to-day functions and benefit your business and your team.

Look for reviews or case studies from businesses like yours to see if others experienced success or ran into issues you’d really rather avoid.

6.  Look Beyond the Numbers

Remember, there are some benefits that are harder to quantify than just the dollars and cents.

Creating easier processes, reducing overtime, and eliminating mundane tasks can free up your team’s time both inside and outside of the business, improving morale.

You may be able to improve your relationships with customers and draw in new ones.

Using smart automation tools can also help you make smart business decisions. You may gain valuable insights about your team’s time and customer’s habits. You may discover unneeded overhead, adjustments to price points, or areas where the customer experience could be improved.

Getting Started with New Tools and Tech

If you’re ready to automate repetitive tasks, improve cashflow, and make better use of your staff, now may be the right time to investigate digital tools and tech that can help.

Shopping for new tools is one thing. Getting started with them is another.

Don’t go it alone.

Queue Development is a Michigan-based web developer that can help! Queue Development is here to help you find the right solutions for your business then implement them quickly.

If you’re ready to learn more, get in touch by emailing [email protected] today!