Social business and social media, while two distinct entities and completely non-interchangeable, are similar in that they both aspire to leverage one and the same concept: the power of social engagement and communication.
Nowadays, customers demand more open communication and personal relationships with businesses. The incoming workforce expects a more flexible working environment, and the more successful companies uphold a culture and organizational framework mirroring their social values.
It’s no wonder that more and more tools are being designed to bring the social aspects of a business to the fore. Here are a few of them:
1.Bitrix24
Bitrix24 is a social intranet application that’s free to use for businesses with a maximum of 12 members. With a navigation system reminiscent of Facebook, the learning curve is pretty low. Benefits include real-time activity streaming, a fully functional CRM, project management, document sharing, photo gallery, time tracking, even video conferences. It can also function as an HR information system complete with centralized searchable employee directory, organizational chart, leave/time off management, and HR forms and records management.
For larger businesses of more than 12, or those that need more storage space and/or features not available in the free version, Bitrix24 Cloud starts at $99 per month.
2.Zoho CRM
Zoho’s CRM Social takes customer relationship management to a whole new level. You can listen to your customers’ conversations on social media, follow people and/or conversations on Twitter and Facebook to convert them into future business prospects. Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn profiles are integrated right into the CRM application so your sales agents need not switch from one tab to another to view real-time social interactions.
You also get to monitor what people and influencers are saying about your brand, and personalize your interactions and engagement with customers. Zoho CRM has a tiered pricing strategy that starts at free for entrepreneurs, and includes features like lead management, web forms, sales opportunities, accounts and contacts, social CRM, and others.
3.Asana
Asana is a project management software that’s free for teams of up to 15 members. With Asana, everything about work is in one place, allowing you to spend less time on email. You can create, assign and comment on tasks, and know who’s doing what and what’s getting done. Ideas, plans, files, conversations and updates are stored in a single location, so you’ll never waste time finding the necessary information you need to complete a task/project.
Through partnerships and API, Asana can be integrated with Chrome, Dropbox, Google Drive, GitHub, Evernote, WordPress, HipChat, MailChimp, Zendesk, and a bunch more.
For more than 15 team members, Asana Premium starts at $50 per month.
4.Quote Roller
To win projects, a winning quote proposal is a requisite. But this can take time, time away from your business, especially if you’re still using word processors and spreadsheets to create business proposals.
Quote Roller is a cloud-based proposal creation software that allows you to put together a polished and professional proposal within minutes. You can create your own template, or choose from generic templates available in the Quote Roller templates gallery. As well, you can integrate videos and pictures into your quotes for better client experience.
Paperless, your clients receive, review, sign and accept quotes easily and speedily. When they propose changes, you can tweak your proposal according to their specifications. And with the application’s in-proposal analytics system, you know which part of the proposal your clients are spending the most time looking at, allowing you to craft more targeted proposals for better sales optimization.
Quote Roller starts at $9.99 per user per month and offers a free 14-day trial.
5.Slide Share
Slide Share is presentations and YouTube rolled into one. With Slide Share, you can upload, view and download presentations, documents and PDFs on any particular topic. Not only can you share presentations through social media platforms, you can also embed them into wikis, websites and blogs for a better user experience.
Slide Share can be free or pro. Pro starts at $19 per month, with added features like video uploads, private URLs, analytics, lead capture, and branding and control.