There’s no shortage of things you have to do every day while running a startup.
Inbound marketing, advertising, sales, managing your team; the list never seems to stop.
Here’s the thing, though.
You can be using tools that save time, energy, and focus on more important projects.
Sounds good? 🤩
Great, because today we’ll be sharing ten of the best startup tools you can start adopting.
Table of Contents
1. HubSpot (HubSpot.com)
Think about all of the customer data you have. There’s probably mountains of customer information, prospects, and leads, right?
Well, slow down.
If you’re managing them all-ins spreadsheets and outdated tools, you need to seriously consider investing in a CRM.
These types of software help manage, organize, and nurture leads. You will be able to contact and follow up with customers in the click of a button and analyze every touchpoint.
One, in particular, is HubSpot.
This tool is completely free and includes up to 1,000,000 contacts.
Yes, you read that right. Additionally, HubSpot gives you everything to excel in your sales.
This includes:
- contact records
- realtime interaction with emails
- live chat
- email templates
2. Mailchimp (Mailchimp.com)
Email marketing is decades old. Despite this, it’s still as powerful as ever. In fact, you can expect to generate $42 for every $1 spent on email campaigns.
If you aren’t already collecting emails and building a list, you’re making a huge mistake.
This is because you could have your own private network to tap any time you want to promote products or content.
Hence why having an email marketing solution like Mailchimp at your disposal is so powerful. The first step is to create forms where users can subscribe to your list.
We’d also suggest offering a free resource (called a lead magnet) to generate more conversions.
Mailchimp, one of the best startup tools, allows you to:
- create popups
- embedded forms
- sidebar forms
- more.
After that, take advantage of their awesome email builder to send out newsletters every time you have something meaningful to share.
Additionally, you should leverage their automated sequences to form drip campaigns that automatically send out specific messages at intervals.
This can help nurture relationships, save time, and drive sales.
3. Slack (Slack.com)
How many people are in your company? Three? Thirty? One hundred?
Then you know that project management, communication, and onboarding are extremely important.
While you can rely on phone calls, Skype, and simple channels, there’s a smarter way to do things: Slack.
This completely free tool (with paid upgrades) gives companies a private place to:
- speak
- share files
- collaborate
- host conference calls
Each user receives up to 500mb of storage and channels can be made for specific individuals, departments, or topics.
It’s also an effective tool for inviting clients to keep up to date on projects and streamline communication.
4. Trello (Trello.com)
Not only do you have to manage people in your business — and that’s where Slack excels — you have to manage projects.
After all, if projects aren’t done on time, clients can get irritated or campaigns don’t just move the needle. Not good. 👎🏻
So, what’s a startup to do? Use a platform like Trello!
This free project management software allows users to create boards dedicated to companies or projects. Lists are created for certain topics and cards for individual tasks.
Tasks can be assigned to team members, include files, and can be commented on to ensure everyone is on the same page.
Trello features tons of integrations, too. This helps you get the best bang for your buck by adding more functionality to the software.
5. Ubersuggest (Ubersuggest.com)
SEO is a powerful strategy for acquiring leads, establishing thought leadership, and driving website traffic.
That’s why 61% of marketers believe search is critical to online success.
Every startup needs to do it.
However, you have to make sure that you target the right keywords. They act as the foundation.
And, sure. You could use expensive SEO suites or simply opt for a free one like Ubersuggest.
👉🏻 Begin by typing in a keyword and hitting the search button on the homepage.
👉🏻 This will give you tons of keyword ideas and all of their associated metrics on the next page.
You can also get content ideas and snoop on competitors for more information.
Download the keywords as a text file or spreadsheet to further analyze and share with your team.
Ubersuggest is, from our point of view, in the list of the best startup tools.
6. Zendesk (Zendesk.com)
Customer service is half of your product. In fact, 73% of consumers fall in love with a brand when they have positive customer service reps.
What does this mean for a startup?
It implies that they must optimize the customer experience to increase conversions and retention.
Oppositely, not doing so can have a lot of customers slip through the cracks.
Avoid all of that and skyrocket brand loyalty by using customer service software like Zendesk.
Their platform connects all of your accounts, including:
- social
- messaging
- more to centralize customer engagement
Customer service reps can bring up any interaction in the click of a button and connects with CRMs to have information at your fingertips.
Zendesk’s analytics gives companies insights into customer needs and behaviour, as well.
This helps them constantly improve their service and interactions to boost performance.
Seeing as 13.29% of digital agencies struggle with keeping current clients, customer experience isn’t something to gloss over as a startup.
7. Clarity (Clarity.fm)
Do you offer consulting? How about coaching or demos?
Then Clarity is right up your alley.
This is a free platform that allows people to book meetings with you and pay directly through the platform.
It’s as simple as that. 👌🏻
No need to constantly schedule calls, invoice through separate software, and make it complicated.
You can also use clarity for discovery calls when you’re figuring out if you and a potential client are a good fit.
8. Calendly (Calendly.com)
Meetings, conferences, project updates. There’s tons of stuff to do throughout the week.
Staying organized is key to managing all of these things. And, naturally, that means your startup needs a killer calendar app.
Welcome to Calendly.
They are the best automated scheduling software on the market and connect up to six of your calendars to display availability for prospects.
Hold one-on-one meetings, round robins, conference, or group calls for webinars and training.
Other notable features include the ability to send notifications to attendees with email and texts to improve no-show rates.
Add extra buffer time before or after events for late individuals or Q&A. Or, cap the number of meetings per day and customize Calendly with your own branding.
9. MindMup (MindMup.com)
While scribbling on pieces of paper can be good for brainstorming, startups need something that is accessible by more users and offers extensive features.
That’s why a mind mapping tool is so effective.
MindMup helps startups create, share, and publish mind maps very quickly.
You can add notes and attachments to add further information and structure. This helps team members understand the mind map more and form their own ideas.
Storyboards can be created by organizing thoughts and turning them into a sequence of slides. This is perfect if you are using MindMup to create a pitch deck or do a presentation.
Mind maps can be posted directly to Twitter, Facebook, and other networks to receive feedback and share your ideas, as well.
Measurements and map nodes automatically calculate different metrics and progress is tracked with icons. 👏🏻
10. ProductHunt (ProductHunt.com)
Startups can have their product and company placed in front of a large audience by taking advantage of startup databases.
One of the most popular is ProductHunt. These allow you to submit an application to have your startup featured on their website.
This leads to high amounts of referral traffic and leads over the long term.
👉🏻 The first step is to apply.
👉🏻 Ensure that you answer every question and provide as much information as possible.
👉🏻 Explain why your startup is so unique and deserves to be seen by the world.
Many of these databases offer a boost in the waitlist of startups for a fee. Do this if you’re serious about improving brand awareness.
Conclusion
There are dozens of things that a startup needs to juggle every day.
To maximize efficiency and reduce the number of obstacles one faces, tools are a necessary investment. 💡
Luckily many of them are free and have paid plans if you wish to upgrade them later.
- The first of which we recommend is a CRM like HubSpot. This helps a startup company manage their customer information and lead generation data.
- Then, an email marketing software like Mailchimp should be used to collect subscriber lists, create opt-in forms, and send newsletters to nurture relationships and promote products.
- Both Slack and Trello are incredible for speeding up project management and streamlining communication. The same applies to Calendly and Clarity for improving scheduling and meetings.
- Next, consider using a tool like Ubersuggest to research keywords and content topic ideas. This is valuable to rank on Google, drive traffic, and establish as an authority. ProductHunt and startup databases can be used for the same purpose
- Zendesk is priceless for improving customer service through support tickets, help guides, and other resources.
- Lastly, adopt a mind map tool like MindMup to place thoughts in one centralized location and bring your ideas to life.
Feel free to reach out to us if you require inbound marketing services to help your startup scale.
