Most small businesses need far fewer software subscriptions than they’re paying for. For a sole trader or small service business, one connected platform for your marketing and customers, plus your accounting software, covers almost everything.
That’s my honest answer after years of working with business owners. Here’s why, and what it looks like in real life.
A conversation I have more often than you’d think
Tracey, a sole trader, came to me recently. She was smart, good at what she does, and completely worn out by her own systems.
Here’s what she was working with:
- Mailchimp for her emails
- An Excel spreadsheet for her client list
- A website hosted by an agency that was costing her a fortune
- Publer to schedule her Facebook posts
- A contact form on her website that only worked sometimes
When she wanted a change made to her website, the agency took up to three weeks to get to it. She had no follow-up system and no way to catch new leads. And because nothing talked to anything else, she had no way of knowing whether any of it was working.
All up, she was paying around $350 a month. In her words, she had “stuff all over the place.”
The cost wasn’t even the part that bothered her most. It was the feeling of never being on top of things.
The real cost of too many subscriptions
When you add up your subscriptions, the monthly total is only part of the picture.
Your time. Every tool has its own login, its own way of doing things, and its own updates to keep up with. Copying a new client’s details from your email into a spreadsheet, then into your email list, takes time you could be spending on paid work.
Missed enquiries. A contact form that only works sometimes means some people tried to reach you and never heard back. You’ll never know how many.
No clear picture. When your emails, website, social media and client list all live in different places, you can’t see the whole customer journey. You can’t tell which post brought in an enquiry, or which enquiry turned into a sale.
Waiting on other people. If you can’t update your own website, you’re relying on someone else’s schedule to run your business.
So what does a small business actually need?
Instead of starting with “What software should I buy?”, I always ask, “What are you trying to achieve in your business?”
For most small service businesses, the answer looks something like this:
- People can find you and get in touch easily
- Every enquiry gets caught and followed up
- You can keep in touch with past clients without remembering to do it all yourself
- You can see what’s working
That’s a short list of outcomes. When the tools behind them are connected, you need very little else.
Here’s what I’d suggest most small businesses look for in one platform:
- A website you can update yourself
- Forms that send every enquiry straight into your client list
- A CRM so you can see every client and where they’re up to
- Email and SMS that send automatically when they should
- Social media scheduling
- Online bookings and payments
- A simple way to ask happy clients for reviews
Then keep your accounting software separate. That’s the one area where a dedicated tool still makes sense.
What we did for Tracey
Rather than adding another tool, we replaced the lot.
First, we tidied up her client list and cleaned out the spam emails. Then we uploaded everything into her BrandSuite CRM and tagged each client, so she can now group them into audiences and send the right message to the right people.
We moved her website onto BrandSuite, so she can make her own changes in minutes instead of waiting three weeks.
We set up a new contact form that works every time. Each new enquiry now gets an instant reply and then a series of follow-up emails, so no lead goes cold while she’s busy with clients.
We added a quote form, and a chatbot so her customers can ask questions 24 hours a day, even when she’s asleep.
Finally, we trained Tracey to use the BrandSuite Scheduler for all her social media, so she no longer needs a separate tool for that.
The result
Tracey is now saving 10 hours a week and $200 a month.
The bigger change was how she felt. For the first time, everything was in order. She started running campaigns, and she could see exactly what was working straight from the reports on her BrandSuite dashboard.
In her words: “Why didn’t I do this sooner? You’ve changed my life!”
A simple way to check your own setup
Grab a piece of paper and list every piece of software you pay for each month. Next to each one, write down what it actually does for your business.
You’ll probably notice a few things doubling up, and a few that you’re paying for but barely using.
If you’d like to see the numbers quickly, our Tech Stack Savings Calculator at brandsuite.com.au lets you tick off the tools you’re currently paying for and shows you what you could save.
My honest advice
More software doesn’t make a business more professional. Connected software does.
If you feel like you have stuff all over the place, you’re not behind, and you’re definitely not alone. Most business owners build their systems one tool at a time as they need them. At some point it’s worth stepping back and asking whether all those pieces are still serving you.
Running a business is complicated enough. Your systems don’t need to be.
Natalie Fogarty, Founder of BrandSuite