Best Small Business Tools You Don't Want to Miss

CoSchedule offers an all-in-one AI marketing calendar to organize content, social media, and other marketing efforts. It provides various tools for different aspects of marketing, including: * **Calendars:** Social Calendar, Content Calendar, and Agency Calendar, designed to centralize tasks, projects, and campaigns for individuals, teams, and agencies. * **Generative AI:** Hire Mia, a collaborative AI editor, to boost marketing output. * **Content Optimization:** Headline Studio, an AI-powered headline writing tool, to create engaging and SEO-friendly headlines, captions, and titles. * **Marketing Education:** The Actionable Marketing Institute, a library of on-demand marketing courses. * **Tools:** A wide range of free AI writing tools, including idea generators for various content types (holidays, online stores, sales pitches, etc.), compliance generators (HIPAA, GDPR, etc.), and tools for analyzing headlines and optimizing social messages. CoSchedule aims to streamline the marketing process, helping teams and individuals stay organized and maximize their efforts. The platform's comprehensive suite of tools and AI capabilities are designed to improve efficiency and effectiveness in marketing. The platform also provides resources like customer stories, popular use cases, and a marketing blog to help users understand and utilize the tools effectively.

Hootsuite is a social media management platform that helps businesses manage their social media presence across multiple platforms. It offers a range of features, including publishing and scheduling posts, social media analytics, social listening, AI content creation, tools for identifying the best times to post, engagement tools, an inbox and messaging system, employee advocacy tools, and social advertising. Hootsuite also provides integrations with various other platforms and tools. The platform caters to various industries, including small businesses, financial services, government, healthcare, education, real estate, professional services, legal, and agencies, as well as nonprofits. Hootsuite offers resources such as social media trends reports, case studies, webinars, a blog, courses, free tools, templates, tutorials, and demos, as well as a FAQ section. The platform boasts significant improvements in reach (+636%), growth across social channels (+500%), and sourced revenue (+250%) year-over-year. Hootsuite helps businesses prove their social ROI by providing detailed analytics, identifying high-performing content, benchmarking against competitors, and scheduling posts at optimal times. It streamlines social media management by allowing users to schedule posts across multiple networks from a single dashboard, using Canva templates, AI-powered caption and hashtag generation, and seamless workflows. Hootsuite also simplifies communication by providing a unified inbox for managing comments and messages across platforms, with automated routing, auto-responders, and chatbot integrations. The platform automates caption writing and messaging, freeing up time and reducing burnout. Hootsuite also offers social listening tools to monitor keywords, mentions, and hashtags, enabling brands to stay informed about public perception. The platform is demonstrated through examples like DaVita, which increased web traffic from LinkedIn by 136% using employee advocacy, generating roughly $1.5M in equivalent ad spend and a 27% year-over-year increase in job applications from social media.

Buffer helps you build an audience organically on social media. It's a values-driven company offering affordable and intuitive marketing tools for ambitious individuals and teams. Buffer streamlines the social media management process by providing tools to create, publish, analyze, and engage with your audience across various platforms. Key features include: <em> <strong>Content Creation:</strong> Building a library of content ideas and turning them into captivating posts for different platforms. </em> <strong>Audience Growth:</strong> Sharing content on the right channels with suggested hashtags to help grow your following. <em> <strong>Time Savings:</strong> Automating content publishing to save time and showcasing work with automated reports. </em> <strong>Collaboration:</strong> Facilitating team collaboration with permissions levels and approval flows for seamless workflow. Buffer's tools allow for efficient and intentional social media management, saving time and resources while strengthening audience engagement. The company boasts a strong customer support system with 24/7 email and social media support, as well as a comprehensive help center. Buffer has a proven track record of helping businesses and individuals grow their social media presence, as evidenced by customer testimonials and growth statistics.

GetResponse is an email marketing and automation platform that helps businesses grow their lists, communicate with customers, promote products, and monetize content. It offers a suite of tools including signup forms, landing pages, website builders, conversion funnels, email marketing, autoresponders, marketing automation, web push notifications, SMS marketing, ecommerce integrations, popup creators, AI recommendations, paid ads, course creators, premium newsletters, and webinars. The platform allows for seamless data synchronization and integration with other tools through 170+ integrations. It provides various plans for different needs, from affordable plans for marketers to enterprise-grade solutions for mid and large companies, and specialized plans for creators. GetResponse also offers a free trial and a 24/7 support team. The platform boasts high deliverability rates and average list growth for paid plans within the first 30 days. It also provides resources like a blog, webinars, and a help center to assist users in their journey. The platform is designed to help businesses grow their audience, save time, boost engagement, create and monetize content, and scale their online stores. It offers various features to help businesses achieve these goals, including email marketing tools, landing pages, marketing automation tools, online course creators, AI recommendations, and high-volume solutions with dedicated support.

ActiveCampaign is an all-in-one marketing automation platform designed to help businesses create and automate personalized customer experiences. It offers a suite of tools for marketing automation, omnichannel marketing, content creation, audience management, analytics, and reporting, all integrated with AI capabilities. Key features include email marketing, dynamic content personalization, contact segmentation, CRM for sales tracking, landing pages, and forms for lead generation. ActiveCampaign provides solutions for various industries, including agencies, online education, ecommerce, multi-location businesses, SaaS, healthcare, creators, travel, and non-profits. It caters to solopreneurs, small and medium businesses, and enterprises, offering tools to streamline customer engagement and optimize business operations. The platform boasts integrations with over 900 popular marketing tools, allowing for seamless automation across the entire marketing stack. ActiveCampaign's automation features help save users significant time, with customers reporting average monthly time savings of 20 hours. The platform also provides email templates, automation recipes, and free marketing tools to enhance user experience and efficiency. ActiveCampaign offers a free 14-day trial, with no credit card required, and supports over 180,000 customers globally.

HubSpot is an AI-powered customer platform that provides all the software, integrations, and resources needed to connect marketing, sales, and customer service. Its connected platform helps businesses grow faster by focusing on customer needs. HubSpot's platform brings marketing, sales, and service teams together on a single AI-powered platform. It's user-friendly, delivers quick value, and offers a unified customer view throughout their journey. While each product within the platform is powerful individually, the true value lies in using them together. HubSpot offers various products, including: * **Marketing Hub:** AI-powered marketing software for lead generation and automation, with features like social media management, marketing automation, and analytics. * **Sales Hub:** Easy-to-use sales software leveraging AI for pipeline building and deal closing, including sales workspace, deal management, and prospecting tools. * **Service Hub:** Customer service software powered by AI to scale support and drive retention, with features like an omni-channel help desk, customer success workspace, and customer agent tools. * **Content Hub:** An all-in-one, AI-powered content marketing platform for content creation and management, including a scalable CMS, brand voice tools, and content agent features. * **Operations Hub:** Operations software using AI to activate and manage data, with features like data sync, programmable automation, and AI-powered data quality automation. * **Commerce Hub:** B2B commerce software for collecting payments and automating billing, including invoice and subscription management, quotes, and payment links. * **Small Business Bundle:** A discounted bundle of the Starter edition of each product, designed for startups and small businesses, offering a unified platform for finding and reaching customers, growing sales, and organizing customer data. HubSpot also features Breeze, its AI tools that assist with tasks, automate work, enrich data, and improve overall efficiency. HubSpot's solutions address various business challenges, including lead generation, sales acceleration, and content creation for the entire customer journey. HubSpot customers have reported significant improvements, such as increased web traffic, deals closed, and tickets resolved, after one year of using the platform.

Brevo is a powerful email marketing platform designed to help businesses of all sizes send professional, engaging emails. It offers a comprehensive suite of tools and features to manage every aspect of your email marketing campaigns, from creating and designing emails to sending and tracking them. Brevo's intuitive interface makes it easy to create beautiful and responsive emails that look great on any device. You can segment your audience, personalize your messages, and track key metrics like open rates and click-through rates to optimize your campaigns for maximum impact. Key features include: <em> <strong>Email creation and design:</strong> Brevo provides a user-friendly drag-and-drop email editor, allowing you to create visually appealing emails without needing extensive design skills. Templates are also available to speed up the process. </em> <strong>Email sending and management:</strong> Brevo handles the technical aspects of sending emails, ensuring they reach your recipients' inboxes reliably. You can schedule emails, track delivery, and manage your email list. <em> <strong>Automation:</strong> Automate your email marketing workflows with Brevo's powerful automation features. Set up automated email sequences for welcome emails, abandoned cart reminders, or post-purchase follow-ups. </em> <strong>Segmentation and personalization:</strong> Target specific segments of your audience with personalized email content. Brevo allows you to segment your contacts based on various criteria and tailor your messages to each segment. * <strong>Reporting and analytics:</strong> Track the performance of your email campaigns with detailed reporting and analytics. Monitor key metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and conversions to understand what's working and what needs improvement. Brevo's platform is scalable, meaning it can grow with your business. Whether you're sending a few emails a day or thousands, Brevo can handle your needs. It also integrates with other popular business tools, making it easy to manage your entire marketing workflow in one place. Overall, Brevo is a robust and user-friendly email marketing platform that empowers businesses to connect with their audience effectively and drive results.

Constant Contact offers a suite of digital marketing tools, including email marketing, email templates, SMS marketing, social media marketing, ecommerce marketing, and event marketing. Their tools also encompass AI-powered writing assistance, automation for timely email delivery, integrations with various apps, list-building tools, and comprehensive campaign reporting. Constant Contact caters to businesses of all sizes, from startups to established enterprises, providing resources for new, experienced, and advanced marketers. They offer various partner programs, including franchise, enterprise, agency, marketing expert, and business partner programs, designed for different needs and business models. Constant Contact also provides resources like a blog, podcast, customer stories, webinars, and an on-demand library to help users learn and grow their marketing skills. They offer a community forum for users to connect and share experiences, a knowledge base for troubleshooting and support, and a marketing advisor service for personalized guidance. Constant Contact's customer support is highlighted as award-winning, and their tools are designed to be easy to use, helping businesses drive revenue and boost growth. The platform supports various industries and business types, with customer success stories showcasing the platform's effectiveness.

Mailchimp is a comprehensive email marketing and automation platform designed to help businesses of all sizes grow their revenue. It offers a suite of tools and services to create personalized email campaigns, manage audiences, automate marketing tasks, and track campaign performance. Mailchimp's platform integrates with various other marketing tools, such as Shopify, Wix, Salesforce, Canva, and WooCommerce, to streamline workflows and provide a holistic marketing experience. The platform also includes AI-powered tools to assist with content creation and campaign optimization. Mailchimp provides various plans, including a free trial, to cater to different needs and budgets. The platform offers detailed analytics and reporting features to track campaign performance and identify areas for improvement. It also provides resources, including tutorials, case studies, and support, to help users maximize their use of the platform. Mailchimp's services extend to various industries, including e-commerce, service-based businesses, mobile and web apps, startups, agencies, and freelancers. Professional services, such as personalized onboarding and customer success management, are also available to help users get started and stay successful. Mailchimp boasts a large user base, high email deliverability rates, and a reputation for helping businesses achieve significant ROI.

vcita is a comprehensive small business management software designed for various service-based businesses. It streamlines and automates tasks like client management, online appointments, billing, invoicing, and marketing. The platform offers features such as detailed client records, online payment collection, online scheduling and calendar management, marketing campaigns, estimates and invoices, a 24/7 client portal, staff management, automation of time-consuming tasks, a mobile app, reporting, document management, and integrations with other tools. vcita is tailored for busy small business owners, is easy to get started and use, and offers highly-praised customer support. The platform is secure and compliant, keeping client data and payments protected. vcita is available in multiple industries, including healthcare, home services, business services, fitness, education, and more. It's an all-in-one solution that supports all business needs in one integrated app, and is designed for businesses of all sizes, from solopreneurs to growing enterprises. vcita's built-in AI business advisor, BizAI, provides actionable insights and recommendations based on business data and industry benchmarks. The platform offers various pricing plans to fit different business needs, with a basic Kickstart package for solopreneurs starting at $29. Detailed pricing information is available on the pricing page.

Calendly is a scheduling automation platform designed to eliminate the back-and-forth emails needed to find suitable meeting times. It offers a range of features beyond basic scheduling, including automated reminders, follow-up emails, and SMS messages to improve meeting attendance and results. Calendly allows users to share their booking page directly with invitees, or embed their availability in emails or on their website. The platform is used by over 20 million professionals and is considered the #1 scheduling tool. Calendly offers solutions for various departments, including Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, Recruiting, IT, and Education, helping them drive revenue, speed up sales cycles, close more deals, drive pipeline, improve lead response times, boost conversion rates, drive retention, speed up response times, improve NPS and customer health, hire more efficiently, speed up recruiting cycles, improve the candidate experience, maintain enterprise-grade security, implement and govern scheduling easily, drive adoption and ROI across teams, drive valuable connections, increase communication and foster coordination, and deliver a better educational experience. Calendly integrates with various tools, including Google Suite (Calendar, Meet, Analytics) and Microsoft Suite (Teams, Outlook, Azure SSO), and other applications, to seamlessly integrate into users' workflows. It supports team-based scheduling, customizable availability settings, scheduling rules, buffers, and the ability to connect conferencing tools. Users can create custom event types, share scheduling links, and automate workflows for reminders and follow-ups. Calendly also offers routing forms for qualifying, routing, and scheduling meetings with high-value leads, round robin and collective events for team scheduling, admin management tools for streamlining onboarding, ensuring consistency, tracking scheduling trends, maintaining security standards, and more. The platform is available in various pricing plans, including a free option for individuals, Standard, Teams, and Enterprise plans with custom pricing for enterprise-level needs. Calendly is trusted by over 100,000 leading organizations, including 86% of Fortune 500 companies. It prioritizes security with enterprise-grade admin management, security integrations, data governance, compliance audits, and privacy protections. Calendly's features include scheduling automation, customizable availability, mobile apps, browser extensions, meeting routing, email & website embeds, reminders & follow-ups, meeting polls, analytics, and admin management. It integrates with various tools like Google ecosystem, Microsoft ecosystem, calendars, video conferencing, payments, sales & CRM, recruiting & ATS, email messaging, embed Calendly, analytics, API & connectors, and security & compliance.

Square is a comprehensive suite of financial and business management tools designed for various business types, including restaurants, retail, beauty salons, and service providers. It offers a range of products and services, from point-of-sale (POS) systems to online ordering, marketing tools, loyalty programs, gift cards, staff management, payroll, and banking solutions. Square's POS systems are tailored for different business models, such as quick service restaurants, full-service restaurants, coffee shops, fast casual eateries, bars, breweries, ghost kitchens, and caterers. For retail businesses, Square provides POS solutions, online stores, and tools for managing staff, payroll, marketing, loyalty programs, and gift cards. Beauty salons and service providers can utilize Square's appointment scheduling, POS, online store, payment links, staff management, payroll, and marketing tools. Square also offers a suite of products for managing customers, including marketing tools, messages, loyalty programs, customer directories, and gift cards. Staff management features include shifts, payroll, advanced access, and team communication. Square's banking services encompass checking, savings, and loans, and they offer hardware options like registers, terminals, and stands to streamline transactions. Square's platform is designed to integrate various business functions, from payments to payroll, into a single, user-friendly system. The company aims to support millions of businesses globally, providing them with the tools and resources they need to succeed.

Zoho is a comprehensive suite of cloud-based business software applications. It offers a wide range of tools designed to streamline various business functions, from customer relationship management (CRM) and marketing automation to accounting, payroll, and customer support. The platform is built around a unified approach, aiming to connect different departments and processes within an organization. Zoho's applications are designed to be user-friendly and adaptable to businesses of all sizes, from startups to large enterprises. The software suite includes features for managing customer interactions, automating marketing campaigns, handling finances, and providing excellent customer support. Zoho's focus on ease of use and integration allows businesses to efficiently manage their operations and improve overall productivity. The company emphasizes a customer-centric approach, with a strong emphasis on research and development to continually enhance its products and adapt to evolving business needs. Zoho's commitment to long-term growth and sustainability is evident in its dedication to providing reliable and effective solutions for its clients. The platform's unified nature helps break down departmental silos, improving communication and collaboration. Zoho One, a key offering, acts as an operating system for businesses, connecting various applications and providing a centralized platform for managing different aspects of a company's operations. Zoho's global presence and commitment to local communities are highlighted in its transnational approach, ensuring that its solutions cater to diverse business needs worldwide. The company's focus on privacy and data security is a key aspect of its operations, with a commitment to not selling or owning user data. Zoho's revenue model is based on software license fees, rather than advertising, reflecting its commitment to its customers.

Axon is a custom software development company specializing in full-cycle software development services of any complexity, creating turnkey solutions for small and medium businesses. They offer a range of services including software architecture, software product development, mobile development, UX/UI design, quality assurance, business analysis, dedicated teams, and extended teams. Their expertise extends to various industries such as real estate (property management systems, tenant engagement apps, ESG compliance), education, insurance, finance & banking, marketing & advertising, cryptocurrency, and agriculture. They also provide DevOps & Infrastructure, Cloud architecture, and IoT Application Development services. Axon's services include Identity & Access Management, a smart localization platform (Libraria), a product discovery workshop (Axactly), and clickable prototypes for customer management, data presentation, and ATS/CRM/ERP systems. They offer project estimation tools for software solutions, mobile apps, AWS costs, and project kick-off readiness checks. Axon emphasizes transparent and predictable project management, result-oriented processes, industry expertise, client recommendations, and flexible, scalable team structures. They are committed to data privacy and provide relationship-based and project-based cooperation models (staff augmentation, dedicated teams, fixed price, and time & material).

Smartsheet is a comprehensive work management platform designed to handle various use cases, from team projects and processes to large-scale enterprise portfolios. It's built to adapt to the needs of different organizations and scales. The platform offers features for automation, team collaboration, dashboarding and reporting, proofing, account administration, and integrations with other tools. Smartsheet allows for digital asset management, resource management, portfolio management, secure request management, intelligent workflows, and no-code work apps. It supports diverse industries, including government, construction, financial services, higher education, and nonprofits, as well as enterprise and small/medium businesses. Key use cases include project management, IT portfolio management, services delivery, marketing management, creative operations, business PMO, and enterprise PMO. Smartsheet also provides tools for event management, new product development, capital projects, and more. The platform facilitates real-time collaboration, allowing teams to share updates and stay connected, regardless of location. Automation capabilities simplify repetitive tasks, reducing errors and saving time. Smartsheet integrates with various applications, keeping work synchronized and teams informed. The platform prioritizes data security with industry-leading measures to protect sensitive information. The platform also leverages AI capabilities, such as AI-generated formulas, to speed up decision-making and unlock insights from data. Smartsheet's customer stories showcase its impact on various organizations, highlighting improvements like increased project management efficiency, cost savings, and streamlined processes. Examples include 30% more projects managed with the same number of project managers, $1M annual savings, 200 projects tracked, a 45% decrease in time for marketing lifecycle development, and significant time savings in customer invoice collection.

ClickUp is a comprehensive work platform designed to streamline communication and collaboration for teams of all sizes. It brings together tasks, projects, conversations, knowledge, and more into a single application, eliminating the need to switch between multiple apps. ClickUp offers a wide range of features, including AI-powered assistance, customizable views (list, board, Gantt, etc.), and the ability to automate workflows. It supports various team types, from PMOs to marketing teams, product teams, engineering teams, and agencies. ClickUp's flexibility allows teams to customize the platform to their specific needs, and it integrates with existing tools. The platform centralizes project-related communications, enabling better collaboration, enhanced visibility into project progress, and streamlined automation of business processes. Features include comments, documents, whiteboards, clips, views, dashboards, reports, goals, automations, forms, task templates, and custom fields. ClickUp is praised for its ability to improve productivity, reduce wasted time, and accelerate project delivery. It's described as a low-code platform that helps automate processes, increasing productivity by approximately 50% in some cases.

Asana is a work management platform that connects work to goals and automates workflows with AI assistance. It allows companies to operationalize goals by connecting work to company objectives, automating workflows across departments, and reporting on progress and addressing bottlenecks. Asana streamlines campaign management, enhances creative production, and manages events and editorial calendars for marketing teams. For operations, Asana tracks work, shows progress in real-time, standardizes and automates processes, and helps teams hit revenue goals. IT teams can prioritize and streamline requests, allocate resources effectively, automate and scale workflows, and manage employee onboarding and offboarding. Product teams can keep product development on track, centralize launch information, and tie product roadmaps to company strategy. Asana provides clarity and accountability by connecting strategic goals to teams, enabling real-time progress tracking, stakeholder updates, and company-wide progress monitoring. It amplifies impact with AI-powered workflows that handle busywork, ensuring data security and compliance with industry standards. Asana supports over 300+ integrations and is trusted by top companies globally. The platform is designed to scale with any company size, offering features for personal, starter, advanced, and enterprise plans. Asana is recognized as a leader in collaborative work management by top analyst firms like Gartner, Forrester, and IDC.

Zoho offers a comprehensive suite of cloud-based business software applications. Their products span various business functions, including sales, marketing, commerce, service, finance, email and collaboration, human resources, legal, security, and IT management, and BI and analytics. Zoho One is a unified platform designed to connect various departments and improve organizational efficiency. The company emphasizes a customer-first approach, long-term commitment, and investment in research and development. Zoho's software is designed for businesses of all sizes, from startups to enterprises. They offer various products like CRM, helpdesk software, accounting platforms, email services, payroll processing, and more. The company also provides suites like CRM Plus, Marketing Plus, Service Plus, Finance Plus, People Plus, and Workplace, which integrate multiple applications for specific business needs. Zoho's products are known for their ease of use, scalability, and integration capabilities. They also have a marketplace for extensions and integrations with other business tools. Zoho's commitment to privacy is highlighted, with a focus on software license fees as their primary revenue source, rather than advertising.

Copper is a customer relationship management (CRM) platform designed to help businesses of all sizes organize contacts, track deals, manage workflows, and automate tasks. It offers a comprehensive suite of tools for managing customer relationships, including email tools for personalized communication, automation features for streamlining processes, a mobile app for on-the-go access, and integrations with popular apps and tools. Copper's platform is designed to be user-friendly and adaptable to various business needs, with features for visualizing the entire customer journey, managing pipelines for different stages of the customer lifecycle, and collecting leads from various sources. It also provides custom reporting capabilities and integrates with Google Workspace, allowing seamless access to contacts, emails, and other data within the familiar Google environment. Copper's focus on ease of use, flexibility, and integration with existing tools makes it a compelling choice for businesses seeking a robust and efficient CRM solution. Case studies from various industries, including agencies, consulting firms, media companies, and more, highlight Copper's ability to improve client relations, streamline workflows, and enhance overall business performance.