The Top 8 Tools to Overcome the Challenges of a Recurring Services Business
No one joins a recurring services business because it’s easy.
In fact, it can feel like you’re walking a tightrope. You’ve got to deliver a top-notch service, keep those subscriptions ticking over, make sure billing runs accurately, keep your customers happy, and attract new customers too.
Here are some of the biggest challenges you’re up against:
- Customer Retention, Support and Management: Keeping customers engaged and loyal in the most competitive era without a centralised system to help track them and their data
- Subscription Management: Manually processing subscriptions costs you untold money and thousands of work hours a year.
- Financial Management: Invoicing, payroll, and tax filing is complex and tedious, and errors cost money and compliance fines.
- Project Management: Keeping track of projects and monitoring progress can be nearly impossible.
- Team Communication: Silos, especially with the remote teams, are extremely costly and can drive up employee turnover.
- Reliable Numbers and Data: Without accurate numbers and the analytics that customer data can give you, you’re operating in the dark
It’s a lot. But there’s good news.
It all gets a lot easier when you have the right tools to smash out the challenges that keep you awake at night. Here are the top 8 tools that can help you turn things around for good:
1. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software
When you’ve got a good CRM system, you’ve got a virtual personal assistant that boosts customer relationships. It manages customer data, tracks all interactions, and helps you improve your Customer Lifetime Value.
But not all CRM systems are the same. Avoid complexity where it isn’t needed. The easier your CRM is to use, the easier it will be to scale.
2. Accounting Software
The better hold you’ve got on your financial picture, the more likely you are to be successful. The best accounting software will simplify and stabilise everything from invoicing, payroll, tax filing and compliance. Flexi found that it can cut your operating expenses by up to 50% too.
It cuts the risk of mistakes, and gives you numbers you can have confidence in. You can see your cash flow, profit and loss, and balance sheet at a glance. That’s how you make the best decisions possible
3. Project Management Software
Project management software keeps all your projects on track with very little effort on your behalf. According to a PWC study, 77% of high performing projects use project management software.
These tools allow you to assign tasks, allocate resources, set deadlines, and monitor progress. With real-time information flow, you’ll know who’s working on what, deadlines coming up, and how much work is left to be done. Your teams will be happier because there’s no waiting around, no shortage of resources, no unhappy customers, and no delays.
4. Social Media Management Tools
Having a strong social media presence is a requirement, not a preference these days. But running social media, especially on multiple platforms can be a very big job. You need something that will save as much time as possible.
The right tools let you or your team schedule posts, automatically engage with your audience, and analyze the performance of your content so that you boost impact and conversions.
5. Cybersecurity Software
When you’ve got effective cybersecurity software, you’re protecting your business data and your customers. Which is important because the last thing you need is the financial and reputational damage caused by a data breach.
The right solution will not only keep everything locked down, but will make recommendations and warn you when necessary.
6. Communication Tools
It’s key to knock down all the information silos you have between teams in your company. Platforms like Slack or Microsoft Teams connect people in real-time an eliminate the time wasted chasing calls and emails. But more than that, the right tool will let information free-flow in real time – usage numbers, contract terms, payments and reconciliation – they all require the best communication possible.
According to McKinsey, organizations that communicate effectively are 4.5 times more likely to retain their best employees. That’s important because turnover is expensive – it can cost 1.5 x the salary of a tech sales rep just to replace them
7. Analytics Tools
There’s no point in sitting on data because when it’s used properly, it’s like gold dust. The right analytics will give you insights into customer segmentation, selling opportunities, financial forecasts – everything you need to take your company forward.
According to Forbes, companies who adopt data-driven marketing are six times more likely to be profitable year-over-year. When you understand what your data’s saying to you, you can make the best long-term growth-driving decisions.
8. End-to-End Subscription Management Software
An end-to-end subscription management software, will automate and secure all the important stuff for you, from sales opportunities to payments and reconciliation.
It’s a fact that automation leads to growth. It saves untold manual hours, creates the best sales opportunities, avoids the risk and loss that comes with manual billing and payment collection, and boosts customer satisfaction
All for a lot less effort from you and your teams. In fact, 73% of IT leaders say that automation has saved their teams 10-50% of the time they previously spent on manual tasks.
You’ll also get accurate numbers, insights into customer behaviour and revenue forecasts, and complete revenue recognition.
But perhaps the biggest benefit of a subscription management software is its impact on the customer and employee experience. Both will have a seamless experience that gives them everything they need with none of the hassle.
And that literally is something you can take to the bank.
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