Maintaining a small promotions business requires the proprietor to do most of the work. As one would know, the pressure that accompanies it tends to be grand, so to make your life simpler and your business run smoother we have assembled a digital toolkit comprised of the best applications, online portals and websites explicit to the promotions industry. All of which will enable you to increase efficiencies so you can concentrate on what is significant – developing your business.
ClockWork
Category: On-demand hiring
Type: iOS, Android
Cost: 13% of wage
ClockWork is an app-based solution for hiring local, vetted and reliable blue collar jobseekers across various industries, including the promotions industry. Business owners can sign into the app, post a job and then a list of jobseekers in that industry and your area will appear. Thereafter, one can see how jobseekers have performed in past jobs that were facilitated through the ClockWork Employer app. This means that jobseekers who perform, have a better chance of obtaining regular work through the app. There’s no reason to stress over having cash on hand to pay the jobseeker as payment is made securely through the ClockWork App once the job is completed. So when your promotions business winds up short-staffed or you’ve taken on a major project and need additional staff, don’t worry, ClockWork has you covered.
Further reading: Top Promotions Companies in Cape Town & Johannesburg
Neil Patel
Category: Reference
Type: Blog
Cost: Free
Every business wants to acquire customers and create brand awareness within their specific target market as cost effectively as possible. There are various ways to do this, from social media to SEO to Google AdWords. As a promotions business, you may have it all waxed, but that doesn’t mean you can’t improve, right?
Neil Patel is a plethora of information regarding digital marketing and how to optimise it to reach critical mass and attract new customers. Neil is a New York Times best selling author, The Wall Street Journal calls him a top influencer on the web, Forbes says he is one of the top 10 marketers, and Entrepreneur Magazine says he created one of the 100 most brilliant companies. He was recognised as a top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 30 by President Obama and a top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 35 by the United Nations. So why wouldn’t you at least hear him out? He definitely knows a thing or two about digital. The best part is that all of this information is readily available at www.neilpatel.com for free!
Printulu
Category: Printing
Type: Web
Cost: Dependant on printing needs
Printulu is a newly established innovative online printing firm in South Africa, offering tangible offline marketing material for businesses of all sizes. Their vision is to completely revolutionise offline marketing in South Africa. Through their efficient sales platform and optimised production, they can offer a broad portfolio of good quality products while beating market prices by up to 50%.
Printulu distinguishes themselves from competitors by providing full transparency. Being a promotions business owner, you can easily access all product combinations on their website thanks to a revolutionary custom array that calculates prices in real time. This provides users with total control of the product and helps companies achieve their budget. In addition, offering an online solution for pre-press eliminates defects while giving the user a quick, efficient and hassle free experience. Printulu is the perfect partner for any small business to aid in its marketing efforts.
Trello
Category: Organisation/Planning
Type: Web, iOS, Android
Cost: Free
Trello is project management tool that gives you a chance to work more co-operatively and accomplish more. Trello’s boards, lists, and cards encourage you to sort out and organise your activities in a fun, adaptable, and rewarding way. It has a solid visual interface, straightforward ease of use, and a collaborative approach to getting things done. Trello will help you to visualise what should be done before your big promotional event, and having the option to impart it to others in your team implies that you’ll all be in agreement. Furthermore, who doesn’t love crushing their schedule?
ClockInstant
Category: Time-tracking software
Type: Web, iOS, Android
Cost: Between R18 & R49 per employee p/m
Staff management platforms can oftentimes be costly and complicated. Luckily, ClockInstant provides a simple answer for both of these issues. In short, our Bluetooth-enabled beacons interact with staff cell phones, enabling them to clock in upon arrival, and clock out once the promotional event has concluded. This information is then translated automatically into an administration dashboard, enabling a promotions business owner to monitor those staff who are routinely on schedule and those that are taking their sweet time getting to work. This dashboard also allows one to export the time-sheet data into their payroll software to streamline the efficiency in paying their employees.
Wave Apps
Category: Accounting
Type: Web, iOS, Android
Cost: Free
Wave Apps provides more than 2 million entrepreneurs with free bookkeeping software to enable them to oversee income, invoicing and receipts. They can help take the pressure out of doing your books through their straightforward and simple to utilise interface. This implies, as a small promotions business owner, you can sleep soundly, as opposed to stressing over your bookkeeping. Additionally, with Wave, you can deal with your bookkeeping, finance, and invoicing—for nothing, and it accompanies a receipt scanner. There’s more…Wave will also connect you with a nearby bookkeeper in case you’re having any issues. Wave is the answer to accounting on-the-go with its cross-platform software.
Canva
Category: Design
Type: Web, iOS, Android
Cost: Free
Every promotions business needs graphics made at some point. But you may think outsourcing it would be the best option because you’re no graphic design whizz. Think again. An online and app-based tool called Canva is here to save the day. Before you know it, you’ll be designing graphics for marketing campaigns and much, much more! Essentially, Canva is a graphic-design tool which uses a drag-and-drop format and provides access to over a million photographs, graphics, and fonts. Using Canva, your marketing collateral will level up while also allowing you to save on having to outsource the design work. It’s a win/win.
