The Pros and Cons Explained
Every business relies upon systems and processes, and this requires tools. Yet, finding and implementing the right tools that work exactly how you need them to can be a time-consuming process. Not only that, but once you have those systems up and running, you may need to change things around if your business changes.
There are many tools out there that help keep those everyday tasks simple. Some are ‘all-round’ tools that perform several functions as part of a single platform. Or, you may prefer to use separate tools for different processes, and link them together. There is no right or wrong answer to this, it simply depends on the nature of your business and how you prefer to work. If you are having trouble deciding, here’s some pros and cons of both options explained.
Using All-Round Business Tools vs. Separate Tools
- With an all-round tool, there is increased collaboration between team members. When your team are all working together using the same platform, it increases communication and collaborative working. This helps processes run more efficiently and problems can be spotted and solved more quickly.When using separate tools, data is scattered between them. This makes finding information and communicating it effectively a lengthier process. If you have more than one team, such as a marketing team and a CRM team, you may experience some disconnection that could have a negative impact on your business.
- All-round tools may save time, as you are not continually switching between tools and apps to get a job done. Having to search for information between tools might not seem like it takes much time, but add this up over a week and you might be surprised at how much time is wasted. However, it is possible to link separate tools together to create effective workflows. This means that while it may be a bit more of a challenge to set up, you still get many of the benefits from linking separate tools as an all-in-one option.
- Using separate tools, you can design systems to meet your precise requirements. It can be difficult to find an all-round tool that does everything you need, which is why many people prefer to use several different tools. That way, you can customise your systems and processes by using different tools to fulfil the demands you need, rather than trying to work around something that doesn’t quite fit when using an all-round tool.
- Less tools saves your business money. Effective tools with the features you need are often a one off-cost to purchase, or subscription based. If you add up the costs of all the tools you are using, it may make more sense financially to opt for an all-round tool.
Examples of All-Round Tools
If you choose an all-round tool, there are many competitive options such as Dubsado, Plutio and HoneyBook. For the coaching industry, Coach Accountable is a good solution that helps deliver more programs with less work. Or you could check out this list of coaching tools and software that integrate many business areas, such as accounting, scheduling, communication and content management.
How do I link separate tools together?
If you choose to use separate tools for your business, linking them together to create effective workflows can be done using platforms such as Zapier and Integromat. This can be done so some actions trigger automatic responses that work between the tools and platforms.
The bottom line…
There is no right or wrong answer to whether you need an all-round solution or separate tools to manage your business. The best way to decide is the weigh up the pros and cons, and work out what would work best for the way you currently operate and the future of your business.
If you are looking for help or advice on what tools to use, or how to implement an all-round solution, feel free to drop me a line!
