Small business management software to solve app subscription overwhelm

As you launch bright-eyed into running a business, the thing nobody tells you is what an absolute pain in the arse it is going to be to string lots of disconnected software together that you’ll end up needing to run your business. Let’s face it, nobody ever launches a business because they’ve had a long-held secret yearning to juggle lots of spreadsheet imports to do a simple email mailing, when they could be helping their clients, do they?

The software industry, in general, is geared towards your small business needing to have lots of different - usually disconnected - pieces of software, used infrequently, billed monthly... and forever. There are 1000s of business apps that do little overlapping things, but rarely enough to be consistently useful.

I know your problem first hand. I've been the techy friend that people turned to for advice. In fact, I ended up turning ‘helping friends to set up software’ into a business as a marketing systems specialist. I spent years trying to make square pegs fit in round holes with other people’s software. My clients and I were frustrated with the increasingly scattered software mix that a bloated software market was creating. So I launched Connectably in 2017 to solve that confusing, disconnected software problem that you and businesses like yours face.

Managing the software you need can feel overwhelming

When you’re struggling to manage all the software needed to run your service business, it’s easy to get frustrated and overwhelmed - and to feel guilty for those emotions. You start to wonder if you’ve done something wrong as a business owner.

Can we ease your mind a bit? The truth is, it really can be frustrating and overwhelming trying to run a business. Also, it’s totally normal to worry about your business effectiveness. You are not a bad business owner. And you’re not alone.

You just need the right software tools so that you can be the confident business owner who gets things done. Connectably has the tools you need. As marketing experts turned software developers, our team has worked with hundreds of business owners like you - business owners who just want to get on and provide a living for their staff and families, not get bogged down in software logins.

Our uncomplicated small business management software, online training and support teaches you simple, quick process improvements so that you have more quality time for your clients, your prospects and you.

Your business' four marketing pillars

Let's get into busting the marketing software industry's myth. They want you hooked on every variant of software service going, each doing slightly different, but occasionally overlapping things. But you actually don't need a web browser stacked full of software logins to run your service business. In fact, in most B2B and B2C service businesses, there are just four marketing pillars that you need:

1. A way to get leads. This is your website. It's probably on WordPress. Great, especially if it's got a flexible theme and page builder. Or is it Wix or Squarespace if you weren't feeling adventurous? Or is it some strange website you were sold by a web designer you're awkwardly not working with anymore that looks like it's a relic of the last century and is difficult to manage?
2. A way to look after your leads. This is the job of business management software. It should combine CRM, email marketing, automations. It could be Connectably, or HubSpot, or Keap, or something similar. Is this missing completely from your business? Or perhaps a patchwork of free and paid software services you try your best to run?
3. A way to sell your work. This is your accounting and bookkeeping software, plus a payment provider or two. Probably Xero, or possibly Quickbooks or FreeAgent. Plus Stripe and/or GoCardless for payments?
4. A way to communicate. Your mobile phone, a Zoom account, an awkward love/hate relationship with a social media platform, and something to do email marketing with. That's Connectably, or that rarely accessed free Mailchimp account, right?

The mix isn't particularly complex when you see it this way, is it? But as business owners, it's usually pillars (2, looking after your leads) and (3, selling your work) that get overcomplicated or overlooked most frequently.

Enter Connectably...

Let's take a brief look at what we do for you.

Problems that Connectably solves

Connectably is....

• a home for lead and customer records and what they mean to you;
• an organiser of your sales workflows and opportunities;
• a sharer of email 'sent items' with your inbox;
• a manager of web forms for your website to capture and filter leads;
• an appointment booking service without you needing to manually manage your calendar;
• a sender of email marketing campaigns and broadcasts;
• an email and direct mail marketing automator;
• a creator of personalised ebook and lead magnet PDF templates;
• a sender of impressive-looking proposals;
• a taker of secure payments,
• a linker-upper with your accounting software, and;
• a business process systemiser.

...all without additional software subscriptions.

To discover more about how we solve these problems for you, watch the demo.

What kind of businesses use Connectably?

Connectably isn't right for every small business. But it does serve certain types of B2B and B2C service businesses very well. See the infographic below to see if your business might benefit:

Connectably helps businesses who are paid for their skill or expertise

If you run a B2B or B2C service business and your expertise or a physical skill is why your clients pay for your help, then Connectably is for you.

Could Connectably be right for you?

Connectably helps everyday businesses to manage workflows, processes and communications that would normally require much more expensive software and skills to manage. It's simple to use, easier to implement than continuing to do things manually, and will help you to think about your business in a different, more scalable, and less time-intensive way.

Watch demo

Left to themselves, your customers face a painful journey

To customers buying help for something, buying journeys can feel more like a strenuous hike through a mountain range. It can - at times - feel to them like they're doing lots of the hard work.

If you think this doesn't apply to you and your business, consider the times you've needed work doing on your house and the gaps you thought some tradespeople left in their own follow-up. They're making similar mistakes to you. As a customer you're quicker to recognise gaps than when you're a service provider. But watch the video below to see how you'll overcome that when we help you get going with Connectably:

What's it like to work with Connectably?

Most users of Connectably find our software intuitive to use and run, using the in-app prompts and online help. Others prefer to work with an expert 1-to-1. The latter group often haven't implemented CRM or used email marketing before, or haven't fully established a sales funnel and pipeline in their business that manages leads as effectively as they'd like to in future.

Either option is fine. We'll work to assist you at whatever stage you're at in your business.

If you think you might need some additional assistance, then please get in contact to arrange a discussion. That's the best place to start. We'll be honest with you on where you're at.

What do Connectably users say about it?

As the great Ronan Keating melodised, "You say it best, when you say nothing at all." So rather than explain why we think it's great, here are some thoughts from our users about why they put their trust in Connectably to systemise their businesses better:

Next steps: helpful resources for you

We're committed to helping B2B and B2C service business owners to systemise their businesses to make client processes more consistent, scalable and repeatable. Here are four resources to help you begin to do that immediately:

1. Watch the Connectably demo to see if our software might benefit your business
2. Take the training: 'What is CRM?' Includes 9 simple ways to avoid mistakes when choosing Customer Relationship Management software
3. Systemise your business to build a scalable life without needing to build a business at scale (systems vs. processes overview)
4. Stop making these 5 costly email marketing mistakes

We believe that business software should never be overwhelming. It would be our pleasure to help you to address with us software overwhelm you have encountered elsewhere.