It’s not always easy to embrace technology. In only a generation, businesses have gone from having stacks of papers with communication cycles sometimes taking weeks, to paperless, near instantaneous communication, and access to seemly never-ending accumulations of data. Technology has made this possible. There are always new expressions of technology. It would be impossible to embrace them all, let alone keep up with the changes and evolutions. But I must admit, finding the right few apps and knowing them well has made my job more efficient. Here are four mobile apps my team and I use to improve work flow.
Google Analytics Mobile App
Our business is an ecommerce company focused on selling gift baskets. Our website is critical to our business. We utilize several channels to drive sales but ultimately each transaction runs through our website. Our website and process must work and work well. How do I keep track of this? I use web analytics, and as everyone knows, Google is king in this space. From detailing who is currently on our site to showing how much we transacted today/yesterday/last year, Google Analytics put this information at my fingertips.
Teamwork
So many things to do and so little time. How do I keep a record of what tasks I have assigned? Our team uses project management tools, the hub of which is Teamwork. I can assign tasks, view progress, get coordinated information on projects. My employees are also able to communicate and get insight into projects and tasks past, current and future as well as see who is working on what. The mobile app allows me to bring up this information whenever I need it, whether in a meeting or on the road.
Google Drive
I am not always at my desk. I need to be in meetings, walking the floor or sometimes traveling. But people look to me for important information. Of course, I sometimes need to share files. Box and Dropbox are good, and both have apps as well, but I really find Google Drive to be best as it provides collaboration and better editing features for mobile. Installing Microsoft Office is an option on my phone, but Google Drive is so light weight and handles collaboration and file sharing much better. There have been many times when I have been away from my computer and I have saved time being able to send a file instead of having to head back to my office machine to do so.
Slack
Quick texts and email messages are good for many situations but in a business environment, I need to be able to keep track of who said what and sometimes the individuals involved can be quite a long list. Slack is like chat and email combined but better because it is mobile. It organizes communication more intuitively. You can share files and keep a record of communication much easier. Slack makes mobile communications very efficient.
Mobile apps have significantly improved my work flow. I hope my recommendations will help others to obtain a higher degree
of mobility and efficiency in their work.
Patrick Ahrendt, Sr. Director of Marketing, Wine Country Gift Baskets
Patrick Ahrendt is Senior Director of Marketing at Wine Country Gift Baskets. After graduating from Rutgers University Business School, he worked in data-driven marketing at several growth-oriented companies before joining Wine Country Gift Baskets in 2000.
