Digital Tools for Start-Ups

Starting up? Here’s what you need when it comes to telco tools 

So you’ve got your brilliant business idea, you’ve got a killer name, and you’re ready to take the plunge and become an entrepreneur. Sweet! Nothing like being your own boss! 

As you get ready to dive in, you’ll need to have a few key things set up to ensure things run smoothly. Beyond the legal paperwork and awesome idea, the right digital tools are crucial to any business’s success. 

Unsure where to start, or even what that means? No worries, we’ve created a short list to give you a quick start! 

Domain name 

Plan on taking your business online? Beyond social media, a credible website is key to building trust amongst consumers and providing a platform for you to sell your product. It’s important to get the right domain name; you want something that is going to be easy for customers to remember and clear enough to speak to your product or service. 

Start by searching for your ideal domain name on sites such as 1st Domains to see what’s available. 1st Domains makes it easy to register a domain and also offers website hosting and email services. 

If you’re lacking in ideas and need a little inspiration, you can check out Expired Domains to see all the domains that are approaching expiration or have recently become available. You can bid on domains or sign up to keep an eye on a coveted domain name. 

Broadband 

This one is pretty much a no-brainer, but as your business grows you may need to consider changing your current broadband plan or upgrading to a business-specific plan that provides specialised, dedicated business support. Whether you’re working from a home office or moving into an office of your own, it’s important to make sure your broadband is fit for purpose. That means choosing the right plan for speeds, reliability, and unlimited data. Read more about why you should choose business broadband here. 

Phone system 

As you get yourself set up and start ramping up, you’ll be spending a lot of time on the phone. Mobile plans can start getting costly, and eventually using your personal mobile for both work and home life can get complicated and too intertwined (gotta keep that work-life balance!).

That’s why you’ll want to consider getting a business-specific voice calling solution. Since you’ve already got broadband (fibre is best), it’s worth considering a VoIP (Voice over IP) phone system. VoIP lets you make and receive calls over your existing internet connection. It’s cost-effective, flexible, scalable, and feature-rich with customisable options. You can add or remove lines and users as needed, create custom callflows, and even include an automated menu for callers to select from. Read more about VoIP for business here. 

Organisation and collaboration tools 

Spreadsheets, to-do lists, schedules, meetings, presentations… these are all the little details that are a very big part of a small business owner’s life. Digital tools like Microsoft 365 provide a central hub for storage, documentation, email, and more, making it easy to keep everything all in one place. And since it’s cloud-based, you can access it from anywhere with an internet connection.

As your team grows, the collaborative nature of a cloud-based system makes working together easy, and Microsoft Teams provides a comprehensive communication and collaboration hub from which you can a hold meetings and calls, plan schedules, assign tasks, and connect to other apps and resources. See how we use Microsoft 365 and Teams. 

Marketing and communications 

Getting yourself up and running takes a lot of setup, and it’s easy to push some BAU stuff aside at the start, thinking there’s plenty of time for it later. But while you’re already choosing the best digital tools, it’s worth thinking about something that will help you market to and reach customers as soon as you’re ready.

It’s important to be able to reach your target market at every stage of the customer lifecycle. An effective way to ensure your message is getting to your customers is to be where they often are – on their phones! iSMS (Short Message Service) is a method of sending text messages to mobiles over the internet (via email or a portal). It can be used in a variety of ways across many industries, from appointment reminders to delivery notifications to sales, loyalty programs, and promotions. Find out more about iSMS and ways it can be leveraged for business here. 

When you’re just starting out, things can be overwhelming. There are so many choices! While we’ve laid out some key tools you should consider, it’s worth talking to the experts to make sure you’re getting the right solutions for you.  

At Voyager, we have a dedicated business sales team that takes the time to listen to your requirements, understand your needs, and deliver solutions that are fit for purpose. And once you’re a customer, we’ve got a dedicated business helpdesk available 7 days a week. Besides answering most calls in less than 60 seconds, we’re also based right here in New Zealand; we know what Kiwi businesses need, because we are one! 

Give us a shout on 0800 4 SPEED or email [email protected].