When it comes to technology for your business, there is no one silver bullet that takes care of everything. Rather, you have a combination of software and tools that work together to manage sales, client relations, marketing, and more.
What it is
The term “tech stack” refers to the combination of digital tools that keep your business running. This includes anything from project management software, to email marketing systems, to online analytics.
For a small business, your tech stack may include a combination of the tools you use to manageÂ
- Social Media
- Website
- Inventory Management
- Email Marketing
- Client Management
- Analytics and Reporting
Why it matters
The right tech stack can be instrumental in helping you grow your business, so you want to ensure you research and choose the right tools. With the right tools, you can quickly and easily manage your business’s online presence, communicate with your customers, and track your business performance.
How to build one
The tools you use as part of your business tech stack depend primarily on your business’s specific needs, goals, and budget.Â
Companies with financial freedom to build their stacks may look to service plans including:
- Design and Production: Adobe Creative Cloud, Canva, etc.
- Email marketing tools: MailChimp, Marketo, etc.
- Website management and eCommerce: SquareSpace, Shopify, etc.
However, for newer or smaller businesses on a tight budget, open-sourced or free use options may be more appealing, but also may be harder to locate and take extra time to configure. Whether you’re looking for paid or free options, directories like GetApp exist allowing you to search for tools to build your stack.
While the approach and tools used will vary for all organizations, there are some rules all businesses should follow when setting up your business’s tech stack:
- Use your stack to drive your strategy and meet your goals
The first part in identifying the tools needed for your tech stack is understanding your business. What are you trying to do and what tools will you need to do it? Ensure that your tech stack is being defined by your own business goals, and not the other way around. - Don’t rush. Do some research.
Not only should you research the tools available to you, but also perform competitive research and find out how others in your industry have built their own stacks. Case studies exist online, and you can always ask people in your network for advice to avoid any pitfalls that they may have already learned from. - Make your stack flexible
As your business grows, your tech stack needs will change. Do not put yourself in a position where it’s difficult to shift your tech stack or replace one piece of the stack with a different tool if needed. If you don’t build your stack in an adaptive way, making changes to it will become a burden, which can affect growth and overall productivity. - Regularly evaluate
On that note, it’s always a good idea to evaluate your tech stack on a regular basis. New technology will become available, old technology will stop being supported, and you should be ready to take advantage of the best options out there. Never get too comfortable with your tech stack and always be ready to embrace a new tool if it could be a positive for your operations.
Looking to understand more of the most popular IT terms? Click here to continue to Tech 101: Downtime or return to the A to Z of Common IT Terms to see what else is covered in this series.
Have a business term or concept that you’ve always wanted to know more about or understand better? Leave your suggestions for future posts in the comments and stay tuned for more useful small business content!