The Right Tools for the Job (part 1)

Lets face it. Running a business is hard. But imagine how much harder daily operations would be without modern tools and technology, specifically software and web apps.

At FoxyCart, like other companies, we use different tools for different tasks. Over time we have learned what works and what doesn’t work for our team, dropping and adding new tools as needed. The reality is that each team has specific needs that must be met and tasks that must be completed. What may be a good fit for one company may not be a good fit for another. For example, FoxyCart has a fully remote team, so the communication tools we use will most likely differ from an office based company.

Today we are going to look at some of the tools we use, and why we use them. Some you may be familiar with, others you may not. Lets dive in!

HelpScout

HelpScout has become one of my favorite tools. As a team, we have tried other helpdesks in the past, but HelpScout is by far the best. The ability to integrate with other tools, display user’s FoxyCart account information alongside support tickets, and create our own workflows is just scratching the surface of everything HelpScout has to offer. Not only does HelpScout empower us to better serve our users, but their team offers amazing support themselves.

Optimizely

Our team is constantly working on improvements to the FoxyCart app and public website. Thanks to Optimizely, we no longer have to make changes based on assumptions and hope for the best. We can now make confident decisions and see the results in a short amount of time. Optimizely allows us to A/B test every change made to see what works and what doesn’t work.

KISSmetrics

KISSmetrics is crazy powerful when it comes to learning about our users. We can quickly see what actions are taken by users within the FoxyCart app and how those actions affect revenue. Like many of the other tools we use, KISSmetrics helps us to see what’s working and what isn’t working.

Intercom

Intercom allows us to interact with users via drip campaigns and in app notifications (we are still testing this on our end). Drip campaigns can be configured to respond exactly how and when you want it to. Want to send a followup email to all users who haven’t logged in in three weeks? No problem. Intercom’s got you covered.

Segment.io

Segment.io is a godsend. It allows us to take data from the FoxyCart app and easily send it to other tools we use. (HelpScout, Optimizely, KISSmetrics, and Intercom) Pull in data once and disperse it at a click of a button. Nice! This saves us hours of development and integration time.

Grasshopper

Having a working phone number is a must when it comes to serving our users. Though we only offer phone support for select FoxtCart plans, we do handle many pre-sales and billing related calls on a daily basis. Grasshopper allows us to quickly configure our toll-free number, setup multiple extensions, record custom greetings and more. Many of our team members travel quite a bit, but thanks to Grasshopper’s easy to use interface, changing extension availability hours and timezones is a breeze.

Slack

Communication between team members is a must, but can sometimes be difficult for remote teams. Thankfully, there is Slack, team communication and organization like you have never seen before. We were previously using Campfire and loved what it had to offer, but we realized we needed a more robust communication tool for our team. Slack allows our entire team to always be on the same page with one central hub for conversations, files, and more. Plus, Slack integrates with other tools we use, like HelpScout, so the right people are instantly notified when a user needs help. It’s smart. It’s fast. It’s sexy. It’s Slack!

Campaign Monitor

Campaign Monitor is definitely a known name in the email newsletter industry, and there’s good reason for that. Powerful features, easy to use campaign builder, robust reporting, real-time analytics, and amazing support are only a few of the awesome perks of using Campaign Monitor. Just in case you didn’t know, we have our own Campaign Monitor integraton for FoxyCart stores.

More tools to come.

Well, that wraps up our first list of tools we use at FoxyCart. Keep your eyes open for_The Right Tools for the Job (part 2)_. In our next post,Evgeniy Abduzhapparov (FoxyCart developer) will be going over the different tools our developers use when working on the FoxyCart app.

What tools does your team use? Any we should know about?