As your company grows, it gets harder to manage customers, handle employees’ hiring, onboarding, training, and billing. Things get easier with collaborative tools such as Drag, which allow teams to work from a single interface and, with a shared inbox, the team members do not have to share email logins.
However, there are a variety of alternatives for any organization that don’t have access to Google Workspace.
Why are people searching for Drag App alternatives
Drag is a great app but it has some limitations. For starters, Drag App is only available for people using Gmail, as it’s a Chrome extension that turns Gmail into a collaborative workspace.
Therefore, if your organization does not use Gmail, you may want to look for other apps that work like Drag.
Why Should You Set Up Your Shared Inboxes On the Same Platform As Your Email Client?
Shared inbox has been booming, thanks to their ease of use and convenience. Setting up your shared inbox on the same platform as your email client comes with a range of benefits to your organization, including;
No Tab Switching
A shared inbox allows teams to send and receive emails from the same address. This is an excellent solution for companies who want to share the burden of responding to clients’ inquiries without switching tabs.
With this feature, any customer support team member can respond to the emails sent to the shared inboxes right from their email accounts without switching tabs. In return, this keeps the teams focused and productive.
By keeping the shared inbox together with email client, teams can move from external communication to internal communication seamlessly. For instance, if you have an email with an issue that requires the assistance of someone else in the company, you just need to forward it to them.
No Copy and Pasting
Teams no longer have to copy emails and paste them on the internal messaging system to other team members. They can all view and respond to the emails right from the inboxes where the emails were sent.
This benefit eliminates the chances of human error and miscommunication. Moreover, they can rapidly switch from external to internal communication.
Reduces the Onboarding Time
Shared inboxes are one more platform for new employees to learn how to use on their onboarding. However, if the shared inboxes are together with the email client, that’s one less app they have to get used to.
What are the features to look for in a Drag App alternative?
Undoubtedly, Drag is a go-to all-in-one workspace for organizations looking for a collaborative project and employee management tool. It adds capabilities to Gmail such as customer support, tasks management, and closing deals.
With Drag, you can skip switching between tools. You can quickly run your workflow from your Gmail inbox, thus increasing convenience and productivity. But what happens when your team does not use Gmail. In such a case, Drag App is not an option.
Luckily, there are a few alternative apps with similar functionalities as Drag App. But it will help to conduct background research on the apps’ features, pros, and cons before settling for one. Some must-have features in drag app alternative are;
Shared Inbox
Nearly every business has a contact address on their site for visitors to reach out to them. The email addresses are the easiest and most convenient way for potential clients to get in touch with the company.
A shared inbox comes in to make work easier for customer support teams. They can all access received emails on their accounts. The best part is that they do not have to share login details to access the messages.
With shared inboxes team members no longer have to forward emails to other team members. They also don’t have to cc emails to reach many people. This reduces clutter and unnecessary emails.
Shared inboxes ensure transparency and accountability. It allows you to delegate emails to your team. All members can see the entire email chain and history, and in return, this promotes transparency. The feature offers a clear record of the sent emails, thus minimal chances of replying to an email twice.
Kanban Boards
When selecting the best alternatives for Drag App, you need a solution that keeps your team motivated and productive. Choose one with Kanban boards for easy project viewing. The feature improves the teams’ workflow.
Kanban boards help teams visualize their workflow via columns, icons, and cards. It is an efficient way to ensure everyone is on the same page, which is critical, especially when businesses are forced to work remotely.
Most teams would benefit from Kanban boards with customizable columns that reflect their exact stages of their workflow. This enhances the visibility and transparency. They can plan their work, communicate openly and collaborate easily.
Even better, kanban boards promote flexibility. The feature is based on real-time visualization. Team members can view the tasks in progress, which keeps them motivated to meet deadlines.
Email Assignments on Boards
The right management app should let you assign email tasks on boards. There are minimal chances of two people taking an assignment separately if everyone has real time access to the same board. You can view which emails have been replied to and which ones are in progress and which ones are pending. This feature reduces attrition in the team and ensures high productivity, and increased customer satisfaction.
Notes, Subtasks, and File Uploads and Email Cards
A collaborative tool’s critical features are adding notes, subtasks, and uploading files. With such features, team members can easily add their thoughts and include subtasks on emails while maintaining a single thread.
With these tools, you can keep all information in a single interface. Moreover, by adding subtasks, various people can work simultaneously on a larger task in an orderly fashion. Every team member can see which issues they are expected to handle, increasing the pace at which problems are solved..
Automation
What is the use of having a project management app without automation features? The suitable Drag App alternative should enable the automation of manual tasks such as assigning specific emails to different team members. Furthermore, it should eliminate writing repetitive emails to respond to customer inquiries. Similarly, if one wishes to send a status update, the right app should enable you to automatically send a template message.
Reports and Analytics
Drag allows you to measure team performance. In this data-driven era, it will help to measure performance metrics to boost the quality of your customer services.
The best alternative tool should make it easy to determine conversation volume and the time required to respond to inquiries. With this, you can establish if you have enough agents or you need to hire more to cut down on the response time.
Moreover, with reporting and analytics features, you can view the common customers’ inquiries. This way, you can determine which areas require improvement to reduce the incoming requests.
Internal Chat Feature
Internal chat tool ensures easy communication and collaboration. With this feature, team members can share and access information from a centralized interface.
Internal chat feature provides a single point for team members to remain connected on what is happening in the organization. They can connect with each other via text messages, voice and video calls even when they are apart, which is critical, especially when working remotely.
Switching browser tabs and tools all day is killing your work
It’s not just the time spent switching between tabs, whenever you interrupt something your brain keeps giving attention to the interrupted activity. this adds up throughout the day.
To help you assess the time you loose on the platform overload we’ve made a calculator.
What Are the Drag App Alternatives For Outlook Users?
If your team does not use Gmail, here are some Drag App alternatives to try.
Outlook Shared Mailboxes
Outlook shared mailboxes are a go-to solution for large groups who want to send and monitor emails from a public address such as info@. With Outlook shared mailboxes when one of the group members replies to an email, the reply appears as though it was sent from the shared inbox alias and not from the specific sender.
Moreover, Outlook shared mailbox has special features to facilitate the offboarding of team members. Once someone leaves your organization, you may need to access their mailbox and keep it active even during the transition. With Outlook shared mailboxes, you have simplified access to the accounts contacts, calendars, and other essential info.
Outlook shared mailboxes save you time as you do not have to forward emails to everyone in the group. This keeps the teams productive and minimizes the chances of errors. Check out online resources for the outlook shared inbox guide to understand how the application works for Microsoft.
Features
- Shared inbox
- Kanban boards
- Analytics and reporting tools
Pros
- Facilitates team email management
- Easier offboarding of team members
Cons
- You cannot add people outside your company to the group
- The emails can only be accessed from an Outlook web or outlook desktop client
Flow-e
Flow-e is a visual task board for Office 365. The app aims to simplify tedious tasks such as scheduling meetings, distributing tasks, and managing email.
Flow-e is primarily meant for project managers. It works by transforming your Outlook Mailbox. The project management tool treats your emails as tasks without the need to leave your Office 365 inbox. The best part is that any changes made on Flow-e appear on email as well.
The primary feature that makes Flow-e stand out among other tools is that you can see all your calendars in multiple accounts in a single interface. You only need this one application to be on top of your day.
Features
- Customizable boards
- Create and assign subtasks
- Collaboration tools
Pros
- Accessible meetings and tasks scheduling
- It has an easy-to-use interface
Cons
- Lacks enough admin controls
- The mobile version is not the best
How do Drag App alternatives compare to Drag
The presented Drag App alternatives are a good fit for organizations that do not use Gmail but they have some limitations. For starters, these apps are a bit more expensive than Drag, so you may take longer to reach your expected ROI.
Moreover, these apps lack the internal team chat features, which can be inconvenient and will most likely require you to get yet another tool.
Why Drag is the Number One Collaboration Tool For Gmail Users
If you are looking to give your customers and support team an incredible experience, Drag is your best collaboration tool option.
Drag exists inside Gmail and features shared inboxes for real with customizable boards. With Drag everyone is on top of the workflow, you can add notes, subtasks and files to email task cards.
Final Thoughts
A good collaborative tool is the key to increased productivity and reduced errors. It eliminates the need to switch between tools during project management. Be sure to participate in our Context Switching Productivity Survey to learn how Drag can help you save time and maximize productivity.
Get the real thing on your Gmail
Drag turns Gmail into your Team’s Workspace – One single place to support customers, manage tasks and close deals, from the place teams love: Gmail. We are a Techstars-backed Company, trusted by 30,000 users around the World.
