There are many benefits to automating your business. Automation can help you save time and money while improving efficiency and productivity. In this blog post, we will discuss the different ways that you can automate your business and how each method can benefit you. We will also provide tips on how to get started with automation and what tools you can use to make the process easier. Let’s get started!
What Is Automation?
Automation is the process of using technology to complete tasks automatically, without human intervention. This can include various activities such as data collection and analysis, communication, customer service, sales and marketing, and more.
Automation allows you to save time by completing tasks faster and with fewer errors than manual processes. It also increases accuracy and consistency, which leads to improved customer service. Automation can free up valuable resources that can be used to focus on tasks that need a personal, human touch.
Types of Automation for Your Business
There are many different types of automation that you can inject into your business. Did you know according to a Gallup poll, over 60% of small business owners work 50 or more hours each week? But it doesn’t have to be this way, automation can help save time for you and your employees.
Email Automation
Automating your emails is a fantastic time-saver instead of writing individual emails to each of your customers, as there are going to be many times you want to send emails to them. Some examples of different emails you can automate are:
- Welcome emails
- Cart abandonment
- Monthly newsletters
- Events
- Promotions and deals
There are some great email automation platforms on which you could set up your small business, such as Sendinblue, Mailchimp, and Klaviyo. On these platforms, you will be able to add to your database of customers and set up different flows to allow the emails to be sent when necessary.
At Digital Marketing Expert, we have a great team of digital marketing professionals that will work on all of your email automation needs. And also general email marketing across your business. Please contact us today for more information.
Close-up of a phone home screen showing a Mail app icon with two unread notifications.
Social Media Scheduling Tool
Posting directly through the app every time you want to post an update can be very time-consuming and takes a lot of planning, especially across multiple platforms and accounts. There are scheduling platforms that you can use to upload all of your posts, including images, videos, reels, and links.
Some examples of platforms you can use are Gain, which is great if you are running multiple different accounts, Buffer, Hootsuite, and Later. We are happy to help you run your social media and schedule posts for you. Please contact us today for more information!
Automated Social Media Replies
On your social accounts, you may get direct messages through your inboxes on each app. On these apps, you can set up an automated reply that your customers will receive whenever they send you a message. Depending on what type of business you are and what you sell, this message may vary. Replies may include, opening times, your contact information, where to contact if the message is urgent, and your website.
We have put together an example of an automated message reply for a bakery:
Thank you for contacting Betty’s Bakes! ? Please email your inquiry to hello@bettysbakes.com and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Our shop opening times are 8.00am – 4.00pm Monday – Saturday. Visit our website for more information bettysbakes.co.uk.
SMS Automation
Contacting or sending out information to your customers can be done via SMS. Instead of typing and sending this out individually to each customer, you can schedule these to go out automatically. A really great way of utilising SMS automation is appointment booking and reminders. This can be a really important tool to reduce people missing or forgetting their appointment, it also reminds them of the time to make sure they arrive on time.
We have put together an SMS automation example for a dentist:
Hello Mrs. Clark.
This is a reminder for your appointment, 19/04/2022 at 4.30pm with Dr. Hussian.
Please text back CONFIRM to confirm or CANCEL this appointment.
To reschedule, please call the practice on 01234 790645. Thank you.
A phone showing an example appointment reminder text message, asking the recipient to reply CONFIRM or CANCEL.
Password Automation
Most businesses will have many different accounts, with multiple different log-ins and passwords for each one. To make things easier, you want to save these passwords somewhere so that everyone can access them. But this application must be secure! You can passwords through your browser, which you will be asked to do when putting in your password for the first time and then you can find them under your profile section.
When you have many different passwords, you can want to share them with a lot of people across your business. You can use a secure application that you can access with a password and then each password can be put into sections, making it easier for people to find them. A great application service for this is LastPass. Also, you can allow certain people to see certain passwords. So, if you have employees that don’t need to know the social account passwords, you can hide these from them.
Website Chatbot
When people visit your website, a chatbot makes it easier for them to ask any questions they may have without calling, emailing, or filling in a contact form. This also makes things a lot easier for you. As you don’t need to answer as many of these because the chatbot has answered them for you!
Set up your chatbot with all the information that they may need to know about your business. For example, about your business, opening times, and your goods and services. People may have questions that they want to know about an order, if you can program your chatbot to have information on your order system then that would be a great time saver for your team!
Shared Application and Project Management Software
Sharing information, tasks, and to-do lists is crucial when running a successful business. It is essential that everyone can communicate about work and add things to their own and other people’s to-do lists easily, and project management software can do just this!
At Digital Marketing Expert, we use Monday.com. It is a fantastic application that allows you to create different boards and lists that can be shared across teams and with individuals. A great feature of this application is that when you finish a task, you can set it up to automatically copy the task and enter a later date for completion. This is great for when you complete the same tasks each month! It also allows you to the priory of each task, as well as the status.
A wall covered in colour-coded sticky notes arranged into columns during a planning session.
If you need any help setting up any of these automation, or some advice on what automation would work for your business, please contact us today! We are more than happy to implement this and continue running it for you.
The Benefits of Automation
We have now explored the different ways you can automate your business. So, let’s take a look at how automation will benefit your business once you have installed these automotive platforms and tools!
- Time-Saving
Some tasks can take you or your employees a long time. For example, manually sending out emails to all of your clients or always having to go and find a password, to then copy it into the box every time a website needs it. Automating tasks can help you save time and reduce manual work. This will free up more time for you to focus on other important tasks.
- Cost Reduction
Once you have set up and paid, if there is a fee for your particular automation service, you will then most likely not have to pay for the service again. Most platforms have low running costs or a low enough cost which if you had to pay your workforce to do, it would cost you more in the long run.
- Reduced Errors
Automation can easily adapt to changes and eliminate risks, which is a really important factor when creating and producing high-quality goods and services. It is also such a competitive advantage to have over competitors, encouraging customers to come to your business over others.
- Productivity
Automation will allow a task to be done more productively. It will be done within a set time frame and reduce the risk of errors. Not only does it boost productivity due to moving over to an automated service, but it also will boost the productivity of your employees. The move to automation will mean that they will most likely not have to do the more tedious, lengthy tasks and can move on to tasks that need their full attention.
- Elevated Customer Satisfaction
With automation taking a smaller amount of time and reducing the risk of errors, the product or service your small business sells will get to your customer in a satisfactory length of time and in great condition. The more satisfied your customer is, the more likely they are to return or recommend it to a friend.
- Improved Data Analysis
Different platforms will have different ways of saving information. But most platforms will have an area where you can collect all of your data and that will be so much easier than going in and trying to find it yourself by scrolling through your emails or social media inboxes. This way the information is all in one place.
- Increased Employee Enjoyment
With the tedious tasks taken away by automation, your employees will be doing more tasks that they enjoy. The more your employees are enjoying their job, the more productive and beneficial they will be. This is especially important when they are working within a team, then each employee will contribute fairly and equally.
The Possible Drawbacks of Automation
Even though there are many different advantages to automation, it is important to consider the possible drawbacks. Let’s explore them together.
- Expensive Investment
In the beginning, the automotive service may be an expensive investment. Some may be more expensive than others as this is something you should definitely consider before making the initial investment purchase. Many platforms offer free trials or money-back guarantees within a timeframe. Ensure that you fully read reviews to make sure you buy the right platform for you. It is also a good idea to read the terms and conditions as well, this way you will know the cancellation policy and any other information you may need.
- Employee Displacement
When automation takes over some pieces of work in your business, this may mean that some people’s jobs are completely replaced by automation. This could be overwhelming for some members of your workforce and needs to be approached correctly. Even though some automation may replace tedious, more annoying tasks. It could also mean that it replaces some tasks that your employees enjoy but it may take less time to do it through automation.
- Human Intervention Is Still Needed
Some automation may still need some human intervention. Some programs may still need a start and end button pressed, or some extra work put in to complete the full process.
Should I Implement Automation Into My Business?
A good way to know whether it is the right time to implement automation into your business is when tasks are taking too long and you are falling behind on work. Or when an employee expresses struggle with the technicality of a task. Automation can help with all of these factors, and the best part is that you can try most platforms for free before committing to them.
Where Should I Start?
Our advice is to do an audit of your business. Speak to your employees and gauge where there may be gaps. Research some automation platforms for this particular gap and read through the reviews. Check the terms and conditions, and have a look to see whether they offer a free trial. Another great option is to speak to other people in businesses or look on forums to see what other similar businesses use.
Please contact us today with any questions you may have about automating your business! We look forward to getting to know you, and helping you save your valuable time!
Read some of our previous blogs:
Traditional VS Digital Marketing: The Advantages And Disadvantages
Everything You Need To Know About Digital Marketing Agencies In Milton Keynes
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