Things Your Business Should Automate in 2020 For Better Results
In today’s world, technology plays a huge role on the way things are done in various fields. The playing field between big brands in an industry and startups or small businesses seem to have been leveled by technology, and much of that can be attributed to access to automation that even small brands now have.
The trend in the past was that only big players and brands were able to automate their business. But that has changed drastically today. Everyone, from big brand owners, to medium-sized businesses, to small businesses and startup all have access to automation tools and are able to automate a part of their businesses that need it as a part of their growth strategy.
If you do not already automate parts of your business, here are things you need to automate for improved growth and better results in 2020:
Marketing and e-commerce
This is an important aspect of any business. Social media marketing is a common trend these days, but it is one that requires automation for you to maximize. You have to automate the process of collecting and processing data from your customers, to know how you can pass your message across to them at the right time, and at the right place. This will also ensure that you can provide them with timely support, and enable you to gain, and retain more customers. Examples of these are the use of chatbots, CRM system and email marketing software.
Business Operations
No matter how long you spend on the internet, we still have our lives in a real world, and there are other things that we want to accomplish. This is why automation is so important for your business operations. Some business operations that you can automate include:
- Warehouse automation
- Employee scheduling
- Call centers
Automating these operations will replace the time-consuming manual effort with effortless technology. This will lead to streamlining of the workflow, increase efficiency and save cost. If you also have to carry out repetitive tasks that take a lot of time but aren’t so valuable to the company, automating such processes can save a lot in time and energy. This will allow you to focus your energy and time in more valuable parts of your business.
Sales
Marketing and sales really go hand-in-hand in every business. If you can automate your marketing and optimize it, therefore, you can also automate your sales processes. Irrespective of whether you have sales reps working for you and making personal phone calls or most of your sales are done on the web, you can always try using free sales automation tools to automate the processes. If your sales are done on the web, it’s important to always maintain an optimized checkout page for a smooth and easy checkout process.
Customer Service
Every company has an obligation to be there to meet the needs of their clients whenever it is necessary. Customer care representation is an integral part of retaining customers today. This means giving the customers a priority. Your business can put up different means through which customers can contact them, but as the business grows, the need for automation of customer service increases. An example of such automation is chatbots. Chatbots are important to offer the customers a 24/7 service. Improved algorithms of chatbots makes them more intelligent. They are now able to use keywords from customers to search for answers to their needs. The bots are also able to answer multiple people at the same time. This improves customer satisfaction.
Inventory Management
Automating this process enables you to update your inventory in real time, saving you some time. This automatically add, delete, and edit product information. It also makes the transfer of your product information to your website easier. The ability to update availability of product in the real time will help you to minimize canceled order and back orders and also improve shopping experience for your customers.
Why You Need To Automate Parts of Your Business
Automating your business means you have to invest in technology and you have to standardize your business processes. But you have to invest in key areas of your business, mentioned above, that will yield a very high ROI for your company in return.
Automation has many benefits for small business and some of them are as follows.
- It helps you to adapt to the demands of the market: It gives you the scalability to handle constant changes in market demand.
- It reduces the cost of labor: Automation cuts off the cost of employing and training numerous employees to carry out time-consuming tasks which add less value to the company.
- Also, it optimizes the allocation of workforce: You have your workforce focus on innovative initiatives rather than repetitive tasks and manual works.
- It increases your marketing ROI: With automation, you are able to optimize your cost, and also improve your result.
- It reduces human errors: As your business operations are now carried out by the machines, it helps to increase efficiency and human-based errors.
- Furthermore, it increases employee satisfaction: Automation streamlines the experience of your employees. It ensures that they don’t have to overwork themselves and their requests are met in time.
- It improves collaboration: To be successful at a project, every team member has to play their part and you have to monitor them. Automation makes it easier for you to track progress, and also communicate milestones and other information to team members.
Conclusion
We live in a digital world, and with the evolution of technology and its application, you could become left out very quickly. You can do more in your business in 2020, by simply jumping on the automation bandwagon.
About the Author
Scott Matthews is a writer at a personal statement writing service. He’s also a content writer at essay paper. He has a vast knowledge in e-commerce marketing, and he likes to share his knowledge in writing, regularly contributing to the essay writing service in UK. Also, he loves traveling during his free time to meet people and learn more life facts.