Automation – it is a must in business. Being in business can be pretty full on at times. There is just one thing after another. With the amount of different things you need to do within your business, surely there is a way that you can make it easier right? The answer is YES.
There are many different things you can do to make your business run smoother and easier. The magic word for much of this is ‘automation’. Using automation within your business can make a huge difference. Automation is having different tasks set up with automated systems so that you are not having to go in and work on them each day. Having automation within your business is a great tool and it will make the world of difference.
But what areas can you automate within your business?
What automation’s will make your life easier?
Take a few minutes to read our guide below and then start implementing.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is an important part of building a business. Right now, it seems that everyone is online, and having an established email list is important. There are a number of programs available now that are purposely built to automate your email marketing campaigns. What does this mean exactly? Well, you can upload your email list to the program, segment it if needed and have everyone in the same place. From there you can create your email campaigns and have them scheduled to go out when needed. You can also create series of emails that can be sent to people based on a link they click, or a form they sign up to. Creating your emails initially can take some time, however once they are there, it is simple to slot people in to the lists and have emails sent out to your schedule.
Social Media
Social Media is becoming an essential part of business. The pull that the social media world has is increasing every day. Having regular content on your social media pages is important, as it builds the authority of your brand, and allows you to get in front of more potential customers. The more you post, the more likely you are to be seen, and in turn the more business you are likely to get. Because you need to be posting regularly, using a scheduling program is a very good idea. It means that you can sit down for a couple of hours at the start of the month and schedule in all your content for the coming month. Your chosen tool then posts on the day and time that you have requested. This means that the content is going out without you having to remember on a daily basis.
Book Keeping
Love it or hate it, book keeping is an important part of
running any business. One way to cut down the amount of work that you need to
do when it comes to your books is by using automation. If you are using a book
keeping and accounting program, many of them have the option to create
automatic rules. These rules are used for reconciling your accounts. If you
have regular transactions coming in or going out that are the same, you can set
up a rule for them so that they are automatically reconciled to the correct
place.
FAQ’s Page
If your website does not have a FAQ’s page – then stop reading and go create one!
Just kidding – you can finish reading first. Having a FAQ’s page on your website means that you can cut down the time you are currently spending answering potential customers questions. There are always going to be regular questions that you receive from customers. If you have all of the most popular questions listed on your website with the answers, it means that they can quickly find the answers that they are looking for, without having to wait for a response from you. It also means that you are spending less time sending the same email over and over again.
Automation of Programs
How many different programs do you use within your business?
More importantly do they integrate with each other? Sometimes it is necessary to use different programs, however if they are not able to work with each other you are creating more work for yourself.
Using a program such as Zapier can help with this. Zapier is like a glue. It holds together a number of different
web applications and helps them to work together as one. You can Zap info form one place to another by setting up simple automation Zaps.
Email Templates
Much like with the email marketing, you can automate the emails that you send out on a daily basis. You can create templates that answer different questions that you receive regularly, and have them ready to go out. You can also automate all the emails that are used on your website. Emails such as the order confirmation, a thank you for your purchase email and even an abandoned cart email – for those who do not complete their purchase. Having all these automated and ready to go out when triggered means less work for you.
Automation of Funnels
Having an automated sales funnel attached to your CRM is an important tool to have for any business. It helps you to be able to track the
leads that come in. It can show you the number of leads that convert to sales. It can also show you all the metrics that you need to determine the
viability of your business. Setting up a sales funnel with the different triggers can be a bit of work to begin with. But once it is set up, it will be an invaluable tool.
Automation is an important part of any business. It helps you to be able to spend time on the important tasks and not have all your time taken up with the smaller things. Take the time to sit down and work out what you can automate within your business and how you would like it to be implemented. Once you have all these new workflows in place, you won’t know yourself or your business.
When thinking about running your business, remember the
saying – its important to work smarter not harder. Find the smart way to get
things done!
Did you know we create Messenger Chatbots for our clients – another great automation tool. Please have a read all about it here!