An organisation that does not leverage automation impedes its chances of maximising productivity. The monotony of a few office tasks becomes time-consuming and boring daily. These might be often simple to-do’s but attending to them between piled up work leads to unwanted stress. Getting rid of them – or in the very least making them easier – makes for happier employees. And of course, keeping employees happy naturally translates to ensuring customer satisfaction.
Here are a few instances of how businesses can make the most of automation.
Automate your email marketing efforts
Automation has made the manual process of sending emails a passé. It has done away with the tedious task of sending out emails individually. Automated email marketing programs generate emails and forward them to the relevant people in the business database. A clear strategy and an impeccable execution is all you need to reach to your prospective audience at the click of a button.
Image Courtesy: Marketing Land
Keep your inbox clutter-free
No one likes an overwhelming inbox! Sample this scenario. You attend to sorting your mails with all your concentration for, say about half an hour, and successfully complete it within the expected time. After a while, when you return to your inbox to check for new emails, you are welcomed with a blow with the number of new emails. Before you could attend to all of them, you are flooded with several more. Phew!
The one thought that passes your mind during such time is – when can I get done with sorting my inbox, so I can concentrate on my tasks for the day, right? The answer is – automation. Use filters to auto-sort your emails. Not just that, you can customise your own filters to sort out the not-so-important emails, delete unwanted ones instantly and prioritise the ones that need immediate attention. Create templates for responses that you usually repeat several times, so you don’t have to devote time in drafting those emails from scratch. Take some time out between tasks for quick replies or delegation of projects, and return to your tasks in a matter of minutes.
Set your Social Media on autopilot
In the competitive marketplace where every business is jostling to create their space and stay ahead of the curve, Social Media is not simply restricted to publishing content. It includes social media listening, attending to customer feedback and grievances meticulously and offering solutions for seamless customer experience. Platforms like Buffer and Hootsuite automate the scheduling of social media posts. This not only helps in avoiding the hassle of scheduling each post manually but also removes the chances of last-minute errors that are typical during the manual process. These platforms enable accessing several social media accounts possible, making efficient monitoring easier.
Image Courtesy: TT Attitude
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
A customer-centric approach entails businesses to consistently manage new leads, maintain essential information and track customer activity. Automated CRM tools streamline these processes for businesses, making it easier for them to monitor products that are most in demand, the number of items that each of these products have sold and other essential data. The analysis of this data helps in making conscious business decisions, which helps businesses in delivering exactly what customers want. Automation yet again optimises business processes and that too without compromising on the work lifestyle of the employees.
Your time is precious, and adopting automation can save hours in the long run — not to mention that, with the time you save on menial chores, you can focus on work about which you’re truly passionate.