Small Business Automation Software

healthsaver3
Nov 5, 2017
3 min read

While most entrepreneurs and small business managers are take-charge professionals, handling everything from sales and marketing to accounting and customer service, there comes a time when all of that personal attention to detail can actually inhibit your small business growth. In recognition of this, many of these professionals are now looking to small business automation software to offload processes that can be handled by software and machines. This offloading of tasks enables them to focus on more strategic initiatives that provide longer-term benefits for their company.

Automation is the Answer for Small Businesses

Roughly 80% of top-performing companies have been using automation software for two years or more. And today, small businesses have the opportunity to automate processes that in the past would have occupied the time and efforts of talented and expensive employees.

But before you start evaluating small business automation tools, you need to decide which of your current tasks represent the greatest opportunity and potential return from automation. Generally speaking, tasks that are very standardized are better candidates for automation that tasks that are more variable in nature. And the best automation candidates of those tasks are the ones that are the most time-consuming for you and your team.

Incorporating Automation into Your Small Business

As you explore ideas for bringing automation into your small business, here are several points to consider:

Create a Culture that Embraces Automation

Many small business employees will be reluctant to accept automation out of fear that it will leave them without a job. To alleviate these concerns, talk about the benefits the company will see in terms of growth opportunities and the potential for your employees to spend less time on menial, redundant tasks and more of their efforts on building skills that will make them more valuable to your company and as employees, in general.

Start with the Easiest Processes

To ease into automation and prove its value, start with tasks that can be easily offloaded to software or machine-driven automation and measure the results and impact on your business. Some early success will make automating more and more tasks easier to plan for and implement.

Learn from the Leaders in Your Industry

As your appetite for automation grows with every successful implementation, take the time to research what your industry leaders and competitors have implemented for automation to understand where your additional opportunities might be. Learn which automation technology vendors are making a name for themselves in your industry and determine which tasks can provide the greatest value and return for your company.

Explore the Benefits of Chatbots for Marketing and Customer Service Automation

One of the best ways for any small business to get started with automation is by incorporating chatbots for marketing and customer service communications.

Chatbots are software programs designed to initiate and manage online chat communications with customers and prospects in order to deliver the information or result they need without the need for employee intervention.

Even new and very small business are likely to receive at least several messages every day from customers in need of support or from prospects who have questions about your product or service. Providing timely and accurate answers to these consumers can be time-consuming, especially as your business grows and these inquiries begin to multiply. Hiring human resources to manage these communications can be very expensive, especially if you are looking to minimize wait times and provide 24/7 responses.

Chatbots provide a powerful and cost-effective solution in that they offer: