Business automation is becoming more common. New technologies like ChatGPT, self-driving vehicles, and others are opening up more possibilities to automate services, tasks, and even whole industries.
You might consider automating your business processes as something other than an opportunity. After all, your coffee shop or retail outlet looks different from an extensive factory assembly line. There are several automation examples that small business owners can and should implement. You can automate your business to save time and money. This can be used to invest in business development or other tasks.
Here are five small business automation solutions that you can implement today.
Posting on Social Media
Social media is a powerful tool for small businesses. It is one of the most effective ways to communicate with your customers, attract new ones, and answer customer service inquiries. It is also the foundation of digital marketing. Social media is a great way to build brand awareness and loyalty.
It can take a lot of time. As the owner of the business, you may be the only one who can post on social media if your company cannot hire a social media manager. The last thing you want to do in a hectic customer rush is to take time away from your busy schedule to ensure that your product announcement is posted on Instagram precisely at the right time. Enter Automation!
Many tools are available to automate social media. You can pre-schedule your posts and sync them across all channels using Sprout Social or Hootsuite software. This is a great way to save time, especially when planning a multi-posting announcement. You can set up automated responses for some simple customer service questions. Social media is becoming a popular way for customers to contact customer service. Automated “bot” replies can reduce the number of queries you have to answer directly.
Generating reports and records
A healthy small company tracks everything and uses all the data to grow, prioritize, and streamline. It’s not just about revenue and expenses.
What’s more? You can automate most of it. Another time-saving option is to install a Point of Sale system that tracks sales and generates reports. It also reduces the chance of human error, a crucial part of any business.
Manage your accounts payable.
Bills are due from every business — suppliers, clients, and property lenders. It can take a lot of time to sort through your accounts payable and pay those business bills. But it is essential for the survival of your company.
Automating your accounts payable can save you a lot of time. Automating accounts payable can also minimize the risk of missed or late payments. This will improve your relationship with your suppliers and grow your business. Automated solutions for accounts payable are simple to set up and offer the additional benefit of tracking your payments and being highly accurate. When it’s time to evaluate your financial relationship, you will have more accurate records to work with.
Email marketing and outreach
A successful email campaign can be very beneficial to your business. Inbox can help you maintain relationships with existing customers, gain new ones, or announce a major product launch.
The real effort will be spent on writing and formatting your email campaign. Once you’ve got that, setting up the email campaign to go out automatically according to your preferences is easy.
You can also automate smaller tasks. Many businesses send birthday emails to their customers, suppliers, and clients. This might seem silly, but it can be a great way to build relationships and ensure your brand shows up positively in people’s lives. Emails like these are easy to remember if you have the data.
Hiring and recruitment
In recent years, hiring has undergone a dramatic change. The days of the simple handshake and resume on paper are long gone. Today, many job seekers apply for positions in large numbers, meaning that companies have to sort through hundreds of resumes and applications.
It’s only possible to automate some of the hiring processes. But you can automate a portion of it. This will save you a lot of time. Pre-screening algorithms using hiring apps integrated with your POS can help you narrow down your applicants based on the parameters you set. When it’s time for in-person interviews, you can confidently speak with the most qualified candidates.
