Contrary to popular belief, automation isn’t reserved for the big guys. Small businesses can also find value in automating customer service, sales, marketing, and other processes. Explore the benefits of automation for small businesses and the tasks it can simplify.
When it comes to workflow automation for small businesses, the possibilities are countless. Here are some of the most common processes companies automate:
Automation can manage leads through tracking, scoring, and prioritization processes. Your sales personnel can then dedicate their time to leads with a higher conversion likelihood, improving both productivity and sales numbers.
Your company can find and retain leads more efficiently than ever, thanks to automation. Here are some examples of using automation for lead generation:
Automation can expedite a variety of mundane sales tasks, like data entry, follow-ups, and lead nurturing. Sales team members can free up their time to speak with prospective clients, forge customer relationships, and seal deals — all of which are key pieces to the sales puzzle.
Technology can automate various sales processes. For example, when the software identifies a new lead opportunity, it matches this individual with a sales representative. The sales rep can then call the prospect. If the call goes to voicemail, the software can send a follow-up email.
The software can mark a lead as “qualified” when it determines the prospective client has the authority and budget to make a buying decision. The rest of the sales exchange can play out from there. You can set up different automation features based on victories and losses, along with leads who aren’t yet ready to commit.
Automating responses to your business’s most popular inquiries saves significant time and labor. You can respond to customer inquiries in seconds. You can also personalize these automated responses for a humanistic touch.
You don’t need to frame a reply manually, double-check for typos and grammatical errors, or run responses by your team. Simply send a prewritten answer to a question by entering a short code unique to each response.
Now that we’ve explored the different small business tasks that can be automated, here are some specific features to consider:
A form of conversational artificial intelligence (AI), a chatbot simulates realistic conversation without human intervention. It generates natural responses using machine learning algorithms and pre-programmed scripts. Chatbots can answer common customer inquiries. If necessary, they can also redirect support requests to the appropriate team member.
Additionally, you can use chatbots to gather marketing data and provide personalized offers. Chatbots can support marketing campaigns by:
Automation tools let you send customized bulk emails to your target audience. You can craft an email message and deliver it to thousands of recipients. You don’t have to manually edit their contact information, names, and other details. You also don’t need to copy and paste your original content for every new message.
You can even automate the newsletter subscription process. The software can compile a list of subscribers’ email addresses and send them regular newsletters. Plus, you can split this list into segments — such as geographical locations — and deliver messages relevant to each group.
From scheduling social media posts to publishing newsletters, automation fulfills many repetitive marketing tasks.
As mentioned above, automation can help you assign leads to corresponding sales representatives. Say you have a lead from California. The automation software can assign them to someone from the California sales team.
Additionally, automation can ensure more accurate and efficient lead scoring. It can quickly score leads based on predefined criteria, helping your business identify the most likely converts. Focusing on the most valuable leads saves considerable time and effort in the long run.
Automation can streamline the process of scheduling meetings. It can send invitations to the correct recipients and update calendars when they RSVP. Automation can also set up notifications and reminders, ensuring team members never miss critical appointments and project deadlines.
Data capture extracts data from electronic or paper documents, transferring it to a computer-readable format. Automating data capture minimizes the need for manual data entry and conversion.
Small business automation offers an array of perks, such as:
Are you ready to facilitate your small business operations with automation? Salient Process is prepared to assist you. As a leader in business automation services, we can work with you to implement a range of solutions, including:
To learn more about automating your small business workflow with Salient Process, contact one of our experts today!
