How Automation Helps Your Business
There’s always a bit of panic (and maybe suspicion) from people when someone starts to talk about “automating” a job function. This is natural; people wonder what will happen to their job if it becomes automated. Will they be replaced? Will they eventually be fired? “What about me? That robot (software, etc.) can’t do the job as well as I can!” they say. But automation doesn’t have to be scary.
It is simply a tool, designed to help people do their jobs more efficiently. I imagine there was the same sort of panic when the chainsaw was first introduced to those working in forestry and arboriculture. “But you can’t get precision cuts the way you do with a hand saw!” they must have said.
But in the same way, there are many businesses today that can’t imagine doing business without automation. As a tool, it can help you work smarter, faster, and more efficiently. Let’s start by diving into what “automation” means.
What is automation?
According to Merriam-Webster, automation is “the technique of making an apparatus, a process, or a system operate automatically.” In layman’s terms, it’s something that happens in response to another input.
A popular example is the robots that work on car assembly lines. They are programmed to perform tasks in response to another input. A worker lays a section of sheet metal onto a press, and the robot automatically knows to apply pressure. It will simultaneously shape the metal and cut off excess material with a single press.
Here are some good reasons you should be adding automation to your “business tool kit.”
Time Savings
For most businesses, there’s a separate definition of “automation.” (I mean, we’re not making cars.) According to IBM, business automation is defined as “a term for the use of technology applications that perform repetitive tasks, freeing up employees for higher value work.”
Essentially, you’re allowing software to do the time-consuming stuff you don’t necessarily need to do yourself so that you can focus on other things. You’re leveraging the power of technology to do some “grunt work” for you so that you can do more important things.
And we’ve gotten used to the idea that this is okay for some things, haven’t we? I don’t know anyone still calculating all the reports they need to run their business by hand. Why? Because they can create a custom report or use the pre-loaded reports in their business management software to do the math for them.
There are other types of automation that many software companies offer as well. You can usually set up something that follows up on outstanding proposals, communicates with customers, send billing reminders or after-service notices – there’s a lot that software can do for you.
Why would you insist on doing ANY of this manually? It’s not going to replace someone’s job to let your software do these things. What will happen is that you and your staff can focus on things software can’t do, like talking to customers, setting a strategy, and planning for the future.
Close More Sales
Many software options offer automation that helps follow up on outstanding proposals. This is just basic common sense.
Rather than tying your Sales team to a desk (or phone) and asking them to manually call potential customers and follow up or email the new prospect, the software will often automatically send out reminders on your behalf.
When these are set up properly, they’ll often offer multiple “touches” (read: email the prospect more than once). Rather than asking your Sales staff to do this, you can free up their time for, you know, selling.
I can’t say it better than the Harvard Business Review, which stated:
“In cases we have reviewed, sales increases arising from advanced marketing and sales information technology have ranged from 10% to more than 30%, and investment returns have often exceeded 100%. These returns may sound like the proverbial free lunch, but they are real.”
It’s simple math. If they’re spending less time on administrative tasks, they’ll have more time to spend in face-to-face conversations with potential clients. The more time a Salesperson spends face-to-face, the more deals they’re likely to close. For a Salesperson, “Selling > Admin” is an easy equation to understand.
Better Communication
Again, we’ll look to IBM for some information here. They conduct a study called the “Global State of Multichannel Customer Service.” That’s a long, fancy title to say “Hey, we’re going to study how consumers feel about customer service, and we’re going to measure it across several countries.” You probably don’t care about consumer sentiment in Japan or Brazil, but I’m sure you care about what US consumers have to say about their expectations.
According to their study, 98% of consumers said that customer service was “Very Important” (67%) or “Somewhat Important” (31%) to them when choosing a company with which to do business. Further, more than half of consumers (56%) said that they have higher expectations for customer service than they had a year ago.
The bottom line: it’s becoming increasingly important to get customer service right.
Automations in your business management software should help you with this.
Automations in your software can send notices to customers about an overdue bill, follow up on outstanding proposals, and even notify customers before upcoming services on the property or Sales appointments.
This improved level of communication builds loyalty and improves the customer’s perception of the value they’re getting from their relationship with you.
Have you ever had a customer ghost your Salesperson on an appointment? How about a complaint that “We didn’t know you were coming out?”
Ever run into a problem with cash flow that caused a backlog in your work?
These issues are all solvable with good business management software that incorporates automation that helps you deliver world-class customer service.
Conclusion
Business management software should deliver functionality that makes your life easier and saves you time. That should include the ability to free up your time, communicate with your customers, and help you make more sales.