When thinking about what business tasks and processes to automate, there are a number of key considerations. Some business tasks are much better suited to automation than others. Having said that, partial or full automation can save a lot of time and money, especially if you find tools that suit your needs and which are free or affordable.
Why Automate?
If you are running your own business, there are never enough hours in the day, or a large enough budget to hire help in order to get it all done. Automation provides cost and time savings. In some cases, it will enable you to do things you would simply not be able to do unless you had software to help you.
What Tasks Are Best Automated?
The best tasks to automate are standard ones with clear steps and rules to follow, with few variations. For example, email marketing is a great way to make sales and build relationships with your target audience, but you would never be able to build, grow, maintain a list, and market to it, if there weren’t email marketing platforms such as MailChimp and AWeber.
This brings us to another reason for certain tasks to become automated: scalability. You need automation in place that will support your business’s growth over time. The larger the number of customers, the more work there will be. If a task is holding you back in terms of the time it takes or how often you have to do it, because your sales and marketing efforts are growing, chances are it might be worth putting on your list of tasks to consider automating.
Time Management
If a task is time-consuming every day, you should try to automate it. If it takes up your time or that of your employees when there are really more important things you should be doing, it’s time to automate. Things like database management and customer service can usually be streamlined with the right software. This can free you up for relationship building with your target audience.
Simple to Complex Tasks
As long as a task can be broken down into clearly defined steps, chances are there is a way to automate it. The more complex the task, the longer the set-up time, but the greater the time savings.
Working around the Clock
An online business does not work 9 to 5. It is open 24/7/365, in every time zone, all at the same time, even during holidays, your vacation days, and times when you are asleep or sick. Automation is the only way to keep the work going and the profits flowing.
Maintaining Standards
If you set up your automation correctly from the beginning, you will be relying less on individuals’ performances, so things will be more standardized and professional, and your business will have a more stable foundation for growth.
Fewer Issues with Outsourcing
If you want to grow your business, you will usually have to hire workers or outsource tasks. Human beings can be unpredictable, unreliable and even dishonest. Automate as much as possible, and you will not have to hire so many freelancers to tackle your daily chores such as social media interactions.
Better Record Keeping
In most cases, the automated software you use will keep a record of everything that has been accomplished. You should then be able to track the metrics about the work, such as email marketing via your autoresponder. In this way, you can see your results and improve upon them.
Use these tips to help you decide which business tasks to automate. If you plan well and choose the right tasks, it will save you both time and money.
