Time is money, as they say, and if you are wasting time, you are most definitely wasting money. However, spending money on programs to ensure you are saving time can seem an extra expense and counterintuitive. But in some cases, throwing money at the problem can help you find the solution.
With tech advances allowing companies to do more than ever before digitally via automated processes and programs, should you be looking at what is out there to help you improve efficiency and productivity? The answer is a resounding yes. Especially considering that on an average of one-third of employees time is wasted on pointless tasks.
So, in reality, you are actually already spending them on doing it yourself or getting your staff to do it for you?
What could you actually achieve if you automated your so-called “pointless” tasks or had systems in place to allow employees to work more efficiently?
This post looks at some of the tasks in business you can automate and free up valuable time and resources to focus elsewhere in your business.
Fleet Management
How many hours do you spend checking where your vehicles are at any one time, whether or not they need repairs, servicing, inspection, miles traveled, and so on? Choose an Online Fleet Management service that allows you to easily track and collate the data you need without physically having to trawl through records, chase staff, find receipts, etc.
If you constantly find yourself bogged down with all the upkeep that comes with analyzing your fleet, an all-in-one system can cut this time down by having all of your records and vital information stored in one place.
Social Media
What is marketing without social media? These days you need to be active on at least 5 of the major social networking channels. Being contactable via social media is something consumers take for granted, but unless you can afford to employ someone full-time to specifically monitor and post on your social media channels, then doing this alongside running your company can be time-consuming.
Automated social media accounts can allow you to schedule your posting across a variety of different accounts. Hootsuite, Buffer, Sprout Social, and more offer a wealth of benefits for a range of businesses to upload and schedule posts at predetermined times. However, you will still need to curate the content to be shared. A social media management company can control what you post and generate leads to provide insights to gain quantifiable results.
Lead Management Automation
It doesn’t matter how much traffic you get to your website – if you don’t do anything with it, it’s useless. That is why it is critical to capture leads as soon as possible and carefully nurture them through your sales funnel to avoid losing them.
Nowadays, funnels are more than just a simple linear customer journey. Your leads may come from a variety of sources and have multiple interactions with your brand before converting.
Lead automation tools can help you collect leads from multiple sources, track them, and communicate with them at the best times, all while requiring little effort on your part. Automated tools such as Salesforce, Zoho, and Keap are automated CRM platforms that can generate the best leads allowing you to focus on areas where your efforts are more likely to be rewarded than wasting time on nonprofitable leads.
Customer Service
People like to talk to a real-life human, and when it comes to discussing issues, putting complaints or general queries. Unfortunately, in many cases, most businesses will find incoming queries from customers repetitive, and despite how joyful and enthusiastic you or your team are, over time, you will find your patience wearing thin repeating yourself over and over.
But customer service is key, and responding to all inquiries when they come is paramount. Because if you aren’t responding to potential customers, you can bet your competitors are. This is where chatbots can be a useful automation tool for all businesses.
You have most likely seen the little, non-intrusive chat bubbles opening on websites you visit encouraging you to ask a question. Chances are it is an automated script that is designed to answer easy, general queries; however, conscience queries become more complicated. The answer requires human intervention. The chat can be escalated to someone who can help. Plus, chatbots can run when you aren’t around, including overnight or evenings and weekends.
In many cases, choosing to automate non-invasive tasks or repetitive tasks can mean you get the maximum results while benefiting from the extra time it frees up to allow your focus to be directed elsewhere in the business.
