A comprehensive guide to business process automation

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Automation in the present context is one of the most innovative solutions for organisations as software, robotics, and other advanced technologies have become quite accessible for businesses to integrate them into their processes. A recent survey reveals that over 30% of organisations have already automated at least one process, and the trend of adopting automation is gaining more popularity. Automation technology can be used in all sectors, from finance to manufacturing, healthcare and tech. 

If you run a business, you most likely agree that it would be nice for your team to have fewer tedious tasks on their plate (regardless of the industry you work in). But to do this, you need to integrate business automation measures into your processes, and here’s where things can get challenging. You may find it difficult to gain company-wide consensus on the adoption of BPA software that requires training, a timeline, and a budget. Sadly, humans are hard-wired to oppose change, and only the thought of changing their habits can seem overwhelming. But what if software could complete a task they dislike in a couple of minutes? All of a sudden, they find it a marvellous idea and want to take hold of it as soon as possible. 

This article takes a look at the processes you could automate to be most cost-efficient. 

Automate your email marketing campaign

Email still is one of the most popular forms of communication and online marketing specialists predict it will continue to grow in the following years. They expect to be over 4.3 billion users of email by 2023. Using software to automate email marketing can boost an email marketing campaign’s success. The system would send emails accurately and consistently at established timelines to lower workforce strains. An automated system is a no-brainer if you don’t want to hire a full-time employee to send emails. 

Let’s assume you have an e-commerce business and want to convince your clients to check out their abandoned carts. The software would immediately send out an email each time a client leaves items on their cart and forgets to checkout. It would take an enormous effort for someone to track each abandoned cart, but the system does it automatically. An automated email marketing system no longer drains your resources and helps you stay in touch with your clients. 

Business expense tracking

Tracking corporate expenses has always been an essential pillar of financial security for all organisations looking to be successful in the long term. Everyone has heard of large and small companies investing great resources and talent into accounting departments, which is a good decision.

Still, it’s wiser to provide them with access to the necessary tools to complete their work more effectively. However, it’s essential to remember that having a full-time accounting department comes with many costs. Setting it up, recruiting talent, creating a workspace, and running the department could be draining for your finances.

With the rise of automation, accounting software has become an option for small and medium-sized organisations that need an affordable solution to track their expenses. These systems also provide general accounting services at affordable prices. If you’re an individual business owner, you can use software to track your business expenses and provide your accountant with correct information. Accounting and expense tracking are vital processes for a business, and the introduction of automation enables you to put your resources in other places.

If you’re an individual business owner, you can use this solution to track your business expenses and provide your accountant with correct information when it comes to accounts payable, thanks to e-invoicing automation.

Customer support bots

There’s no secret in the business world that the relationship with your customers can make or break your company, and that’s why you invest in customer support. If you want to attract and retain clients, you need to offer flawless customer support, which doesn’t come cheap. But if you take advantage of automation, you can optimise customer service and provide your clients with several methods to reach your company when they need support. AI chatbots are an automation technology organisations have been using lately to meet their clients on the website when they have questions. Web developers introduced chatbots on websites to help companies improve their customer service. Some chatbots can also redirect the clients to other channels or send them to the appropriate agents to further analyse their problems. Customer support bots save time and manpower that could be redirected somewhere else. 

Employee onboarding

Hiring has always been a complex process, and with more workers jumping ship more often than in the past years, you’re probably going through more frequent hiring processes. Many candidates are Millennials who have taught companies a valuable lesson about the onboarding process. They grew up with information at their fingertips and don’t want to wait for a more experienced employee to show them what to do. They want to have access to the needed tools to do things for themselves. You can use their abilities and preferences to your advantage by automating your onboarding process. Creating an online platform that provides your new employees with all the necessary information to complete their tasks is simple and affordable. You can also use online tools to send welcome emails upon signing contracts. 

Social media management

Your reputation and brand are paramount for your business, so you should be careful when running marketing campaigns. If you want to keep your public engaged, you must use the right social media channels to reach them in the places they spend the most time. This being said, when creating diverse and extensive content on multiple digital platforms, you need a form of automation to manage it. You can use automated publishing tools to send content at the proper moments and manage communications from multiple networks in a single place. The time your marketing department puts into posting content on social media can be put into creating more engaging content and improving your campaigns. Social media marketing automation also enables you to track each post’s success and use metrics to determine the amount of resources you spend on them. 

Final words

Automation is necessary in the world of business because it brings countless benefits like being reliable, cost-efficient, and more effective than human workers.