What is Business Automation?
Business automation is a way to automate processes in ways that save your company time and money. Automation of a task means that, once it’s set up, there’s little to no need for employees to spend more time on it. Through the use of advanced automation tools and artificial intelligence, you can set up tasks as needed, and then let software robots and automation platforms do the rest.
Process automation frees up more time for your employees to work on other projects, increasing productivity and keeping costs low. The manual implementation of tasks will no longer be necessary in many parts of your business. Since automation tools also cut down on the amount of busy work that needs to be done, employees will be more motivated as well and perform better overall.
Next, we’ll look at what kinds of tasks and processes can be automated.
What Areas Can Be Automated?
There are many aspects of your small business (or large business, for that matter), that can be automated. However, the following are some of the easiest to get you started.
- Social Media:Use automated processes, perfect for small business owners, that allows you to schedule a
social media calendar that posts automatically. Plan campaigns well in advance and adjust them on the fly according to performance metrics. - Backing up of files:Backing up your system takes a long time, eating up potentially an entire day for an employee. Automate it to back up every night using a software system so that you don’t have to devote company time to it.
- Website traffic tracking:Track your web traffic, conversions, clicks, and other key data points with business automation tools for web-based companies. Google Analytics provides a popular and comprehensive system for seeing and responding to automatic traffic reports.
- Invoice reminders:Never miss an invoice again with bookkeeping and invoicing software that reminds you automatically when an invoice is coming up to be due.
- Email responses/customer contacts: Email auto-replies, customer mailing lists, and targeted email marketing campaigns can all be automated.
What Makes a Process Ideal for Automation?
When it comes to business automation, there is low-hanging fruit you can focus on to get started. These are the easiest and most ideal processes that you can automate immediately, and they fall into different categories.
Data Entry
Any process involving manual data entry, for example, can and should be automated as soon as possible. Widely-available software now allows you to scan physical documents and have them converted into a digital text format, organized, and filed. This renders one of the most tedious and time-consuming business tasks extremely easy, with the help of AI software.
Repeatable, Repetitious Tasks
Tasks that are repetitious can often be automated, like bookkeeping functions and finding sales leads from customer data. If it’s a task that repeats, chances are, it’s a good candidate for automation. Even social media marketing can be automated, with most of the workflow going through a campaign scheduling system.
Tasks with No Room for Error
Bad data entry, inaccurate bookkeeping, and other human mistakes can be devastating for a business. Tasks with no room for error are much less likely to be messed up by an automated system. Invest in automation systems, and reduce mistakes by leaving these mission-critical processes to software and artificial intelligence!
Final Thoughts
Business process automation is something that every company should be investing in. With so many resources, you 
don’t need a significant budget or time investment to get started. Begin with the easy-to-implement automation systems, and go from there. Your employees will thank you, and your business will be better off!