Work from Anywhere, Anytime!
Have you ever thought of a scenario where you are on a holiday, sipping your favourite drink and your business back home is not only running smoothly but also generating revenue?
Yes, it is possible! Automation in business gives an entrepreneur the advantage to create more value for himself and his customers.
As a small business owner if you are not leveraging the power of technology, then in all probability you must be micromanaging everything in your business. In that case, as weird as it may sound, you are in all likelihood just like any other employee in your company with the fanciest title.
The advantages of using business automation technologies
are many. It helps:
- In leveraging an entrepreneurs time
- It reduces the time in completing a task
- It increases the efficiency and productivity of employees
- Business owner can focus on other important aspects of the business like customer service, innovation, strategies and revenue generation.
With the ever changing landscape of business, business owners need to develop the ability to adapt and use the power of technology and automation in their businesses.
The top 5 Business Automation Tools are-
1. Make a Repeatable business model
The model is applied to new products and services for the generation of sustained growth in the company.
It can be achieved by enabling the people of your company through processes and technology.
The best example of a repeatable business model is of DMart. The company enjoys the market capitalization of Rs.114,000 crore. Over the years the company has focused on building a good team, robust process and technology.
2. Smart Marketing
As the name suggests, many B2B and B2C businesses swears by the smart marketing formula.
Smart marketing not only helps business owners to increase their sales significantly but also allows unlocking their time.
Examples of smart marketing tool-
a) Facebook ads/Instagram Page
Facebook and Instagram are the most popular social media platforms. While Facebook has the largest user base across the globe, Instagram enjoys immense following amongst youngsters.
Both Facebook and Instagram are widely used as an advertising tool that allows you to reach directly to your specific customers based on their interests, gender, age and location.
The icing on the cake is that it is cheaper than the conventional modes of marketing.
b) LinkedIn Ads
If you want your business to get the visibility in the world’s largest professional community then LinkedIn ads are the best and the only bet.
It helps in creating awareness about your brand, generating leads and increases engagement with your potential customer on a global professional platform.
3. Mail chimp
Mail chimp is a powerful marketing software. It is a tool that redefines the conventional way of connecting with your group of customers.
With the help of this business automation tool, you can boost your email marketing efforts. It helps you in sending newsletters to thousands of recipients who have signed up for it in one go.
It also helps in automating your email campaigns and collect leads for your business.
4. Technology
Technology in business is the best enabler. It helps in business automation and reduces operational costs.
Few examples of popular business automation tools are:
a) ERP-
Enterprise Resource Planning is a centralized database that puts the important parts of business on automation.
ERP can be implemented across the departments of an organization be it Sales, Marketing, Finance, HR, Inventory Management etc.
b) Zoom-
It is video conferencing platform which is used for conducting video conferencing meetings, webinars, audio conferencing, recordings and live chats from anywhere.
This business automation software saves travel time, helps in better communication, increases productivity without any physical infrastructure.
c) Cloud based Services-
It is a system where the hardware and software hosted by a 3rd party. It is a service that can be accessed from any location freely through an internet connection.
This business automation tool is cost effective and improves functionality of your business.
For Example: Dropbox, Google Apps, Amazon EC2 etc.
5. CRM
Relationship with customers is the most important thing in the business world. To maintain a record of thousands of customers can become a cumbersome task at times. Customer relationship management (CRM) software eases out this process for business owners.
This powerful business automation tool not only automates the whole process but also collects data from other sources as well.
If you are a small or medium-sized business, it is critical for you to implement these business automation tools to increase efficiency and productivity enables by tech today.