How to automate your business in 4 easy steps

With the growth of the digital market, businesses that want to set themselves apart by providing exceptional service must increasingly rely on automation solutions.

And there is research to back it up! According to an Instapage survey, marketing automation may save organizations up to $130,000 annually.

McKinsey also suggests that businesses that invest in automation could see a 451% increase in their supply of quality leads. Isn't it amazing?

In this Workee article, we'll go further into the perks of automation and provide helpful tips for implementing the process in your company!

Why should businesses embrace automation?

The know-how to automate a business can bring benefits beyond the financial aspects. As a matter of fact, the most noticeable difference for businesses that use automation systems is in their output. Noticeably processes are smoother, and their quality of work is always top-notch.

Here's why investing in business automation can be the smartest move for your business.

Increased productivity

Automation in the workplace has several benefits, and the first is increased productivity. Simply said, automation is the process of switching from human-operated to technologically managed procedures. This makes it possible to execute tasks more quickly and objectively than possible with human labor while reducing the likelihood of delays and operational issues.

Errors are less likely to occur

When you automate your business, you'll notice that there will be less room for human errors. Automation relies on programmed instructions to make decisions. For example, if the automation tool is required to send an email at a particular time, it will do so systematically, with minimal room for human mistakes.

More room to deliver quality services

As your workload is lightened by automation tools, you are freed up to focus on the more strategic aspects of the work process. Manual tasks (such as updating spreadsheets with client information and sending emails at certain points in the customer's journey) are no longer required, thanks to automation software. This means less bureaucratic and repetitive tasks and more strategic ideas for the business. This opens up fresh possibilities for the business to invest in its competitive advantages and provide quality customer service.

This brings us to the main question:

What are the best ways to automate your business?

Looking for ways to automate your business and choosing which of your company processes should be automated is the first step in figuring out how to automate your organization correctly. Practically every repetitious task can be automated. Here are some key elements that would help you automate your business and get you significant results.

It is important to understand that automation can happen in different industries at different scales. There's process automation, marketing automation, customer service automation, sales force automation, and so on.

1. Study the company process broadly.

The first step in understanding how to automate a company is to study the organization's process in a systemic way. For this, our tip is to structure a multidisciplinary team in the organization. Representatives from each strategic area must contribute to creating a design of the entire operational flow of the company, from customer acquisition to post-sales.

This is the best way to see the company as an organism and begin to critically evaluate the performance of each “organ” involved.

2. List agile processes and processes with gaps.

Critically evaluate the performance of each process, in fact, is the second step in understanding how to automate a company.

It is necessary to find out, based on the whole, which processes are flowing consistently, and which face challenges that can be reduced with the help of automation tools.

Remember that automation is a solution to making an existing process better. It cannot redesign a flow or revolutionize the way of carrying out tasks. This is the duty of the planning and innovation team.

This is what the famous author of books on Process Management, Andrew Spanyi, says in an interview for the Harvard Business Review: “Process automation alone does not redesign anything. It doesn't ask if we need to do this activity. It operates at the task level rather than the end-to-end process level.”

3. Focus on processes with gaps to design solutions.

It's time to focus on processes that can be optimized with the help of automation tools. Together with the multidisciplinary team, design the “ideal world” for each of them: what could flow better? How could the gap be eliminated or reduced? What would be the obstacles to implementing a technological solution in this sector? How do you get around them?

4. Choose the best automation tools.

Now you've done most of the processes that help you understand how to automate a company: you know your business's operating system, you know what works and what doesn't, and how steps with gaps can be optimized.

Therefore, the time has come to choose the best automation tools to solve each case. There are different solutions available in the market, and each of them operates in a different way. Here are 2 examples:

• ERP: is the acronym for Enterprise Resource Planning or Enterprise Management System. It unifies most of the company's sectors in a single tool, providing intelligent information management and creating a rich knowledge base for the business.

• CRM: acronym for Customer Relationship Management, or Customer Relationship Management System — like Workee. Workee is an all-in-one client management tool that allows you to scale your business and operate more productively. The workee software is designed to help you focus on the most important aspects of your coaching business while providing the tools you need to remain in your views purview. 

Conclusion

Automation improves the efficiency and competitiveness of your operations as a business owner and freelancer. You want your company to run on autopilot. You don't want your company to become a crazier or more aggressive 9-to-5. Everyone starts a business to gain more freedom, earn more money, reclaim their time, and do more of what they enjoy. Automation is one way to make all of those things happen. Your workflows run flawlessly with a well-organized system.