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Have you ever felt like you have a never-ending to-do list? You work hard and still can’t seem to get everything done. We all know the struggle: there are simply not enough hours in the day.
What if I told you there’s a way to make life easier? A way to gain back those wasted hours and become more productive? Let me introduce you to task automation. With task automation, you can tap into the power of tools and programmes that will save you time, energy, and resources.
In this blog post, I'll cover the basics of task automation and highlight its many benefits, including how it can boost your productivity. Plus, I'll share tips on how to successfully set up automated tasks and some real-life case examples of how you can use task automation to start saving time today.
What Is Task Automation and Why You Need It
Task automation is a tool, or a set of tools, that allows you to outsource all of those tedious and repetitive tasks that clutter up your to-do list. From arranging your diary to setting up meetings, auto-sending your customer journey emails and scheduling your social media posts, task automation can free up your time and help you achieve more.
With task automation, you set up rules and parameters for the program to follow. Once the rules are in place, technology can take care of the rest. You can then delegate those more mundane tasks while still delivering high-quality work.
Furthermore, task automation helps with efficiency and productivity by automating processes and handling tasks quickly and accurately, often much quicker than we could do manually. Reducing the number of human touch points you need to complete a task reduces costs and helps free up your time so you can focus on the tasks that help move your business forward.
Here are some of the key benefits of automation for small business owners, We will look at these in more detail below:
Improved customer service
Increased productivity
Improved quality
Reduced errors
Reduced costs
Increased flexibility
How Automating your Tasks can Improve Customer Service
A study by the Harvard Business Review found that automation can help small businesses to improve customer service by helping to provide faster and more accurate responses to customer enquiries.
Here are some examples of how customer service tasks can be automated:
Automated chatbots can answer customer questions and resolve simple issues 24/7.
Customers can use self-service portals to find answers to their questions, track orders, and change their accounts. This can drastically reduce the number of customer service calls and emails.
You can use automated email responses to send out confirmations, order updates, and other important information to customers. This helps keep customers informed and reduces customer service enquiries.
Automated surveys can collect feedback from customers about their experiences with a business. This feedback can then improve customer service.
The study also found that automation can improve customer satisfaction with small businesses. Customers who interact with automated customer service are more likely to be satisfied with their experience than those who interact with real-life customer service representatives.
How Automating Your Tasks Can Improve Productivity
There is always so much to do – liaising with clients, upcoming deadlines, projects, and more – streamlining tasks can be a huge help to increase your productivity. We have seen how task automation can help to improve customer service, so let's now take a look at some of the ways that automating your tasks can help you become more productive:
Better Use of Time
Automating key processes means you can automate mundane and repetitive tasks such as data entry or social media posting. This frees up time for more important tasks like developing strategies, expanding your client base or making products.
Reduced Errors
Manual processes are often prone to human error, but task automation is not. By removing the potential for human error, you can ensure that your processes are running smoothly and results are accurate.
Reduced Costs
When you automate repeatable tasks, you can also reduce the costs of using outside help or a team member. This means you can either redeploy your employees or reduce how many hours you need them to work.
A study by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) found that small business owners who use automation are more likely to report increased productivity and profitability. Automation can help small businesses compete with larger businesses.
The study found that small businesses that use automation are more likely to report:
Increased productivity: 72% of small business owners who use automation said that it has helped them to increase their productivity.
Increased profitability: 67% of small business owners who use automation said that it has helped them to increase their profitability.
Improved customer service: 64% of small business owners who use automation said it has helped them improve their customer service.
Reduced costs: 59% of small business owners who use automation said that it has helped them to reduce their costs.
One outcome that I hadn’t previously considered was that automation can actually help smaller businesses compete with bigger ones. 62% of small business owners who use automation said that it has helped them to compete with larger competitors. Automation can help small businesses expand their market reach by making it easier for them to reach new customers. enabling them to grow their business more effectively.
Real-World Examples of Successful Task Automation for Small Businesses
I’ve seen first-hand how task automation can help small business owners, entrepreneurs, and freelancers streamline their workflow to save time for more important tasks. This doesn’t need to be complicated. I recently helped one of my clients ditch their paper diary and move to a simple calendar booking system. This not only saved her valuable time when booking meetings, but it also helped her reinforce her boundaries and working hours so she wasn’t tempted to squeeze in a meeting after hours.
Here are a few real-world examples that illustrate how you can use automation to increase your productivity:
Social Media Management
Social media management is one of those tedious tasks every small business owner must do, and it takes a lot of time away from work that pays the bills. Managing your social media using tools like Hootsuite, SocialPilot or Buffer can help you stay on top of social media updates in a fraction of the time it takes to do manually. These tools allow you to schedule posts in advance, and they can also track the performance of posts so you can measure what works best for your business.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is great for driving traffic and building relationships with customers, but it’s also another task that requires a lot of manual effort. Automation platforms like MailChimp or Constant Contact make tracking email campaigns easy by helping you create templates, segment audiences and measure success. They also save time by allowing you to schedule your email campaigns in advance.
Bookkeeping
If you’re like most entrepreneurs or small business owners, managing finances is a time-consuming process. That’s why task automation technologies like QuickBooks Online or Xero allow you to automate bookkeeping tasks such as creating invoices, recording income and expenditure, and tracking spending accuracy. You can even automate notifications to remind you when bills are due so nothing slips through the cracks. These packages are designed to help you to complete the dreaded tax return, providing you with peace of mind when submitting your returns.
Tips for Successfully Implementing Automation
When it comes to implementing task automation, there are certain dos and don’ts to keep in mind.
Do:
Take the time to analyse how you work and identify which tasks can be automated.
Set up a priority list for which tasks you need to automate first.
If you have a team, make sure they are on board with the idea of automation and are aware of the benefits.
Test out different automation before committing. Take the time to evaluate how well the new process works for you and tweak it if necessary.
Don’t:
Rush into task automation without researching potential solutions - take your time and do it right
Automate every single task - not all activities are suitable for automation. Make sure only to automate ones that make sense for your business and save you time in the long run
Ignore feedback from team members - having everyone on board is important for successful task automation. Listen to everyone’s opinions and consider these when deciding which tasks should be automated.
By following these simple dos and don’ts, you can more easily implement efficient task automation into your business operations.
However, if you're unfamiliar with automation tools and unsure where to start, it can help you get an audit from a productivity specialist. An audit will highlight which processes can be automated and recommend the best tools or programs to suit your needs.
Take advantage of my free clarity call to understand how automation can simplify your business processes. Book your free call here.
Benefits of Task Automation
Automating tasks is one of the most effective ways to streamline your business processes and maximise productivity. With task automation, you can dramatically reduce the time spent on mundane tasks, freeing up hours of extra time for important projects and activities.
By carefully considering your needs and budget, you can use automation to improve your productivity, efficiency, and profitability. My new blog post, Boost Productivity on a Budget: 12 Best Free Apps for Small Business Owners, looks at my 12 favourite free apps that will make your life easier.
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