Automation is changing how businesses work, making them an indispensable part of many business operations today. As such, it’s no wonder the global industrial automation market size is projected to grow from $205.86 billion in 2022 to $395.09 billion in 2029. This indicates that automation will continue to rise, and developers will have more opportunities to improve this technology for organizations. Because of this, careers in software development are pivoting to usher in more relevant advancements. To illustrate, software developers are developing new networks and protocols that can make automation more accessible and nuanced.
Through such efforts, automation tools will now be expanded beyond users from large companies. Even small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can adopt and reap the benefits of these technological tools, allowing them to grow their business and profits. Numerous SMEs have already started automating their businesses, with 88% saying that automation enabled their company to compete with larger enterprises. It shows how automation has become helpful to businesses, whether they’re a startup or an established companies.
If you’re not yet convinced, here are three reasons why investing in automation is worth it:
1. It improves your customer service
In our previous article on mistakes that business founders can make, we discussed how paying too little attention to customer service and experience can greatly affect your business. If you're a small enterprise, the reviews and feedback of your customers do even more to promote customer loyalty and word-of-mouth marketing. If you have poor customer service, consumers are less likely to repeat buying from your businesses again, which can affect your profitability. Fortunately, automation can help you improve your customer service and experience. With automated customer service tools like AI chatbots, your consumers can receive quick and timely responses regarding their concerns online. This includes everything from tracking a package to fielding any pressing concerns and answering frequently asked questions. Even if it doesn’t answer all questions immediately, chatbots can assure customers that their inquiries are sent and addressed, giving them a better overall experience.
2. It helps you manage your resources better
If you’re running an SME, it’s possible that you only have a limited amount of staff and resources. Automation tools can help you by automatically performing simple and repetitive administrative tasks. For example, managing multiple social media accounts can be a burden for small businesses with a small workforce. Social media scheduling tools allow you to publish marketing materials online anytime. This allows you to reduce the hours spent on maintaining and growing brand accounts. This also means you have more time to manage and perform other important tasks to achieve your business goals and increase revenue. Lastly, automation enables you to minimize errors that come with manual processing, like copying and pasting or re-keying data from a spreadsheet to a system that may affect your business financially.
3. It reduces your expenses
The most important benefit of automation is that it allows you to cut down operational costs. For instance, if you adopt the previously discussed AI chatbots and scheduling software, you don’t need to hire additional staff to help you answer customer queries and post announcements online. Similarly, letting your small team operate automation tools at work will give them more time to focus on meaningful tasks, ultimately enhancing their productivity and increasing your enterprise’s overall profitability. Most tools and processes needed for business automation are often available for free, like Facebook’s Business Suite. It’s a free page management tool that lets you handle Facebook Pages, Instagram accounts, and Messenger interactions from a single dashboard. This shows that you don’t always need to invest in expensive software to automate your small business.
If you’re interested in investing in advanced automation tools that can take your business to the next level, you can reach out to us to discover how our growth financing can help you achieve your goals
Article was specially written for https://www.elementfinance.com/ by Annie Grace