OCTOBER 2020
AUTOMATION IN BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY OR THREAT? Over half a million new businesses were incorporated in the UK last year, and less than half of those will survive more than five years. But their failure won’t be down to recessions or global pandemics – this figure is based on statistics recorded way before COVID-19 came along.
invoicing, paying suppliers and chasing late payments. Then, of course, you need systems and processes in place for delivering your product or service and ensuring customer satisfaction.
And the best way to ensure that your business operates successfully is to make sure you The reason many of these have the right team in place, businesses fail is because they whether you hire employees are missing one fundamental or outsource to freelancers or thing – a plan. external companies.
can be, it can just as easily damage your business if it isn’t implemented in the right way. Automating your marketing and sales, for example, will only work if you understand who your target audience is, what they want and how to communicate with them. There is no point spending thousands on Google ads if you haven’t established what your target audience would be searching for, or if they’re even searching at all. And if they aren’t responding to your ads, you’re just throwing money away.
Another problem with automation is the lack of personalisation. Most people Regardless of industry or So your business plan must can spot an automated sales sector, a business is more include strategies for sales, likely to succeed with a plan. marketing, finance, systems and email or connection request a mile off. And while some people After all, if you understand the processes, and your team. understand this is an attempt destination, it’s easier to work out how to get there. And the good news is technology to make your business more provides many opportunities that efficient, others view it as lazy marketing and will be instantly The first part of your plan support and enhance all these put off. needs to include a strategy for areas. You can automate just sales. Sales is the core of any about anything from marketing And automation doesn’t take business – it doesn’t matter and sales to invoicing and how great your product or order processing. You can even service is if you can’t sell it. So automate a factory production you need to know who will buy line. your product or service and why they would buy it – what In effect, you could automate problem does it solve? your entire business. Paid advertising to attract new leads, Once you understand who automated sales funnels to turn your customers are and their them into paying customers, motivations for buying, it’s automatic invoicing and payment much easier to put an effective processing on sign up, and marketing strategy in place – automatic order dispatch on another part of your business payment. Plus, you can automate plan. surveys to get customer feedback and schedule Your marketing and sales marketing communications that strategies must also align with encourage repeat business. your financial strategy. You But if you want to automate your need to have a handle on your business successfully, you need pipeline so you can control effective systems and processes, your projected cashflow. You to begin with. Because as also need to be on top of advantageous as technology Business Digest 25
