How to Automate Tasks Without Losing the Human Touch

Automating tasks is a boon to businesses, especially to marketers who are usually first to adopt the technology. CMO reports that, on average, 49 percent of companies rely on marketing automation. They seek the continuation of mundane tasks by artificial intelligence. Successful implementers see benefits through increased sales productivity and reduced overhead.

There is a clear objective across all organizations and industries that embrace automated solutions: to pad their bottom line. Indeed, the phenomenon has positive effects on your operations.

Imagine cutting costs on customer support. Facebook offers a free tool, the Messenger Bot, to address people’s queries and messages on the platform in lieu of a company rep.

On the flipside, however, your brand loyalists may not be ready to talk to a robot or an AI. Or they will start to wonder whether they are interacting with one.

In this case, it is too early to scream “automate everything” from the rooftops. Let us look at the areas in which you can still very much inject your business’ personal touch while testing automation tools.

Sales cycle.

As sales and marketing roles overlap, the need for a collaborative asset management platform is on the rise. Primarily, such a solution helps both groups to track and manage their activities more efficiently.

However, there are nuances and jargon that even an advanced tech cannot catch, says BetterWorks Head of Marketing Menaka Shroff.

It is still important to define who generates and assesses the leads and who converts them. Shroff adds that both sides will start to have strategic conversations this way. In the sales cycle, physical presence or interaction is still very much required to keep everyone sane.

Service fulfilment.

Whether you are an e-commerce site or a Software-as-a-Service provider, automating functions helps keep things running smoothly on your platform. For instance, a customer purchases skincare products on your Shopify store.

It will only take this person a few clicks to checkout and receive confirmation of his or her order. But some businesses will stop at that point and consider that a seamless online shopping experience. It is not. The user continues to experience your brand until the package is delivered, unboxed, and tried at home.

Updates on shipping, response to order follow-ups, and even the attitude of your delivery guys all contribute to the UX. You still cannot automate your culture, and that can be a good thing.

Email marketing.

The use of marketing automation software lets organizations stay connected with their customers with simplicity and ease. You can choose from a range of free to premium platforms to create and send newsletters, alerts, and other relevant content to your subscribers.

Still, the effectiveness of your campaigns relies on email design. In other words, you need to personalize your marketing so that your audience will feel like you are talking to them. Readers must find your voice in the subject line and preheader text and your identity in the typography and colors you use.

And at the end, you must allow them to opt-out should they find you spamming their inbox (a signal to go easy on automation).

Accounting.

Robots doing your taxes? Why not? The value of automation in accounting is easier to quantify than in marketing. The cost of human error can be low. And while you are not expecting a financial scandal as big as Enron’s or the Lehman Brothers’, having a software solution record your transactions and balance your books can keep sanity levels in check.

So, should you now fire and replace your bookkeepers and certified public accountants? The short answer is no. You will still need those numbers expert, with credentials, of course, to perform audits and help you navigate the complicated world of regulatory policies.

Human resources.

Employee management is becoming automated as we speak. It is understandable and acceptable for a company of any size to do so. After all, routine tasks such as editing employee records, tracking leaves, and collating evaluation forms can be time-consuming.

Taking these activities off your HR team can help boost their productivity. By automating administrative processes, they can focus on making sure that employees are well cared for. The HR staff members can also take on their roles in strengthening the company culture.

They can do so while relying on the insights they learn from software platforms with regard to boosting the morale and productivity of your workforce.