Just about all of us are familiar with or have heard the word “Automation,” which is the act of creating a routine for “unexciting, repetitive” tasks, in effort to save a significant amount of time and energy. The truth is though that Automation doesn’t have to any longer be unexciting, dull, or mundane any longer. In fact, automation is one of the most pertinent and necessary steps I teach my clients to efficiently scale to seven figures.
For businesses, there are routine activities that are traditionally done manually, these include emails, social media marketing, customer management, campaign management, and so on. Enter Automation. Now these activities can become and have become much simpler – saving time and effort for businesses of all kinds.
Here are 3 Automation Tools to get your business seemingly running on autopilot:
- Zapier
According to Zapier’s site, “Zapier is a basic automation tool that helps any enterprise to save time and money while increasing efficiency. This is about as simple as automation gets, allowing you to create automated actions between critical applications used by businesses across all industries.”
This web-based automation platform links your favorite and most-used apps like Gmail, Slack, Mailchimp, and 2,000 other apps and services. Talk about full integration! This means you can simply attach two or more apps and automate routine activities without knowledge of coding or relying on someone who does.
Now what are the major benefits of using Zapier? First and most obvious is speed. Tasks will be completed in less time. That’s what automation is all about. The manual clicking with a mouse or keypad will be replaced by automated actions that are speedier and accurate. And accuracy is connected to the next key benefit which is consistency. We know humans aren’t perfect. We make mistakes, we have accidents, we forget, we misplace, we get lost in our thoughts and get distracted while working. Ergo computers are much better, quicker, and more accurate and therefore provide consistency in performing these simple, routine tasks.
- Thryv
Thryv is a customer experience portal designed specifically for small companies. But of course, medium-sized companies can benefit a lot from using it as well. According to its site, “Thryv is a secure, easy to use small business management platform that automates tasks and puts your customers at the center of your business.” These automations include but are not limited to text and email promotions, social media, invoicing, payment routing, and customer management. Customer relationship management has never been easier with Thryv. Customers can find your business online through social presence, reviews, and search results. They have the ability to to easily engage with your business with automated messages that respond, stay in touch, and request reviews. With the comprehensive features and functionality, Thryv has helped streamline business processes without the need for coding know-how or hiring developers.
- ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign has been defined as a Customer Experience Automation Platform. It helps businesses connect and engage consistently with their customers. Businesses can offer meaningful customer experiences by automating routine marketing, sales, and customer support and relationship processes.
ActiveCampaign offers several advantages that resulted in its widespread use across the globe. One benefit is simply its robust automation. Reviews from users and developers alike have raved about the powerful automation it provides. Secondly, ActiveCampaign features a commendable reporting functionality that integrates purchase tracking for Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce. Reports include page visits, click-maps, and geo-tracking. A worthy mention is a simple and free migration if you are shifting from another email marketing program. ActiveCampaign makes the move easy for you and does it for free.
