Here’s to all of you hard-working small business owners out there trying to grow your companies. You’re busy, you’re tired, I hear you.
Raising a baby business is like raising… well, a baby. It takes a lot of time, a lot of energy and sometimes a lot of guesswork and hoping.
They say that raising a child takes a village. Some people have family supporting them, some have friends, and some hire nannies and babysitters. Well, let me introduce you to automated services - the nannies and babysitters for your business. They can assist you with sales, marketing, repetitive tasks and more.
Automated services can take some of the load off of your already full plate, and some of the stress, too.
Here are 3 Smart Ways to Automate Your Small Business:
Payments and Invoicing
Whether your business is a brick and mortar shop or an e-commerce site, managing payments can be time consuming and repetitive.
If you’re using a service like Shopify to run your business, you can take advantage of their helpful features.
Over 1,700,000 businesses in about 175 countries are using Shopify and Shopify Payments to manage their transactions. Shopify Payments is a service that records your transactions from your e-commerce site and your brick-and-mortar shop all in one place. It’s straightforward, transparent and includes features such as fraud protection and inventory management. This way, you don’t have to worry about manually recording your payments or trying to organize multiple sources of revenue.
Email Automations (create return customers)
Depending on your business, you might generate lots of sales from repeat business. You want your customers coming back for more. If a customer has tried your service or product before, they are 50-60% more likely to want to buy again.
Automated emails are an exceptional way to generate repeat business. Some of the most successful types of automated emails are Welcome series emails, Abandoned Cart emails, and Customer Winback emails. These are simple emails that can be personalized with your customer’s first name and other information. They can help you reach out, grab your purchaser’s attention and bring them back to your store to generate repeat business. This is also a great way to extend customer lifetime value.
One great, easy way to generate these automated emails is using a platform like Klaivyo.
If you would like to know more about how automated emails can improve your business, you can learn all about them here.
Automating Customer Service
When a customer needs some help, it can be extremely frustrating not to be able to get their questions answered or to have to wait days for a response. If a customer is frustrated with lack of help or wait times, they’re less likely to fall in love with your business.
A Frequently Asked Questions or “FAQ’s” section can save a lot of time answering, well, frequently asked questions. How many of the same email a day do you receive asking about whether or not your product is right for this or that purpose, or if you offer this service or that function?
A FAQ section provides a space where your customer can quickly access the answer to their questions, without having to speak to a customer service representative. If you receive the same question multiple times, consider adding it to the section.
The FAQ section may not answer all questions, and there will of course be extenuating circumstances that require a real human’s problem-solving skills. However, for those 5, 10 or even 25 questions that just about everyone is asking, it can be a great time saver for both you and your patrons if they can quickly get the answer on their own.
Fear not, young business parents, for you do not have to raise this business baby alone. Use some of these tried and tested tools and help your business grow.