Automation is a crucial step that lets businesses focus on strategic decision-making instead of routine operations. Automating processes ensures that work is completed faster, errors are minimized, and any data displayed is accurate and accessible.
Any operational activity that requires little to no human intervention can be optimized through automation. For businesses to use their resources efficiently, it's important to identify which areas to automate. That way, they can allocate resources toward strategic and decision-making activities rather than manual and routine ones.
With a well-planned automation system in place, you can easily configure an automation process through workflow rules. Workflow rules are a set of instructions that tell a computer program what to do when certain actions (also known as triggers) take place. These triggers can be set based on user behavior patterns and profile details.
Now that you have an understanding of automation and its importance, let's dive a little deeper to see how you can automate different areas of your business.
Tracking website visitors using Zoho SalesIQ
Let's assume you own a website built using Zoho Sites. You can link your website with Zoho SalesIQ and track visitor engagement. SalesIQ can automatically assign a score to every visitor based on their interaction with the website. Once a visitor reaches a certain score, they're automatically identified as leads and saved in Zoho CRM (Zoho's customer relationship management system).
(Assigning scores to leads using SalesIQ)
(Scored leads saved in Zoho CRM)
Guiding leads using Zoho CRM
Your sales processes, such as managing leads and following up with them, can be automated through the automation features of a good CRM software.
Once the captured leads are moved to Zoho CRM, you can configure workflow rules to send automated follow-up emails based on the lead's actions.
For example, if a lead downloads a brochure or requests additional information, the system can trigger a series of automated messages (known as drip campaigns) and send them to the lead.
These personalized drip campaign emails can guide the lead over time without the need for any manual intervention.
Assigning leads to appropriate agents
Once a lead is qualified, Zoho CRM can automate the process of assigning a lead to a sales agent based on criteria like zip code, product interest, or lead score.
Automated workflows can be used to schedule follow-up meetings, send proposals, and update sales opportunities, ensuring that you don't miss any important tasks.
(Assigning leads to sales agents using Zoho CRM)
This will enable the sales team to prioritize closing deals and building customer relationships over managing the system.
Automating marketing activities
Once your sales processes are automated and data is collected and organized efficiently, the next step is to automate your marketing processes.
With a well-planned marketing automation system like Zoho Campaigns, you can automate region-specific campaign emails by segmenting your audience based on location, behavior, or preferences by using the dynamic content feature.
For example, if a customer is from the United States, they'll receive the campaign email in English, while customers in Spain would receive the same email in Spanish.
The drag-and-drop feature in Zoho Campaigns can be used to create tailored email campaigns for varied user behavior, making it easier to win leads and engage customers.
Customer support
A key step toward maintaining good relationships with your customers is to provide support when customers need it. Zoho Desk can use automation to handle customer support tickets efficiently.
(Assigning tickets to support agents using Zoho Desk)
When a customer submits a question or requests a resolution, a workflow can be created along with an acknowledgement email stating that their ticket had been created, along with the case or ticket ID.
This ensures that the customer feels heard and that the agent doesn't miss the ticket. You can also enable notifications when tickets are assigned, keeping the customer and agent informed about progress that's been made.
Desk's drag-and-drop blueprint builder can design step-by-step workflows for agents to follow, ensuring that every ticket receives consistent and timely action.
Finance
You can extend your automation toward finance by using the automation features from Zoho Books to send recurring invoices and track payments. You can also create a set of workflow rules based on which actions needed to be performed.
(Sending automated, recurring invoices and tracking payments using Zoho Books)
Human resources
Zoho People can be used to automate human resources processes, from onboarding to managing approvals, mail alerts, task tracking, and event scheduling, ensuring that key events such as employee appraisals or contract renewals are never missed.
For example, if an employee wants to request leave, they can apply directly through Zoho People. The system can automatically approve their request and send an email to the employee, informing them that their leave has been approved.
(Applying for leave in Zoho People)
(Approving leave using Zoho People)
The outcome
Automating various routine business processes ensures that your business streamlines its operations so you can focus on making important strategic decisions rather than entries into the system.
With the help of workflow rules, a substantial amount of time and resources can be saved, letting your organization focus on closing deals, enhancing relationships with customers, and making key strategic decisions.
Zoho One: The solution for your automation needs
Zoho One is a unified software suite that lets you manage every part of your business from one central location.
With over 45 interconnected applications, you can easily configure workflows to automate your routine processes and direct resources toward more important business activities.
Once your routine processes are automated, it frees up time and energy by giving you access to accurate, real-time data, letting you focus on setting realistic business goals and making future projections to run your business efficiently.
If you're interested in exploring automation and want to automate your own business processes, sign up for a free trial below.
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