Automation simplifies all areas of a business by automatically accomplishing tasks that you or an employee would otherwise have to do manually. You don’t have to look any further than your inbox for examples of automation.
It’s the “sorry I missed you” email from a salesperson who just left you a voicemail. The birthday coupon from a restaurant. The reminder from a retailer that you added a product to your shopping cart but never clicked “buy.”
Across industries, automation has become a key to success: nearly 80% of top-performing companies have used marketing automation for more than 2 years, according to the research firm Gleanster.
Here are 5 Examples of Things you can quickly automate that will generate new business, increase your sales and drive repeat business!
1. Respond immediately to an email contact request
When you get a phone inquiry, an email or a text, responding quickly and following up is crucial…. and responding days later isn’t an option. According to the Lead Response Management Study, waiting even 30 minutes to make contact decreases your odds of qualifying a lead by 21 times, compared to calling within five minutes.
With automation software like the one provided by Keap, you can respond immediately every time—without having to think about it. Instead of taking requests via an email address, add a “contact us” form to your website. Smart client management software like Keap gives you a shortcode to easily place the form on your website.
2. Always win at phone tag
It’s easy to lose a game of phone tag when you’re busy running a small business. Say you leave a voicemail for a potential client, and he returns your call when you’re in a meeting. You make a note—in your mind, or maybe on a Post-It note—to call him back when you return to your desk. But alas, voicemail again.
If the game continues, all while you’re chasing other players, you might eventually give up—either intentionally or because you were too busy to remember the call. That means you had a lead, and you lost it.
Keep score by establishing an automated process for returning phone calls. Using automation software, you can note in the system that you left a message for a contact. Doing so triggers an automatic email to him: “I just left you a voicemail. Sorry I missed you! If I don’t hear from you, I’ll follow up tomorrow.” The software then reminds you to make the call tomorrow, as promised, no Post-Its required. And no lost leads, either.
3. Capture leads by offering free content
No matter how brilliant your products or services are, don’t expect potential clients to invite you into their inboxes. The average person already receives 88 business emails a day according to The Radicati Group, a tech market research firm. So when it comes to collecting email addresses, you might have to give in order to receive.
Content is a gift that keeps giving. By offering free content like an ebook, PDF, video, or another type of resource—to those who sign up for your emails, you gain new leads and show off your expertise while you’re at it.
4. Stay engaged with prospects who aren’t ready to buy—yet
You wouldn’t propose marriage on a first date, right? The same logic applies to a new prospect. In the B2B world, 73% of leads aren’t yet ready to become clients, according to a report by the research firm MarketingSherpa. Rather than asking for a sale during your first meeting, establish trust by cultivating the relationship over time, until the prospect is ready to make the big decision.
5. Generate repeat business
For most business owners, a sale isn’t a one-time event. You want a customer to buy again—and again and again, especially if you sell a recurring service or a product that needs to be replenished on a regular basis. After all, the probability of selling to an existing customer is 60 to 70%—compared with 5 to 20% for a new prospect, according to the authors of the book Marketing Metrics.
