How to Use Automation for a Stress-Free Holiday Season
Everybody knows that the holidays can be extra stressful as businesses crunch through last-minute deadlines, but that doesn’t mean they should be. This is true for both larger corporations and business owners of small to medium-sized enterprises who are always expected to multitask and be online.
Getting some time off can be as simple as automating some of your business processes and systems to work on their own so that you don’t have to worry about them all day. Here are three automation technologies to consider implementing in your business so that you can enjoy the holiday break for all your hard work:
Automate Your Helpdesk
Having your customer service team power through the holidays might be a tough request—and you’ll also want to give your staff a break to enjoy time with their loved ones. This doesn’t mean that responding to customer queries has to come to a sudden halt over the holidays.
Business process automation will enable you to address any questions remotely using a cloud-based helpdesk. This kind of software provides a customer self-service portal that makes finding information much easier for your customers, as well as the creation of support ticket requests—both of which allow you to resolve concerns without being in direct contact with customers while you’re taking time off.
Automate Emails
This can be as simple as setting up an out-of-office auto-reply feature on your email provider to let people know when they can expect a response or how to reach you for an urgent matter. However, going one step further can help you maintain contact with your customers, which is valuable even during the holiday season.
With email automation, you can send out targeted emails to web visitors and existing customers who download your ebook, sign up for your newsletter, or subscribe to your blog posts. These targeted emails can send curated content based on the activity your audience is interested in, keeping them engaged with the business even if you’re on break.
Scheduling a weekly or a monthly newsletter is also a great use of email automation. You can send special holiday greetings, a thank you to clients for their support over the past year, or perhaps even share what you have in store for the next year.
Automate Invoices
Recurring or regular invoices can be automated by setting them up to send on a specific day of the month using cloud accounting software. Logging in and checking up on your finances wherever you are is possible with this kind of business process automation software. Aside from that, making payments and keeping track of your accounts to ensure the consistency of your cash flow while you’re on vacation is also possible.
Reconciling collected receipts with your business accounts can be done with certain apps, which can take emailed receipts and turn them into costs against an invoice.
Conclusion
Working over the holidays is unavoidable, but getting your time off, having quality time with family, and getting a bit of rest and relaxation is also important to successfully running your company or business. Automation technology helps tremendously with very manual tasks, making them operate smarter, more efficiently, and using fewer resources.
With automation, you don’t have to worry about maintaining visibility in front of your customers without you at the helm. Your systems will keep on running smoothly until you’re back from the holiday to resume with business as usual!
Here at Digital Fractal, we find solutions to various complex problems that both large and small companies face on the daily. One of the solutions we offer is automation in the workplace—with which your business can run different processes with ease and efficiency. Book a free consultation with us today for a solution that’s tailor-fit for you and your business!
