Automation is a concept that often takes businesses to the next level. In many cases, you’ll simply find that it’s more efficient to have a computer program complete menial tasks so you can focus on more important ones.

But, not everyone knows what they can use automation for, especially on a Windows PC.

Not sure where to start? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

Let’s take a look at everything you need to know about what tasks can be automated on Microsoft.

Email Follow-Ups

One of the most time-consuming obligations that business owners have is emailing clients and potential customers. This becomes increasingly true as your business grows in size, as you’ll be dealing with a far larger volume of emails each day.

Additionally, it can be difficult to keep track of when you should be following up with so many different people. For example, if you often send an email after someone’s free trial of your software expires, you’ll need to be vigilant as your customer base grows.

Instead, you can automate this process by setting certain parameters. In the above scenario, you can have an email automatically send 7 days after the customer activates their week-long free trial.

This will free up a significant amount of time that you can use for other business endeavors, such as research, internal projects, etc.

Payments

Receiving payments should always be automated, as having to review each transaction will only slow down the process. Depending on how often you’re able to check the status of your payments, you could find yourself unproductive. Efficiency is key in business.

You can also automate your invoicing, which makes collecting money from your clients far more simple.

Additionally, automating payments that you’re responsible for can save even more time. As a whole, payment automation can drastically increase your company’s productivity.

It’s crucial, though, that you ensure the proper parameters are in place before automating this task. Otherwise, you’ll likely encounter dissatisfied customers. 

Appointments

As with email, scheduling can take up a large segment of your time, especially with a large client base. Fortunately, though, this is one of the easiest processes to automate.

You’re able to use software that allows your customers to schedule their own meeting times based on availability. Under the right scenario, the only involvement you’ll have in scheduling appointments is getting a notification that someone chose a specific date and time for a meeting or consultation.

It’s also recommended to automate reminders that are sent to both you and the client in order to sure everything stays on track. If a cancellation needs to be made, it can be automated in the same way and your calendar will reflect these changes.

Sales

As sales volume grows, you’ll eventually need to analyze your metrics to determine what areas you need to focus on, where you can improve, etc. 

With automation in place for your company’s sales performance, you’ll be able to receive automatic alerts when goals are reached (or not reached within a given period).

You’ll also find that automation can collect sales data for you to review and use in other practices. For instance, if a specific buyer makes purchases far more frequently than most of your customers, you’ll be informed of this scenario.

From here, you can reach out to them and thank them for their continued support, invite them to a rewards program, etc.

Microsoft Power Automate is a noteworthy software that your company can take advantage of. You can learn more here.

Lead Generation

Most smaller companies don’t have the time or resources necessary to dedicate to lead nurturing and generation. However, automation can provide plenty of utility at very little cost in terms of labor.

Chatbots are one of the most common ways that automation is implemented by small businesses. Not only does it allow a customer to access assistance 24/7, but it also provides an opportunity to gather their contact information.

This is particularly effective for companies that are active in industries that are relatively ‘complicated’ in terms of general understanding, such as law, medicine, or technology. 

You can also implement automated ‘tripwires’ that activate whenever a member of your audience takes a specific action.

A common scenario in which these are implemented involve displaying an opt-in form to a user who navigates to the ‘back’ button on their browser. This is often accompanied by text that says something along the lines of ‘Before you go…’

Research

Automation is notably effective at handling repetitive tasks, making it a perfect option for consumer research obligations. Research-based responsibilities that can be automated include:

• Survey generation

• Data cleaning (such as removing duplicate values or proper formatting)

• Microsoft Excel document automation 

Depending on what industry your company operates in, the type of research you conduct will vary. But, you’ll likely find that automation drastically increases your productivity when implemented correctly.  

after enough time has passed, you’ll be able to fine-tune your research automation methods to the point where your required involvement in the process will be minimal. 

Understanding What Tasks Can Be Automated on Microsoft May Seem Difficult

But it doesn’t have to be.

With the above information about what tasks can be automated on Microsoft in mind, you’ll be well on your way toward making the most of your time and being as efficient as possible. 

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