What can run by itself in a small business (and what can’t)

When you hear “automation”, you may picture something big and expensive, meant for companies with departments and managers. In practice it means something simple: a task you do the same way every day gets done by a program in your place. Below you will see which tasks suit that in a small business, and which are better left with a person.

The rule that separates them

Ask yourself one question about each task: can I write it as “when this happens, do that”?

If you can, it can probably run by itself. If your answer starts with “it depends”, then it needs someone who thinks, and that is where a person should stay.

What can run by itself

Prices

If a price comes from a rule, such as cost plus a percentage, or a price per metre with a discount on large quantities, the program can work it out every time. When a supplier changes their prices, you change one number and everything that depends on it updates, without opening products one by one.

Offers

An offer usually gets written on top of the last one, with the name changed and a hope that nothing old stays in. The program can set it up with your logo, the customer’s details and the right prices, so you only read and approve it. It can also remind you which offers are still unanswered.

Order emails

“We got your order”, “we got your payment”, “your parcel is on its way”. These messages are the same every time, with only the details changed. They can go out by themselves the moment the order’s status changes, and the customer stays informed without anyone writing anything.

“Where is my order?”

Customers often ask because they have nowhere to look. If each customer has their own page showing the order’s status and tracking number, they can check whenever they like, even at night. Some will call you anyway. Then you will have the answer in front of you and won’t need to go searching.

Reports

A report is a simple picture of how you are doing: how much you sold, what sold most, who owes you. Usually someone makes it by hand, once a month, if they find the time. Since the information already exists, the program can make it by itself and send it to you every Monday morning.

Forgotten carts

Someone puts products in the cart of your online shop and leaves before paying. An hour or a day later, they can get a polite reminder of what they left behind. Just make sure it respects what the customer has agreed to receive by email, and that it doesn’t chase them with lots of messages.

What should stay with people

Complaints. An angry customer wants someone to listen. A ready-made reply will make them angrier.
Exceptions on price. A discount for an old customer going through a hard time is your decision. No rule knows your history with them.
The first talk about something new. When someone doesn’t yet know what they need, they need a person who will ask the right questions.
Difficult follow-ups. A payment reminder can go out by itself. The phone call to a customer who has owed you for three months is yours to make.
Checks where a mistake costs a lot. On a big order or an important offer, let the program prepare it and a person approve it.
Deciding what comes next. A report shows you that something is falling. What you do about it is your decision.

A sensible order to start in

Don’t do everything at once. Keep to this order:

Write down what you repeat during one week and how long it takes you.
Circle whatever passes the “when this happens, do that” rule.
Start with one, the one that wears you out most.
Watch it for a few weeks, then move to the next.

Remember too that what runs by itself still needs looking after. Someone has to update the rules when things change and take a look now and then. Even a good program does exactly what you told it. If you told it something wrong, it will get it wrong very consistently.

For a real example, see a printing business for which we built a system.

The next step

If you don’t know where to begin, take the 6-question check of where you lose time. If you would rather talk it over, book a free 30-minute call. We will look together at what wears you out most and give you a plan.