What is Workflow Automation Software?
Workflow automation software is a marketing tool or CRM that lets merchants set up a single task or a series of tasks that run on their own. Workflow automation, or eCommerce automation, involves using a specific logic within a marketing tool to trigger actions with contacts in a company’s database. The logic used is typically rule-based, meaning that the merchant sets certain rules based on whether a contact does or does not do something. After the criteria is identified, workflow automation software enables businesses to send emails, schedule internal tasks, set reminders and more.
How Does Workflow Automation Software Work?
Workflow automation removes the need for manual processes by automating repetitive tasks among individuals and teams. Most of the examples in the graphic above are applicable to marketing automation. That list is not comprehensive though, as there are a variety of ways to automate marketing processes. Though eCommerce automation typically benefits sales and marketing teams in the greatest capacity, it also benefits other departments including human resources, finance and IT.
Marketing Automation
Workflow automation helps marketing teams:
- Establish an effective cadence for nurturing and following up with leads
- Schedule social posts across multiple platforms
- Delegate repetitive and mundane tasks to the software
- Get notified when a lead reaches out through social media or email
Sales Automation
In addition to marketing, workflow automation software is also extremely beneficial for sales teams. It allows salespeople to:
- Ensure they’re reaching out to each and every lead in the funnel
- View notes and insights on ongoing processes
- Send contextual emails
Human Resources Automation
Here’s how workflow automation benefits human resource managers and teams:
- Reducing paperwork
- Recruiting faster
- Ensuring compliance
- Improving the onboarding and off-boarding processes
Finance Automation
Those in finance also benefit from workflow automation by:
- Managing documents easier
- Saving time on processing
- Scheduling automatic payments for invoices
- Integrating data with accounting software
IT Automation
Lastly, workflow automation helps IT teams streamline their day to day by:
- Assigning tickets and escalations to those who are available
- Avoiding duplicate support requests
- Managing assets
- Confirming updates
- And more
There is an assortment of ways for businesses to automate their processes. Now that you can see the benefits, let’s discuss the features to look for when investing in workflow automation software.
Features To Look For
Intuitive & Easy To Use
eCommerce automation is supposed to make the difficult things easier 一 not the other way around. When looking for a software to invest in, be sure that it’s simple and intuitive for your team to use. You shouldn’t need help from IT or customer service when creating and updating workflows.
Sends Notifications
One of the key benefits of workflow automation is its ability to continue without the need for human interference. When team members receive notifications about the workflow via email, it serves as a helpful reminder that the workflow is running smoothly.
Valuable Reporting
Whether your workflow is simple or complex, it’s important that it offers valuable reporting. You may have thought that the way you set it up the first time was working well but the results your business sees are saying otherwise. Whether it’s too simple with few steps or too complex with too many steps, a workflow’s reporting feature lets you analyze what needs improvement.
Conclusion
The Groove Commerce team advocates strongly for the use of HubSpot or Klaviyo for our mid-market and Enterprise eCommerce clients. If you’d like to learn more about the workflow automation software offered by each of these tools, our team would love to help. Let us know your company’s current strategies and goals in the form below, and we’ll be in touch!
via https://www.aiupnow.com
dana@groovecommerce.com (Dana LaBate), Khareem Sudlow
