Automation is everywhere, and you’ve probably come across it in a variety of different places, like chatbots on websites or self-scheduling tools and so on. The fact is that businesses use automation all the time because it saves time, cuts costs, and boosts efficiency, but it can be a challenge because customers and clients don’t always like it all that much – it can feel very unengaging. So how can you keep the human touch but also use automation to help you run your business? Keep reading for some useful ideas to help you do it.
Automation Should Enhance, Not Replace
The best automation doesn’t take people out of the equation altogether – it just frees them up to focus on tasks that really do need the human touch. If you take social media automation for real estate, for example, you can see how real estate agents can use automation tools that use a trigger, such as a new review, to send out posts, which is sure to save a huge amount of time but still get excellent end results.
The thing to remember is that although automation can handle routine tasks, the real connection happens when agents offer a personal connection, which is what can happen when automation is taking care of everything else.
Automate The Mundane
Not every aspect of business actually needs the human touch, and understanding that can really help when it comes to working out what you can automate and what needs to have a real person behind it. If the task is a mundane, repetitive one, it can generally be automated, and that could include things like scheduling social media posts, sending appointment reminders, following up leads, and generating reports, not to mention invoicing.
However, when it comes to an actual conversation, that’s where human interaction is always going to be valuable. And as we’ve said, if you’re automating the repetitive tasks, that frees your team up to have more time to interact properly with clients and make some real connections, and that’s absolutely vital.
Personalisation Makes All The Difference
If automation feels generic, customers are definitely going to notice, and that’s not a good thing. The solution to this potential problem is to make things personal when it makes sense to, as that’s what customers are going to remember and it’s what makes them happy and more loyal to you.
You can use customer data to personalise emails and messages, for example, which could be just using their first name, or it could be more in depth about previous purchases and things they might like to buy next, for example. And when it comes to follow ups, you can use similar data about past interactions to make them make sense. In the end, a little personalisation goes a really long way and even if you’re automating it, it’ll feel much more real to the customer.
Keep Your Brand Voice Human
Automated messages don’t have to sound automated and robotic (and it’s actually better if they don’t). Instead, if you want customers to feel connected to your brand, you’ll need to make sure your message stays warm and friendly and, above all, natural.
The key is the write like you talk and always avoid stiff, formal language because that automatically sounds fake. Plus, you’ll want to add some personality to whatever it is you’re saying – some humour or a more casual tone can make automated messages feel really engaging and even pleasant to hear. And always keep things short and simple – who’s got time to read loads of info when they just want to know one thing?