With the busy season coming, entrepreneurs can get overwhelmed with the demand of work - from answering inquiries, updating records of sales, keeping social media content up-to-date, to meeting customers’ demand. There is just too much on their plate.

This is where automation can save every busy entrepreneur, so they can focus on their online business with initiatives that drive sales and growth rather than spending time doing manual or repetitive tasks. 

Also read: Is your business ready for 'ber' months? Here are 5 tips to get you started

Here are some ways how automating your business can keep you sane this busy season:
 

1. Smooth content management
Thinking about what to post for the following days every single day can be draining. But there are a lot of digital tools that can help streamline your content management.  One example is Buffer which allows you and your team to plan ahead for your content-related task. You can schedule, manage your content and it even offers an image creator.  MeetEdgar is also a digital tool that helps you in publishing your posts wisely. It can also automatically republishes your top posts on several occasion.

Also read: 10 social media automation tools for your business advantage

2. Seamless customer service
Having to answer all inquiries while tracking orders of your online business takes so much time. Creating an automated email message for your customers after they have successfully made their order payment can improve customer experience 

Another example is generating an auto-respond message after a customer has made an inquiry on your site, which can minimize waiting time for your customers. Meanwhile, you have to make sure that your customer service process still has a touchpoint with your employees especially in dealing with serious complaints. Utilizing your employees while also maximizing automation for your customer service can generate an efficient and effective process.

Also read: Customer acquisition and retention: How can you do it?
 

You can also create scripted responses to the most frequent complaints or questions so your employees can save time from responding or typing out the same response every time a complaint arises. This frees up time to work on other important tasks that add value to your business.

Automation can benefit every busy entrepreneur, so they can focus on their online business with initiatives that drive sales and growth rather than spending time doing manual or repetitive tasks.  

3. Secure online payments
Imagine the hassle and stress of checking your bank account regularly just to confirm if the payments from your customers are successful. Or imagine the drop off rate from your potential customers if your online business isn’t accepting debit/credit card payments.

In today's digital age, customers always look for the fastest and safest payment option for their online purchase. 

Handling credit card fraud that may occur on your online store can get you into huge trouble. With a payment gateway, you can mitigate the risk of fraud.

These are just some ways how automation can help you stay organized and sane this busy season. Truth be told, most people prefer to shop online. Even the government has seen the tremendous growth of online or e-commerce industry that led them to launch its e-commerce roadmap up to 2020.

“The coming years will be bullish for Philippine E-Commerce and come 2020, our strategies and plans for the industry will exhibit a 20/20 vision— utterly perfect and accurate,” Undersecretary Prudencio Reyes Jr. declared in the recently concluded E-Commerce Forum.

Also read: Power of testimonials and how they can boost your e-commerce sales

Every entrepreneur should maximize the growing industry for their business advantage especially during this season where people are looking for gifts and giveaways to hand out during extravagant parties, corporate events, family get-togethers etc. 

Are you a business owner who doesn’t have an online store yet? You can build an online store for free through LINKER.store.
 

Sources:
- Philippine E-Commerce to Reach ₱200bn by 2020

- PH e-commerce industry sees more growth in 2019