Every startup business owner’s dream is to evolve it into a scaleup, and automation is turning these dreams into reality.
Sadly, many startups fail due to bad marketing, poorly managed HR and logistical planning that falls wide of the mark. Financial administrative work is another hindrance that can kill any business due to human error.
It’s a shame to see so much potential wasted due to issues with the above, given that so many startups genuinely offer a great product but end up disbanding before they have a chance to take off.
You many be unaware that automation can alleviate many of these factors that can lead to a business’s failure, ensuring startups are more likely to thrive and can continue to offer their services to customers.
What is automation?
In brief, automation in the business world is where technology takes various tasks off the hands of staff. It’s convenient and means staff time is better spent elsewhere in the business.
Here are some of the key reasons why startups are scaling up, thanks to the help of automation.
Improves Supply Chain Logistics
Supply chain logistics is the transportation, warehousing and inventory management functions and is integral for many businesses who rely on sourcing materials or delivering products.
For startups, this can be time-consuming and tedious. Supply chain automation can massively reduce the amount of work that goes into logistics through inventory forecasting. It can also increase your business’s efficiency, simplify the delivery of products, and quickly respond to customer requests.
Streamlines HR
Think applications, essential documents, legal forms, paperwork, paperwork, paperwork. Human Resources is another task that, unfortunately, can be the demise of many startups if neglected or ill-managed.
Automation has proven its worth time and time again in saving businesses from HR-related destruction. Essentially, it can quickly and accurately take care of much of the mundane admin work for you.
This type of automation is also secure as you can have it automatically back-up information online, meaning you don’t have to worry about losing anything important.
Managing Finances
Remembering to send invoices, chasing them up, managing taxes, expenses and paying people on time is a lot of work, especially if you are a startup with limited time and resources.
Those unpaid invoices can mount up, and human error can lead to trouble with the tax office. Quite often, these stressors are enough to topple a startup business that would have otherwise done well for itself.
Fear not. Financial automation is now a thing, meaning all of the stress of handling financials can be a thing of the past. For instance, rather than sitting trying to work out who has paid on time and who is in arrears, automation can send out and chase up invoices for you. Additionally, it can keep track of expenditure and tax-related matters, saving countless startup business owners a headache.
Boost You Marketing
Good marketing is without a doubt one of the most crucial factors that can give a startup the momentum it needs to flourish.
Many new, small companies neglect the marketing side of their operation due to time constraints, staffing and money, which can unfortunately be their undoing.
Marketing automation used to be expensive and was generally used by large businesses with a decent budget. As the years have gone on, the software has become within budget for startups.
Automation for startups is crucial if they are beginning to gain traction, have more clientele, and don’t have the time to grab leads as they come.
Marketing automation covers all of this for you, reaching out to leads on your behalf. For instance, it can automatically send emails to potential clients who have engaged with your social media or website.
These are just a handful of reasons why automation can be what small startups need to survive while they find their feet in the challenging first few months or so.
Contact Cofficient if you are interested in ways we can help your startup thrive.
