When done in an intelligent way, business process automation (BPA) allows companies to achieve up to 400% ROI. In order to unlock all the benefits of BPA, it is important  to move step by step, automating your operations gradually while tracking its performance along the way.

The following are some simple yet effective ways to automate core business processes using intuitive and affordable tools.

By using specialized sales automation software, you can not only save a lot of time, you can cut out crucial mistakes and implement effective data-driven decisions. 

Applications to choose from:

Badger Maps: Badger Maps is the best route planner for field sales teams. An all-in-one sales tool that allows you to plan your day in seconds, eliminate busy work by updating your CRM data from the field, and discover new leads in your territory, Badger Maps allows you to drive 20% less and sell 22% more. 

Price: $58/ month Business,  $95/ month Enterprise

Capterra Rating: 4.6/5

Get it: iOS | Android

Salesmate: Salesmate is an all-in-one CRM that enhances customer interactions, boosts sales productivity, and helps win more deals. It can replace your calling and texting system with one fully integrated platform.

Price: 12/ month Starter, $24/ month Growth, $40/ month Boost

Capterra Rating: 4.7/5 

Get it: iOS | Android

Hunter: Hunter is an all-in-one cold email software that supports you in every step of the successful cold email campaign – from finding valid email addresses to automating personalized cold email campaigns. 

Price: Free account with limited credits. $49/month Starter, $149/month Growth, $499/month Business.

Capterra Rating: 4.6/5

Marketing is one of the easiest areas to automate. By choosing to automate this area of your business, you can streamline laborious tasks such as, mailing, lead generation and customer support. 

Applications to choose from:

ActiveCampaign: A simplified CRM that comes with advanced email marketing automation features, this is the top choice for companies that are betting on cold email contacts. By allowing you to customize your communication to each customer's needs, you can offer them exactly what they are looking for.. 

Price: $29/ month Lite, $49/ month Plus, $149/ month Professional

Capterra Rating: 4.6/5

Get it: iOS | Android

HubSpot: One of the best-known tools for marketing automation,Their “Marketing Hub” solution comes with features such as lead generation, email marketing, and social media ads as a part of a free package. Marketing automation and custom reporting are a part of a Pro subscription. 

Price: $50/ month Starter, $890/ month Professional, $3200/ month Enterprise

Capterra Rating: 4.5/5 Get it: iOS | Android

Encharge: A marketing automation platform built for B2B SaaS companies that helps you nurture and convert free users into paying customers. Encharge empowers SaaS businesses with powerful behavior emails and native integrations with their CRM platform like HubSpot and recurring billing system like Stripe or Chargebee. 

Price: $99/month Growth, $159/month Professional

Capterra Rating: 4.9/5

These are the core activities of B2C companies, but they can also be some of the most routine and repetitive tasks. 

Applications to choose from:

Megaventory: This is a top inventory management app that also comes with features to control the orders and manufacturing processes. Plus, it generates custom and visual reports. 

Price: $135/ month Pro

Capterra Rating: 4.5/5

Overloop: This is one of the best sales automation platforms that cover all the sales process cycles. It can automate repetitive tasks, while its predictive algorithm can help to suggest more profitable sales strategies. 

Price: $79/ month Capterra Rating: 4/5

Kissflow: This procurement automation software saves up to 75% of purchase order processing time. The best part of using Kissflow is that it’s extremely flexible, customizable, and can be used alongside the majority of popular tools. 

Price: $10/ month Small Business, $20/ month Corporate

Capterra Rating: 3.9/5

Get it: iOS | Android

Trick! Rely on AI. The sales, procurement, and supply chain management processes generate a lot of real-time data you have to take into account and analyze. Making use of apps powered by artificial intelligence in order to manage your data in a more effective manner can be a game changer.

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Customer support is the top business process to automate and reduce operational costs. According to statistics, 86% of customers have to contact customer support several times, all for the same reasons.  Through automation, you can save valuable time and effort which can be diverted to more pressing tasks.

Check out our blog to discover the top tips for improving your sales team's customer service skills.

Applications to choose from:

ZenDesk: This application comes with customer service and sales automation features. With its help, you can use automated customer support across different channels including your website and social media, as well as SMS and email. 

Price: $45/ month Starter,  $95/ month Professional, $145/ month Enterprise

Capterra Rating: 4.3/5 Get it: iOS | Android

OMQ AI: This is a chatbot API that is suitable for companies that are just getting started with customer service automation. It perfectly handles simple queries and keeps your customers engaged by supporting smart talk when processing their inquiries. 

Price: $100/ month Basic

Trick! Embed conversational AI technologies. According to Gartner, conversational AI is one of the most important emerging tech trends. By using it for your customer support,, you can encourage your customers to interact with your brand using both voice and text.

Finances are the business processes where the most mistakes are made. So, when automating them, it is necessary to gather real-time data to always have a complete, and most importantly, accurate picture of what’s going on. 

Applications to choose from:

Microsoft Power BI: This is one of the most powerful business analysis solutions available on the market.. It allows for gathering data from multiple sources and also for creating highly customized reports on any data-driven business process. 

Price: $13.70/ month Pro, $27.50/ month Premium

Capterra Rating: 4.5/5 

Get it: iOS | Android

Kofax: This is a finance accounting and invoice processing automation software that can be integrated with an Enterprise Resource Planning system, and it comes with an in-built decision-making AI. 

Price: $129/ Standard - $179/ Advanced

Capterra Rating: 4.5/5 Get it: iOS | Android

Managing projects manually can be overwhelming, and most of the tasks still need to be monitored by a human eye. By adding transparency and automating routine tasks, project managers can relieve certain headaches.

Applications to choose from: 

Tracklify: This is a modern project management tracker that helps you measure the time spent on a task, automate some parts of the Kanban flow, and generate insightful reports which boost productivity. 

Price: $5/ month Pro

Jira: Inspired by the Agile and Kanban approaches, Jira allows you to manage multiple processes within the same project, in addition to tracking performance and getting instant updates on the progress. 

Price: $0/ Free, $7.50/ month Standard, $14.50/ month Premium

Capterra Rating: 4.4/5

Get it: iOS | Android

Trello: Part of Trello’s popularity is in its simplicity. Having said that,, the app’s creators have recently added more advanced features for workflow management automation. 

For example, the user can create an “automation rule”, according to which a more urgent task will be automatically assigned to the team member who has no “To-Do” or “In-Progress” tasks right now. 

Price: $0/Free, $5/ month Standard,$10/ month Premium, $17.50/ month Enterprise

Capterra Rating: 4.5/5

Get it: iOS | Android

Trick! Choose wisely. Not all project management tools are equally effective. While being powered by the same idea, Jira, for instance, is better for large projects, while Trello can even be tailored to personal task management. 

In contrast, Tracklify is a free tool which is an essential advantage for growing businesses. So, test some of them to find the one that better suits your project and is more intuitive for your team.

While team collaboration is more about personal interaction, there are still some tasks that can be automated with the help of the tools listed below: 

Miro: This is a real treasure for creative teams. It gives employees an opportunity to come together using an online whiteboard platform where they can collaborate in a semi-automated environment. 

Price: $0/ Free, $8/ month Team, $16/ month Business

Capterra Rating: 4.7/5 

Get it: iOS | Android

Slack: One of the most popular collaboration and communication apps. Just get started with Slack and you will appreciate the communication transparency it promises by creating dedicated threads for each of your issues. Slack also comes with an in-built chatbot that automates some of the communication processes and integrations. 

Price: $0/Free, $6.75/ month Pro, $11.75/ month Business

Capterra Rating: 4.7/5

Get it: iOS | Android

Trick! Integrate a team collaboration app with a project management app. These tools create a perfect combination for ensuring that your team is always updated and can instantly discuss an issue, allowing you to stay on the same page.

Conclusion

Not all business processes can be automated. There will always be tasks that require a personal touch and human creativity. But as for the routine tasks that mostly waste the time of you and your team, automation is an increasingly effective way to increase productivity and avoid critical mistakes.

Author Bio

Lily Roberts is a senior digital marketing specialist with over 10 years of experience in corporate branding and product management.