Automation Vs. Delegation: What's The Best For Your Business?
Small businesses need to move swiftly and confidently to compete in an ultra-competitive market. When you’re trying to stay productive, it’s imperative to work smarter, not harder. How do you know which is right for a given task?Let’s break down the difference and explore what you should automate and what you should delegate to a trusted virtual assistant.
What Is Automation?
Automation involves using technology or software to handle repetitive, rule-based tasks without human intervention. It’s ideal for processes that follow a clear, predictable pattern. These tasks are necessary to keep your business moving seamlessly with a good flow and minimize problems. Below are some examples of tasks that should be automated.
Email Marketing: Automatically send welcome emails, newsletters, and follow-ups based on user actions or schedules.
Appointment Scheduling: Let clients book available time slots without the need for back-and-forth communication.
Invoice Generation: Create and send invoices automatically as part of your billing cycle.
Social Media Posting: Plan and schedule your content in advance to publish it consistently across platforms.
Lead Capture and Follow-Up: Automatically collect contact information and trigger email sequences or notifications for follow-up.
Automation works well for the tasks that you know need to get done. However, the level of customization or personal touch is sometimes missed.
What Is Delegation?
Delegation means assigning tasks to a person, such as a virtual assistant to bring next-level customization to your brand. They can use their best judgment and have more creativity over automation.
Inbox Management: Hand over your email so a virtual assistant can filter out the noise, flag what matters, and even respond on your behalf when appropriate. No more wasting time sorting through hundreds of messages.
Customer Support: Let someone else take care of responding to customer questions, and putting out small fires before they ruin the week. You can focus on growing your business, not just maintaining it.
Content Creation: Virtual assistant can keep content fresh and organized. This keeps your company constantly flowing with new ideas or offers that gets customers excited.
Project Coordination: A virtual assistant can keep your team (and you) on track by sending reminders and following up with vendors or collaborators. It’s a good way to make sure nothing falls through the cracks.
The Best Strategy? Combine Both
The most productive business owners use a mix of automation and delegation. For example, automate client onboarding forms, then delegate follow-up calls to a virtual assistant. You can use automated reports to track metrics, but have your VA review and interpret the data. Either way, you’re on the right track by not trying to do everything by yourself. Contact Secret Weapons to learn more about how our virtual assistants can turn your business from surviving to thriving!
