The benefits of Zapier automation for small businesses

Have you ever needed an extra pair of hands in your business, or wished you had a few more hours in the day? Business process automation could be the answer!   But what does that even mean, and where does Zapier fit into the puzzle?   Here’s all you need to know…

What is business process automation?

To run your small business, you probably use a variety of different software applications, such as Outlook or Gmail, Excel or Google Sheets, an accounting system such as Quickbooks Online or Xero and a CRM which could be Salesforce or Pipedrive.   All of these systems consume data and if they are disconnected then you often have to rekey the information from one into the other.  This can be extremely time consuming and also prone to human error.  So, wouldn’t it be cool if they could all talk to each other and pass the relevant data between them?  That’s the essence of business process automation!  It means that you can focus on other stuff and leave the robots to take care of the boring, mundane tasks.

What tasks can I automate?

The possibilities for what you can automate are endless, but here are some examples to get your creative juices flowing:

• Automatically add sales leads to your CRM
• Automatically follow up sales leads to convert them into customers
• Automate the onboarding process with welcome emails
• Schedule social media posts
• Add new CRM contacts to your email platform
• Automatically create an invoice when an opportunity reaches a certain stage in your CRM
• Create reminders when meetings are pending
• Send a daily summary of sales to your team
• Automatically send an email to customers when they’ve paid an invoice

These examples are just the tip of the iceberg and every business will have different processes that they can automate.

What is Zapier?

Zapier is a no-code tool which makes it super simple to set up connections between apps so that you can configure automations.  You don’t need to hire a developer as anyone can use its powerful pre-built integrations.  It currently connects over 3000 apps including the Microsoft suite, the Google suite and many systems from major software providers. 

You can search for different apps using the Zapier explorer, which lists them by category, including:

• Analytics (eg Google Analytics, Trustpilot)
• Communication (eg email, SMS, Slack)
• E-commerce (eg Woocommerce, Shopify, Kajabi)
• Accounting (eg Xero, Quickbooks)
• CRM (eg Salesforce, Pipedrive, Zoho CRM, Dubsado)
• File management (eg Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive)
• Email marketing (eg Mailchimp, MailerLite, ActiveCampaign, ConvertKit)
• Databases (eg Knack, Airtable, MySQL)
• Project management (eg Asana, Trello, Jira, Basecamp)
• Social media (eg Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest)

Zapier has a free version which you can use to try out its features for up to 10 ‘zaps’ (a zap is an automated workflow).  You can do an awful lot with the free version and it’s so easy to get up and running really quickly.

How do I get started with Zapier?

The best way to get started in Zapier is to sign up for the free version and look for some of the apps you use.   Zapier will suggest automations and invite you to try them out.  All you need to do is sign into your software app and then Zapier does the rest!

Kelly Goss, of Solvaa, is a Certified Zapier Expert and has some free resources which will get you up and running in no time:

• Introduction to automation : access the free e-book
• Video demonstrations : Solvaa’s YouTube channel
• Free guide to the super-useful inbuilt Zapier functions : cheat sheet
• Kelly’s new book to teach everyone how to use Zapier : Automate It with Zapier

Happy automating!

Kelly Goss founded Solvaa in 2016 and she is one of very few female Zapier Certified Experts. As a passionate advocate of automation and continuous improvement, she helps businesses streamline their repetitive tasks to achieve their productivity goals and save money.