Automations vs Personalisation - make BOTH work for your biz

HOW to decide what will work best without sacrificing on your client’s experience

I’ll be deadly honest with you, Pal, for a very long time I was totally against what I deemed to be the unnecessary use of automations for day to day communications within small businesses & with freelancers/solopreneurs.

Maybe it’s a little because I have a creative brain & so am not the greatest at setting up tech/automations myself. But, I think more than anything it’s because I think that if you’re not careful/intentional there’s the very real possibility that the essence of “you”/your brand (ie the stuff that makes you so irresistible & easy for your clients to connect to) plus the opportunity to build the relationship with your clients gets lost.

And, as I keep banging my client experience drum on, it’s those small moments of connection with your clients that build your relationship with them, nurturing their trust & loyalty in the process. It’s those loyal clients who’ll be gagging to snap up your next offer & won’t hesitate to recommend you to their pals. 

Tech & personalisation; unlikely besties - Photo by Marvin Meyer on Unsplash

I’ve changed my mind since, and that’s because I’m less naive now to the practicalities of running your own business & the time you *actually* have to wear all the hats & keep serving your clients to the best of your ability. We need tech to take some of the mental load off. (My VA biz grew pretty rapidly off the back of recommendations & I knew that I had to introduce some “light” tech just to keep myself sane)

I totally believe that automations can do even more hard work than you imagined - yes they can schedule a meeting in your diary, BUT THEY CAN ALSO be a source of connection with your clients & a glimpse behind the scenes. They can be an extension of how you would speak “in real life” & not boring/soulless. 

So how do you strike that balance for your business?