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Your Journey to Financial Freedom

Step today and begin your journey to stress-free budgeting.

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The Process of Life Insurance

According to the 2020 Insurance Barometer Report from trade associations LIMRA and Life Happens, there are 41 million Americans who claim to require life insurance but do not already have it. The propensity for people to overestimate the expense of something can help to explain this in part.

People may hesitate to purchase the necessary life insurance due to perceptions of affordability and value. According to more than half of survey respondents in the Insurance Barometer Report, a $250,000 term life insurance policy for a healthy 30-year-old would cost at least $500 a year. However, the typical price is more like $160 per year. The difference between perceived and actual costs is quite significant.

What you need to know about attaining the best is broken down here.

According to the Insurance Barometer Report, term life insurance is not only the most cost-effective kind of life insurance but also the kind that is most frequently purchased (71% of buyers).

Term life insurance offers protection for a predetermined period, and the premium payments remain the same throughout the policy’s life. Options for policy lengths often include 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 years.

Your beneficiaries may file a claim and receive the death benefit money tax-free if you pass away during the policy’s term.

Once the term of the policy expires, you may be able to renew the coverage in increments of one year, known as guaranteed renewability. But each year of renewal will be at a higher rate.

Permanent life insurance

Permanent life insurance provides lifelong coverage. It’s more expensive than term life because it:

Can last for the duration of your life.

Usually builds cash value.

Throughout the policy’s life, the cash value component grows tax-deferred. It serves as the policy’s savings component. Usually, you can withdraw money from the policy or borrow money against its cash value. You can obtain the cash value of the policy less any surrender fees if you decide to cancel it.

Don’t expect to have immediate access to a large amount of cash value because, in some policies, the cash value may develop gradually over several years. The anticipated cash value will be shown on your insurance illustration.

There are several varieties of permanent life insurance:

Whole life insurance offers a fixed death benefit and cash value component that grows at a guaranteed rate of return. Many whole life insurance policies pay out dividends that can be used to reduce premium payments or can add to your cash value.

Universal life insurance often offers more flexibility than a whole life insurance policy. You may be able to alter your premium payments and death benefit within certain limits. With a universal life insurance policy, the cash value will build depending on the policy type. For example, an indexed universal life insurance policy will have cash value tied to an index such as the S&P 500. A variable universal life policy will typically have investment subaccounts that you can choose and manage.

Burial insurance is a small whole life policy with a small death benefit, often between $5,000 and $25,000. Burial insurance is designed to cover only funeral costs and final expenses.

Survivorship life insurance or “second to die life insurance” ensures two people under one policy, usually a married couple. When both spouses have passed away, the policy pays out the death benefit to the beneficiaries. Usually, survivorship life insurance is part of a larger financial plan to fund a trust or pay federal estate taxes.

How to Choose the Right Life Insurance Policy Type

The cost of life insurance varies significantly depending on several different factors. One of the biggest cost factors will be the type of life insurance you buy. For example, a term life insurance policy is significantly less expensive than a whole life insurance policy for the same amount of coverage.

Here are some of the most common factors affecting life insurance rates:

Age. The younger you are when you buy a policy, the less you’ll pay. That’s because your chance of death is smaller.

Sex. Females have a life expectancy that is nearly five years longer than males, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. This means that men generally pay more for life insurance than women (except in Montana, where insurers must provide gender-neutral life insurance rates).

Health. Your health has a significant impact on your life insurance rates. The insurer will evaluate your past and current medical conditions to calculate your life expectancy.

Lifestyle. Your driving history (such as a DUI conviction), criminal record, and dangerous occupations and hobbies (such as scuba diving) can all result in higher life insurance rates.

The cost of life insurance varies significantly depending on several different factors. One of the biggest cost factors will be the type of life insurance you buy. For example, a term life insurance policy is significantly less expensive than a whole life insurance policy for the same amount of coverage.

Here are some of the most common factors affecting life insurance rates:

Age. The younger you are when you buy a policy, the less you’ll pay. That’s because your chance of death is smaller.

Sex. Females have a life expectancy that is nearly five years longer than males, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. This means that men generally pay more for life insurance than women (except in Montana, where insurers must provide gender-neutral life insurance rates).

Health. Your health has a significant impact on your life insurance rates. The insurer will evaluate your past and current medical conditions to calculate your life expectancy.

Lifestyle. Your driving history (such as a DUI conviction), criminal record, and dangerous occupations and hobbies (such as scuba diving) can all result in higher life insurance rates.

#lifehealthadvisors #ethos #protectyourfamily #selflove #healthcare

Author: Rechelle D. Barbato

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Healthcare needs to be High Quality, Affordably priced, and Accessible.

To improve patients’ health results, universal health care must be of a high caliber.

Shakina lives in a developing country. Although there is a public hospital near her home, she chooses to travel four hours by bus to go to a well-liked, private hospital in the city. She has heard from her friends and neighbors that they were pleased with the care they received at this hospital, and to her, they seem healthier and happier when they get back. She had heard bad stories from other friends who went to the closer, more affordable public hospital — they returned home sicker than when they left. Shakina’s story reminds us that everyone, regardless of socioeconomic class and means, wants high-quality healthcare and will often choose higher-quality care even if it is more expensive and less accessible. Under the World Health Organization’s definition of universal health coverage, all people and communities can use the promotive, preventive, curative, rehabilitative, and palliative health services they need of sufficient quality to be effective while also ensuring that the use of these services does not expose the user to financial hardship. The concept of quality has only recently been built into universal health coverage policies and has not yet been sufficiently addressed. If health investments lead to the emergence of more productive and equitable societies and economies, countries need to focus on improving quality. The three priorities of health care delivery — cost, quality, and access — need not be at odds with each other. Greater use of health care facilities due to lower costs and shorter distances to travel will only lead to better health outcomes if the quality of care is guaranteed. Therefore, we must make high-quality healthcare services affordable and accessible to effectively implement universal health coverage. Simply providing access for more people to lower-quality care won’t achieve universal health coverage. Poor-quality care is wasteful, costly, and dangerous. It is estimated that between 5.7 million and 8.4 million people die yearly in low- and middle-income countries due to poor-quality care. In other words, in many countries, a person has a greater chance of dying from receiving poor quality care than from going without care entirely. In addition to the human cost, poor quality also has an economical price. Poor productivity and wastefulness resulting from inadequate health care quality cost these countries around $1.4 trillion to $1.6 trillion annually. Poor-quality care proves costly for societies when unhealthy adults are less productive at work, and harmful children cannot perform well at school. High-quality care is cost-effective and leads to an earlier and higher return on investment. Approximately 15% of hospital expenditures in high-income countries are used to correct preventable care complications and patient harm. This is a price that is an inconvenience to high-income economies and entirely unaffordable for low- to middle-income countries. In addition, poor-quality care affects the poor and vulnerable disproportionately. While investing in higher quality health systems costs more upfront, costs are lowered over the long-term through more efficient workflow; fewer medical errors and preventable complications; elimination of ineffective treatments and procedures; fewer duplicated services; and less waste overall. Even during a crisis or epidemic, resilient health systems can deliver high-quality services. Quality health services make health systems resilient. They are prepared for anything, can maintain core functions amongst changing situations, and are informed by lessons learned, constantly adapting and improving. Even in a crisis during times of political unrest or during an epidemic, resilient health systems can rely on their basic processes to deliver high-quality services. Secondly, quality health services make health systems trustworthy and transparent. Poor-quality care, even when taken to the far reaches of the world, erodes trust, puts patients at risk, and is entirely unsustainable. High-quality care builds trust in the health system, nourishes a culture of respect toward individuals, improves patient safety, and produces better patient outcomes. A genuinely transparent healthcare organization is open and honest about successes and failures, ensuring care is based on best practice clinical protocols, building complete trust and long-lasting relationships with their patients. Finally, quality health services make health systems patient-centered. A central feature of quality health services is that they are patient-centered and give significant consideration to the patient’s individual needs, culture, and beliefs. Patient-centered care is vital to the implementation of universal health coverage, as we know that people who are engaged in their own care suffer fewer complications and enjoy better health and overall happiness. A central aspect of achieving patient-centered care is seeking feedback on patients’ care experience. Improving quality requires a holistic approach. Countries that want to improve the quality of care need to consider interventions across different domains (leadership, information, patient and population engagement, regulation and standards, organizational capacity, models of care) across varying levels of the health care system. Building a national strategy for quality is an essential first step to agreeing on a clear set of goals, defining suitable interventions and tools, and aligning different stakeholders’ efforts to improve the quality of care. Shakina chose to travel a long distance for high-quality care instead of taking her chances on accessible, poor-quality care. We need to make it easier for Shakina to receive the high-quality care she deserves, at a reasonable distance from her home, from a skilled health professional that puts her at the center of her care. By doing this, we will see that, in the end, high-quality care really does pay off.

#lifehealthadvisors #ethos #protectyourfamily #healthcare

Author: Rechelle D. Barbato

[rechelleblog]

Major trends in American life 2022 insurance market

Millions of people make New Year’s resolutions every year. While the start of a new year traditionally provides a fresh start or a chance to identify new goals or plans to eliminate old negative habits, the stress and fatigue associated with the pandemic have influenced how we approach life, relationships, and perhaps even our resolutions.

ReMark’s latest Global Consumer Report (GCS) provides powerful insights into the changing attitudes of American consumers as a result of the pandemic. Life insurers and other players in the insurance ecosystem may want to incorporate the report’s valuable insights into their marketing and product strategies. The study identified the following key trends.

Americans are interested in learning more about life insurance.

Don’t be surprised to see the word “life insurance” in people’s New Year’s resolutions list this year. Americans’ interest in life insurance has dramatically increased in the past couple of years, mainly driven by COVID-19. 61% of the surveyed U.S. respondents say they need more education about life and health insurance. That is exceptionally high among Millennials.

One-third say COVID-19 has changed their perspective on risk and the value of insurance. This is especially true for those who knew someone who died from COVID-19 (70%). The United States ranked 11th out of 22 countries surveyed by ReMark’s insurance literacy score. Americans want to learn more about life insurance, but they lag behind other advanced countries such as Canada, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Singapore. It is both an opportunity and a responsibility for the life insurance industry in the United States to increase American consumers’ life insurance literacy.

CONCLUSION:

We recommend that life insurers make their own New Year’s resolutions this year. With rising consumer interest in and selling life insurance, life insurers face enormous opportunities and challenges, including the ongoing insurance protection gap.

Every insurer’s action plan should include items to empower consumers to improve their life insurance literacy. Companies with visionaries and innovative consumer-focused approaches will gain a competitive advantage — and a leading industry position — in the coming years.

#lifehealthadvisors #ethos #healthcare #selflove

Author: Rechelle D. Barbato

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Health Insurance Coverage Policies As America Recovers From COVID-19

This issue brief contains a correction.

One year ago this month, the first wave of COVID-19 cases in the United States led to widespread job loss throughout the country . Early in the pandemic, there was serious concern that the impact of these job losses would lead millions of workers to lose job-based health insurance coverage, causing a dramatic spike in insurance.

Evidence to date suggests that the number of uninsured people has not risen as great as initially feared. Although the number of jobs in the United States remains about 9.5 million below pre-pandemic levels, workers in the industries that were most affected by the pandemic’s economic damage tended not to have job-based coverage, to begin with. Some of the estimated 3 million people who lost job-based coverage in 2020 gained other forms of coverage through public programs, including Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and through the health insurance marketplaces established by the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

While total coverage losses were not as significant as projected last spring, federal action is needed to fill coverage gaps for the tens of millions of uninsured Americans and improve protection against medical costs for families facing the financial strain of the pandemic. This issue brief describes the extent of coverage loss during the COVID-19 pandemic, outlines the evidence for why the uninsured population did not increase as dramatically as expected and explains how the American Rescue Plan — the stimulus bill that President Joe Biden is expected to sign this week — will alleviate insurance and underinsurance as the United States climbs out of the coronavirus crisis.

What happened to coverage during the pandemic?

Following the passing of the ACA in 2010, 20 million Americans got access to health insurance. The most significant increase in coverage occurred in 2014 when the law’s provisions extending Medicaid and opening the health insurance exchanges took full effect. During Trump’s presidency, this trend reversed, with the uninsured rate among the working-age population rising from an estimated 10.0 percent in 2016 to 10.9 percent in 2019. The COVID-19 epidemic and subsequent recession could worsen these coverage losses. During the Great Recession, the uninsured rate among the working-age population reached 18.2 percent, the highest level in decades.

In 2010, 60 million people reported being uninsured at some point in the previous year. Many analysts worried early in the pandemic that the high levels of job loss might lead to a similar increase in insurance. In their May 2020 research, the Economic Policy Institute estimated that more than 16 million workers had lost employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) due to job loss, while the Urban Institute predicted that 5 million to 9.5 million workers might become uninsured. Recent studies, on the other hand, have revealed a lesser — though still significant — loss of employer-sponsored coverage and a smaller net rise in insurance. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, approximately 3.3 million people lost employer-sponsored coverage by mid-2020, while the number of uninsured climbed by 1.9 million, according to an Urban Institute estimate. 10 The same study discovered that Hispanic and non-Hispanic Asian individuals had the most considerable reductions in ESI coverage, as well as a rise in the uninsured rate of approximately 4 percentage points among Hispanic adults. Separately, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation examination of insurer administrative data, about 2 million to 3 million fewer people will have ESI by September 2020.

While the lower-than-expected number of workers losing health coverage during the coronavirus epidemic may appear to be good news, there are several reasons why the number of uninsured in the United States did not rise as much. Among them are the following: Many of the laid-off workers did not have coverage via their employer, and Americans who lost health insurance during the epidemic were able to obtain coverage through Medicaid or buy coverage on their own through the ACA marketplaces. Because of the ACA’s Medicaid expansion, the creation of markets, and safeguards for preexisting conditions, Americans now have many more options than they did before the Great Recession.

Furthermore, the net change in the uninsured population does not account for changes in the kind of coverage or how the economic effect of the pandemic affects households’ ability to afford out-of-pocket costs.

#lifehealthadvisors #ethos #healthcare#aretemarketing #areteautomation

Author: Rechelle D. Barbato

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Can anyone be covered by a life insurance policy?

Although you cannot purchase a life insurance policy on another person, there are some circumstances in which you may do so. As a tool for financial planning, life insurance pays compensation to chosen beneficiaries in the event of the insured's demise. The majority of people buy a policy to prepare for their demise and provide a safety net for their dependents and loved ones.

There are times when a person would want to buy a life insurance policy for somebody else. Although there are ways to achieve this, you must also adhere to legal requirements before buying an insurance from someone other than yourself.

The operation of a life insurance policy

Three persons are engaged in the purchase of a life insurance policy:

Policyholder: The policyholder is the owner of the coverage, is responsible for paying the premiums, and has the power to modify it. The insured is the individual whose life is covered by the policy. If the insured passes away during the policy's validity term and there are no extenuating circumstances—such as fraud, criminal behavior, or non-payment of premiums—that would prevent the death benefit from being paid, the death benefit will normally be paid out. Beneficiary: The named individual or individuals on the life insurance policy who will be awarded the death benefit in the event that the insured passes away. Beneficiaries can also be corporations, trusts, or estates. The insured and policyholder are frequently the same individual. The need to purchase life insurance for another person may arise in some circumstances, though. The insurance editorial staff at Bankrate has done research to further inform you on the procedure for buying life insurance for someone else.

Can anyone be insured against death?

You must have a financial interest in someone else's life in order to purchase life insurance on them. A prominent person who is ill or a participant in a dangerous sport cannot be insured against death. It is not only unethical for life insurance firms to underwrite this type of coverage, but it is also not financially savvy.

If you have a relationship with the person you want to insure—say, as a spouse, parent, or business partner—and they agree to the life insurance policy being taken out on them, you can take out a policy on their life.

The relationship must also satisfy the "insurable interest" test, which involves proving that the individual seeking to buy the life insurance policy will suffer financial loss in the event of the insured's death.

#lifehealthadvisors #ethos #areteautomation #aretemarketing #leadconnector #healthiswealth #selfove

Author: Rechelle D. Barbato

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Methods to Find Me When Being Overbooked is Normal

It might be challenging to tune out and switch off in the constantly linked, the hyper-digital society we live in today, where zillions of individuals and pieces of information are always at our fingertips. But it’s more crucial than ever for our emotional health to allow ourselves to switch off for some sanity and time because of the constantly conflicting demands of work, caring for your home, relationships, and, in some cases, kids or aging parents — not to mention the endless news cycle of upsetting headlines.

Sheila Robinson-Kiss, a certified clinical social worker and the creator of the Rebounding America and Beyond Initiative, a national platform of mental health education programs for individuals, groups, and organizations, asserts that taking time for yourself is a responsibility, not a choice.

She says, “Me time is our time to refuel.” It is our turn to practice self-care, which entails all we do to look after our physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. According to her, everything we touch will be touched by our imbalance if self-care is in a poisonous state.

How to Establish a Self-Care Practice You’ll Maintain

Even while there is hope at the end of the tunnel, Robinson-Kiss claims that women, in particular, feel “overwhelmed and exhausted” by what they are going through right now during the pandemic. When children were in school, we would take pauses from our routines to pick up a coffee or have a sibling visit for the weekend. “Those natural breaks have been removed for a long time, which wears on one’s spirit, body, and emotions. People are exhausted, she claims.

Women are having difficulties, and the stresses on their mental health are impacting their wellbeing, according to national data from the Women’s Health Survey of the Kaiser Family Foundation, published in March 2021. Over half of the 3,661 women in the poll (aged 18 to 64) who had children in the school reported that the pandemic’s stress and fear had harmed their mental health, with one in five describing the impact as “severe.”

Women were undoubtedly already experiencing some of these stresses before the pandemic: One-fourth of the 3,000 women who took part in Everyday Health’s Special Report: State of Women’s Wellness 2017 survey said that time constraints and the inability to balance responsibilities were obstacles to their wellness, and that “not having enough time for myself” was their sixth biggest wellness challenge.

#lifehealthadvisors #ethos #areteautomations #selflove #leadconnectors

Author: Rechelle D. Barbato

[rechelleblog]

Guide to Email Marketing Automation

Automation of your email marketing may save you time, improve your return on investment, and improve the experience for your subscribers.

Automated email marketing provides tailored communications to subscribers. You may keep establishing a relationship with your subscribers over time using email marketing automation. Email marketing automation increases revenue and improves client satisfaction in addition to saving time. Owners of businesses looking to organize their email marketing efforts should read this post.

Email marketing is still one of the greatest methods available for attracting and converting new leads. You may communicate with your consumers through email marketing and give them automatic, customized material.

This marketing approach is not only the most economical way to reach your target audience, but it is also successful. According to one study, email marketing had an average ROI of $38 for every $1 spent on it. And 78 percent of marketers have noticed a rise in email interaction over the last 12 months.

Fortunately, even if you’re new to email marketing, setting up email marketing automation is much simpler than you may imagine. Once you grasp the fundamentals, you’ll be well on your way to offering your consumers this perk.

What is email marketing automation?

Sending targeted emails to your subscribers’ lists is email marketing. This might be a weekly newsletter, details about your goods or services, or simply information about your business in general.

#areteautomation #allinmarketing #digitalmarketing #highlevelmarketing #emailmaker

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Marketing automation: What is it?

The practice of employing software to automate marketing campaigns and activities across the whole buyer’s journey, from initial customer contacts through to post-sales support, is known as marketing automation.

Based on information about a lead and their interactions with the organization, it aids businesses in establishing the most efficient processes for each stage of the sales funnel.

What is the scope of marketing automation?

By automating tedious operations, marketing automation technologies enable you to simplify the whole marketing process. Automatic actions are carried out when they are most useful. This raises the likelihood that your company will generate new leads, close more sales, and improve its marketing ROI, all while allowing your marketing team to concentrate on other activities.

The three parts below receive the majority of attention in marketing automation:

Personalization and targeted email marketing

Using the customer data that marketing automation software gives you, you can target each customer with the material that is most relevant to them depending on who they are and how they engage with your business. This guarantees that each lead is always provided the information that will help them get over their unique purchase barriers — you can stop sending your list ineffective mass email campaigns.

Here is an illustration of this in action.

A potential customer goes to one of your landing sites and submits a form to get your eBook. You instantly email them with the eBook. The potential customer clicks the eBook download link. They then click on a link inside the eBook that leads to your price page, but they don’t do anything. They receive an email from you automatically requesting them to schedule a conversation with a sales representative to go through their options. They provide an online form with an available time for a call. A sales representative from your business notifies them and calls them at the scheduled time.

Find promising leads Marketing teams may rank leads according to how likely they are to purchase your product using marketing automation software. You assign points for each action a lead takes, and after the lead has accrued a certain number of points, you send it on to your sales staff for further action.

For instance, a lead is considered warm if they have read all of your emails, registered for a webinar, and visited your website’s price page. A cold lead is someone who rarely reads your emails and never visits your website.

segment your clientele By helping you segment your consumer base, marketing automation tools enable you to target various demographics with the most effective marketing approach. You may improve the customer experience and build deeper customer connections by segmenting your clients depending on their geography, the sites they visit, or their purchasing habits.

According on the pages that leads visit on their website, an accounting business that provides services in tax, year-end accounting, and payroll, for instance, might segment its leads. Use the most successful approach for those interested in payroll to target them if they spend a lot of time on the payroll page.

What advantages does marketing automation offer?

Marketing departments may profit from marketing automation in a number of ways. Here are a few examples.

more effective lead generating Platforms for marketing automation assist you in lead management and lead generation in two different ways. First, you can distinguish between warm and cold leads with ease by utilizing lead scoring methodologies, and you can send only qualified leads to your sales staff.

Second, lead tracking strategies provide you a more comprehensive view of your lead’s needs and difficulties. The sales team is aware of the lead’s origin, the information they have downloaded, and the emails maker they have interacted with when they receive a lead.

#areteautomation #digitalmarketing #highlevelmarketing #allinonemarketingplatform #business #mindpower

[rechelleblog]

These Tips Will Help You Improve Your Marketing Automation

Business owners may refine their marketing approach by outsourcing time-consuming chores to marketing automation. Find out the jobs you may assign to a marketing automation system.

Nowadays, sales and marketing responsibilities are carried out through a variety of portals and programs, including social media platforms and customer relationship management (CRM) software.

These distinct products sometimes don’t have built-in integrations, which can make processes overly complicated and inefficient. These many apps and platforms are connected by marketing automation software to improve the client experience. This article is for business owners who want to use marketing automation software to boost the effectiveness of their overall operations and marketing campaigns.

The secret to effective marketing is personalization, yet small businesses lack the resources to plan every email and have one-on-one conversations with every client. Small enterprises should instead make advantage of marketing automation tools. By handling time-consuming, tedious activities, automation frees up marketers to concentrate on creating and fine-tuning their marketing strategies.

What is marketing automation?

The integration of information and procedures from multiple sales and marketing channels into a structured single platform is known as marketing automation. The customer journey is complemented and organized by a thorough marketing automation center. It incorporates all of a company’s outreach efforts and channels into the customer database.

The advantages of customer relationship management (CRM) software are enhanced by marketing automation. Software for marketing automation and customer relationship management is frequently confused. Unlike a CRM, marketing automation software does not keep records of your clients. Like any other integrated program, it is installed alongside your CRM to work with that data.

The main point is that automation enables marketing teams to categorize the large volume of data made available through digital channels and finish time-consuming manual processes.

How exactly does marketing automation operate?

Software for marketing automation performs two main purposes: it streamlines various marketing channels into a single application and automates tedious and repetitive processes using templated workflows. Dedicated platforms for email, social networking, and analytics are among its numerous integrations. Through three key functions, the system monitors several concurrent schedules and reports the efficiency of all marketing efforts.

#areteautomation #allinonemarketingplatform #crm #digitalmarketing #marketingautomation

[rechelleblog]

The workplace is changing. How should Americans deal with it?

In the long run, nearly all current jobs will disappear, so we need fairly radical policy changes to get ready for a very different future economy, according to Stuart Russell, a computer scientist at UC Berkeley, an adjunct professor of neurological surgery at UC San Francisco, and the author of the upcoming book “Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control.”

“One fast developing vision is that of an economy where significantly fewer people work because employment is unneeded,” Russell says in his book. Depending on whether and how much you (and/or society) believe people should have to work, as well as how society plans to value human labor, it is either a very terrifying or tantalizing idea. Manufacturing, contact centers, and truck driving will all experience declines in employment, while construction, health care, and home care will see increases.

MIT Technology Review made an effort to keep track of all the many reports on how automation will affect the workforce. They are in great numbers. And they provide a variety of alarming suggestions, ranging from a small amount of labour relocation to a complete redesign. A McKinsey Global Institute analysis examines how vulnerable to automation certain professions could be and concludes that hundreds of millions of people globally will need to find new employment or acquire new skills. As CNN discovered at auto facilities like the one that shuttered in Lordstown, Ohio, learning new skills can be harder than it seems.

More robots means more inequality

Almost everyone who has given this any serious thought has stated that more inequality is likely to result from increased automation. Businesses have undoubtedly become more productive, but salaries for employees have not kept up with this growth. According to McKinsey, the majority of employment growth in the United States and other advanced countries will be in professions that are now at the top of the pay scale. While many middle-class jobs would see significant employment decreases, certain low-wage occupations, including nursing and teaching assistants, will see employment growth.

According to a research from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, dealing with growing inequality and guaranteeing adequate (re-)training, particularly for less skilled employees, are the anticipated challenges for the future. Insurgent nonpolitician Andrew Yang, a Democratic presidential candidate, has centered his campaign on finding a solution to this issue. More than exporting to China, Yang attributes the collapse of American manufacturing to job automation, and she makes a clear connection between Donald Trump’s ascent and that industry’s decline. Yang recently told The Atlantic, “We need to wake people awake.” “This is the reality of why Donald Trump is our President today,” said a spokesperson, “because we have already destroyed millions of American jobs and people feel like they have lost a route ahead.”

Should everyone receive government compensation if automation eliminates jobs?

Yang proposes a solution that involves giving every American, regardless of need, a $1,000 monthly stipend, which he refers to as a “freedom dividend.” He contends that it would reduce racial and economic inequalities and allow individuals to choose careers that benefit the neighborhood. It’s an old concept. Early in the 1970s, as part of the fight against poverty, Congress and President Richard Nixon came dangerously close to passing a similar idea. The concept of a universal basic income, however, suddenly seems about as futuristic as the next “Terminator” movie (yep, they’re developing another one) that will be released this year, following decades of the GOP distancing itself from social programs.

In that Atlantic interview, Yang stated that “ninety-four percent of the new jobs created in the US at this time are gig, temporary, or contractor jobs, and we still just pretend it’s the 1970s, where it’s like, “You’re going to work for a company, you’re going to get benefits, you’re going to be able to retire, even though we’ve totally eviscerated any retirement benefits, but somehow you’re going to retire, it’s going Young people look up at this and say, “This doesn’t seem to work,” and we say, “Oh, it’s okay.” It’s not okay. We do need to mature. He singles out truck driving as a field that is crucial to the US economy right now but might. Truck driving, as noble the job may be, may not be everyone’s ultimate goal in life. In this scenario, people would be forced to perform tasks that robots would not want to undertake, which is already the case. What does a 21st century economy look like in a way that serves our interests and not the capital efficiency machine?, he asks. “When you accept these circumstances, that we’re going to be competing against technologies that have a marginal cost of near zero, then quickly you have to say OK, then, how are we going to start valuing our time?” This is how he, as well as many liberal economists and businessmen like Elon Musk, came up with the concept of a basic income.

At a CNN town hall this year, Yang said that joining unions and organizing as employees is insufficient to secure employment. He remarked, “I don’t think we have the time to reinvent the workforce in that way. “We should begin providing value to Americans directly.” A population able to live off a basic income without employment would ultimately change how society operates as a whole.

According to Russell, “for some, universal basic income (UBI) symbolizes a version of paradise. For others, it signifies an admission of failure — an declaration that the majority of people will have nothing of economic worth to give to society. They can be housed and nourished, primarily by machines, but otherwise left to fend for themselves. Yang is more concerned with the imminent danger that automation, in his opinion, poses to American jobs. Politicians aren’t discussing it honestly because they are so preoccupied with being upbeat. You’re a politician, therefore your incentives are to say things like “We can do this, we can do that, we can do the other thing,” but in the background society is deteriorating.

#areteautomation #allinonemarketingplatform #digitalmarketing #crm #business #mindpower

[rechelleblog]

How to Automate Business Processes On a Budget

Why Business Automation Matters

Business process management is an essential part of a growing business. Without it, organizations could face low customer satisfaction, lack of communication, and a higher chance of error.

By letting computers take care of menial, repetitive day-to-day tasks, automation can save businesses money and time. Without the human component in handling data, there is a lower chance of error.

And with the reduced hours of labor, employees can concentrate on delivering more important and fulfilling tasks. Workflow efficiency through automation can generate more revenue while decreasing expenditures, giving businesses stability, and saving them money.

The most important benefit of business workflow management is the increase in customer satisfaction. The time saved through automation can be invested in improving their experience. Faster task completions, more attentive staff, and greater resources are always appreciated by customers. Higher revenues and faster business growth can be achieved through automation.

Processes You Can Automate in Your Business

The first step of workflow efficiency management is choosing which processes get automated. Generally, back-office tasks, such as HR or IT, can be automated the most efficiently. This can vary depending on the business.

A useful tool in making this decision is mapping out the current workflows and identifying key characteristics in processes that point toward automation.

Repetitive tasks kill creativity, productivity, and waste money by taking a lot of time. Handling spreadsheets, calculations, generic email responses can be left to a computer. Decision-making is stressful and tiring for employees; if the processes are standardized, delivering these decisions should be automated too.

A few common examples of what other businesses have chosen to automate are invoice processing, data entry, payroll, employee onboarding, and system queries. Automating tasks such as these allows a low error rate and high-efficiency workflow to improve an organization and maximize growth.

Business Automation Technologies

Digitizing business processes for automation is a great way to improve workflow efficiency. But just like choosing which processes to automate, choosing what kind of technology suits the automation needs most is an important decision.

Most people think of AI and complicated lines of code when they think of automation technologies. These are sophisticated solutions that suit select business needs. However, they tend to cost a lot to create and implement. Most business processes don’t require such investments. The easy and cheap solution for these is low- or no-code automation.

Low code allows businesses to build customized digital applications to manage workflow efficiencies. The user-friendly drag-and-drop interfaces of these platforms mean minimal IT involvement and quick build times.

Flexibility and agility are the most important features of low- and no-code, which means businesses can adjust and optimize routine tasks. Implementing these technologies also comes with the added benefit of minimizing technical debt.

Workflow Automation for Small Business

Regardless of the size of the business, automation can be implemented in almost any workflow. It’s a tool that maximizes ROI and company growth, and even small business owners should adapt to the digitization process.

Administrative tasks, such as employee onboarding, leave approval, reimbursements, purchase orders, and invoicing, are all familiar to small businesses, and they can all be automated.

Using the right software and an applied strategy, workflow process management can be easily optimized. This gives organizations more time to invest in improving other areas of their service.

Small business owners may think that workflow optimization is an expensive adventure. But luckily, workflow automation with low- and no-code platforms is an affordable investment.

Finding the Best Software to Automate Your Business

There are countless automation software out there, offering various services. But choosing the right one for your business is an important decision. Factors to take into account are what problems the automation hopes to solve, which employees will be charged with its implementation, and what existing software will the automation be based on.

For small businesses, a low- or no-code software is the best option to automate their workflow. They are cheaper than AI or traditional application platforms, easier to use and implement, and require little to no coding knowledge.

The applications built through these interfaces are customized to suit particular business needs, and they don’t generate massive amounts of technical debt either.

#areteautomation #digitalmarketing #allinonemarketingplatform #CRM #mindpower

Credits to: Kevin Shuler

Date of Publication: December 17th, 2020

Source: https://info.aiim.org/aiim-blog/how-to-automate-business-processes-on-a-budget

[rechelleblog]

Accelerate IT modernization and deliver digital solutions for citizens

Meet evolving constituent expectations with a connectivity platform that increases the speed of IT project delivery, reduces costs, and is trusted by leading governments across the world.

Modernize legacy IT systems

Modernize existing systems or leverage cloud services to improve efficiency and lower costs

Improve citizen engagement

Provide citizens with access to quality digital services anywhere on any device

Boost employee productivity

Adding automation tools to help employees accelerate the delivery of civil services

Accelerate cloud adoption and modernize aging infrastructure

Provide citizens with new cloud services, powered by cloud and on-premise data and processes, without disrupting ongoing legacy migration plans — all with MuleSoft’s hybrid integration capabilities.

See how the USDA used APIs to expose reusable services from SAP — driving more efficient and cost-effective government operations.

Meet urgent citizen demands quickly with a digital-first approach

Drive omnichannel citizen engagement with access to hundreds of quality digital services from anywhere and on any device.

Learn how, in just two weeks, New South Wales Health implemented a solution that automatically sends COVID-19 test results to millions of citizens.

Accelerate the delivery of civil services with automation

Reduce the risk of error by replacing manual processes with APIs and implementation templates that orchestrate data across systems — providing real-time, critical government services.

Learn how to modernize the licensing and permitting process — enabling government entities to deliver a modern integrated experience for end users.

#areteautomation #allinonemarketingplatform #business #CRM #digitalmarketing #mindpower

Credits to: Mulesoft

Date of Publication: 2022

Source: https://www.mulesoft.com/integration-solutions/soa/government?&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=g-pubs-na-search

[rechelleblog]

Top 24 Popular Automation Anywhere Interview Questions and Answers

Automation is a core component in today’s digital business world, and that means more job openings and career opportunities. Organizations and businesses are stepping up their recruitment efforts, too, interviewing more candidates than ever.

If you are one of those hopefuls, then you must brush up on your automation knowledge before sitting down for that all-important interview. We present to you a valuable preparation guide for aspiring Automation Anywhere professionals, with two dozen popular questions you will most likely be asked during your interview.

The questions are divided into basic, intermediate, and advanced categories, and are ideal for refreshing your set of robotic process automation skills. While space restrictions prevent us from addressing every possible question, this selection covers a good range of the more likely ones.

Naturally, practice makes perfect, so after you’ve familiarized yourself with these automation anywhere questions, why not take a practice test?

If you’re interested in interviewing for positions that use other automation tools, check out these UiPath interview questions!

Learn the architecture of Automation Anywhere, RPA software components, and more with Automation Anywhere Online Training.

Let us now begin learning from some of the top automation anywhere interview questions by beginning with the basic level questions.

Basic Automation Anywhere Interview Questions

We start on the ground floor, touching upon basic concepts and introductory-level questions. These Automation Anywhere interview questions are of particular use for applicants shooting for an RPA developer or engineer position.

1. What is Automation?

A: It’s a technique used to create a system or process that functions automatically. Automation can also refer to the process of monitoring or controlling production, as well as the delivery of various goods and services.

2. What is RPA? Why is RPA used?

A: RPA stands for Robotic Process Automation, a process that uses robots to automate business operations. RPA eliminates repetitive and tedious tasks — increasing efficiency and reducing errors.

To best understand the concept of RPA, you need to look at each term separately:

Robotic. Robots are machines that imitate the human activity

Process. A step by step procedure that results in a practical activity, such as making a cup of coffee

Automation. The process where robots perform tasks without human intervention

3. What is Automation Anywhere?

A: Automation Anywhere is one of the many enterprise-level RPA tools offered today. It is currently among the most popular RPA vendors available.

4. What’s the difference between automation and RPA?

A: Automation is a process designed to reduce execution time by automating repetitive tasks. RPA also performs automated tasks, but it learns and adapts to various situations. Once trained in the processes of an existing application, the RPA-driven tool can perform new actions and communicate with other systems.

5. Can you use Automation Anywhere to test the agile method?

A: Yes, you can, especially in cases like continuous integration. However, you can’t use Automation Anywhere in situations where there is complex documentation, or there is no need to change agile testing requirements.

6. Name some benefits of Automation Anywhere.

A: Among the benefits of Automation Anywhere:

It’s easy to program and deploy, thanks to a user-friendly front-end

It’s easy to integrate with other systems

It’s designed for enterprise-level customers, freeing up multiple departments to work on processes that require human interaction

It handles complex functions, by processing and automating tasks that would otherwise take thousands of lines of code to accomplish

It highly compatible, supporting different buttons, icons, and user-generated events

7. Name the three types of Automation Anywhere bots.

A: The three bot types are:

IQ Bots, which add cognitive capabilities to the automated process

Meta Bots, which integrate dynamic link libraries (DLL) to use with back-end automation

Task Bots, which execute the repetitive, rule-based tasks

8. In your opinion, why do you think Automation Anywhere is better than manual testing?

A: There are three reasons why RPA Automation Anywhere avoids manual testing:

Manual testing takes a lot of time

Manual testing demands plenty of additional resources

Manual testing is susceptible to human error

After going through some of the beginner level automation anywhere interview questions, let us level up and look at some of the intermediate Automation Anywhere interview questions and answers.

Intermediate Automation Anywhere Interview Questions

Time to turn up the heat a little and get into some tougher Automation Anywhere interview questions.

9. How many recorders does Automation Anywhere have?

A: Automation Anywhere has three recorders:

Screen recorders for desktop-based apps and tasks that require many clicks

Smart recorders for task-building — usable for both web and desktop applications

Web recorders for repetitive tasks are used for various web applications.

10. Name the four Automation Anywhere software frameworks.

A: The frameworks are:

Modular automation

Hybrid automation

Data-driven

Keyword-driven

11. What is a framework?

A: Frameworks are platforms on which developers can create programs for particular purposes Consider frameworks as platforms to build any suite, including automation suites

12. Name five things that you can automate.

A: Five things you can automate using Automation Anywhere are:

Building deployments

Data creation tests

Performing automation behind a Graphical User Interface (GUI)

Smoke test suites

Smoke sanity test suites

13. Name some Automation Anywhere tools.

A: Automation Anywhere’s most essential tools for testing include QTP, Robotium, SoapUI, and Telerik Test Studio.

14. How many Automation Anywhere commands are there?

A: There are approximately 575 commands in Automation Anywhere’s command library, found in the AAE Client Task Editor.

15. Explain the difference between a Wait command and a Delay command.

A: The most significant difference between the two terms lies with the parameters you use. If you’re waiting for the screen or its components to change, then use the Wait command. If, however, you are working on loops meant to improve an action’s performance in a task, then use Delay.

16. Name the five factors that a developer must consider when planning to use Automation Anywhere.

A: The five factors you must consider are:

Choosing the most appropriate automation tools

Designing the right framework

Setting up the ideal test environment

Identifying the test deliverables beforehand

Creating a timeline for the project

It’s essential to consider the project’s unique needs before using Automation Anywhere. Be sure that the project is well-defined.

Let us set aside the easy part and get into the advanced-level interview questions on Automation Anywhere.

#areteautomation #allinonemarketingplatform #CRM #business #digitalmarketing #mindpower

Credits to: Simplilearn

Date of Publication: April 18, 2022

Source: https://www.simplilearn.com/automation-anywhere-interview-questions-article#basic_automation_anywhere_interview_questions

[rechelleblog]

5 BENEFITS OF FINANCIAL AUTOMATION SOFTWARE FOR BANKING

Digital technologies have no doubt made banks’ front-end operations much easier. The convenience of uploading a check via a banking app rather than visiting a brick-and-mortar location has increased the accessibility and ease for consumers.

But why stop at customer-facing solutions? A bank’s back-office accounting operations are just as critical to the success and growth of the organization. Utilizing traditional methods, such as manual processes and spreadsheets, makes scalability and monitoring of the financial close much more difficult. Switching to automation software for the financial close process opens many opportunities and enhances the workflow for all accountants and financial personnel. Here are the five benefits banks can gain from adopting financial automation software.

1. ACCELERATE RECONCILIATIONS

Account reconciliations can be demanding; the end of the close cycle comes with the repetitive process of ensuring all balances reconcile. With endless transactions coming in and out of the bank each day, manual processes — such as spreadsheets — only lengthen the turnaround for reconciliations and extend the time that imbalances and investigations are corrected.

With financial automation software, the time spent posting transactional activities to accurately closing accounts is drastically shortened. Automating the balance sheet reconciliation process takes the headache out of manually correcting and updating hundreds of spreadsheets. Instead of several days or weeks being allocated to a portion of the financial close, the turnaround for reconciliations is accelerated, keeping all financial employees on top of the close.2. STREAMLINE THE CLOSE WORK FLOW Automation can streamline your organization’s workflow by taking over the routine work and leaving the larger, more complex tasks in the hands of accountants. Instead of spending two to three weeks gathering all spreadsheets and documents, and pushing tasks through the review and approval process, you could shrink the time spent on the financial close cycle by up to 50%. Financial automation allows employees to handle a more manageable workload by eliminating the need to manually match and balance transactions. Having a streamlined financial close process grants accounting personnel more time to focus on the exceptions while complying with strict standards and regulations.

Manual processes also make it difficult to oversee any changes and track the status of the financial close. Incorporating management software allows individuals the ability to monitor tasks, add comments, and supervise the completion of the financial close. Following the intricate process at hand not only allows managers to track close progress and performance of employees but establish clear lines of communication that are needed to streamline the financial close.

3. REDUCE HUMAN ERROR

Human error is essentially inevitable. Our eyes are not trained to spot every single inconsistency on a detailed list of numbers and accounts. Multiply the number of transactions, and the level of accuracy can quickly plummet when reconciling balance sheets. The simplest errors that occur early on in the reconciliation process, whether from an ERP software transfer or a miscalculation, can lead to substantial implications such as financial losses or an overestimation in profit margins.

Instead of waiting for mistakes and their possible consequences to happen, your organization can drastically reduce the number of errors, imbalances, and more by automating the balance sheet reconciliation process. Catching minor mistakes prevents them from compounding into inaccuracies further along.

4. ENHANCE FLEXIBILITY

Unprecedented changes in the economy and industries lead to shifts within financial institutions. As more banking and financial operations switch to a primarily digital, remote environment, the need for financial automation becomes more apparent. Manual processes are not only difficult to update and track across organizations but can be difficult to navigate when adjustments are made to new workflows.

5. REDUCE THE LEVEL OF RISK

Inaccurate financial reporting can have a significant negative impact on a bank’s operations. Add in regulations and strict compliance standards, and the wiggle room for inaccuracies dramatically decreases. Repetitive discrepancies can result in damage to reputation and lead to non-compliance and fraud if not addressed and corrected outright. By automating certain tasks within the financial close process, the risk for human error is decreased and the level of accuracy increases, effectively mitigating potential write-off risk.

Instead of relying on risk-laden manual processes and spreadsheets, financial automation software provides effective risk management strategies by minimizing human error and automatically producing an audit trail for internal and external auditors to easily review and evaluate.

#areteautomation #allinonemarketingplatform #business #CRM #mindpower

Credits to: Alex Clem, Trintech

Date of Publication: 2022

Source: https://www.trintech.com/blog/2020/10/benefits-financial-automation-software-for-banking

[rechelleblog]

Financial automation: The good, the bad, and the future

Well, it’s finally here. According to an article from Forbes Magazine, we have reached the age of automation. From AI and machine learning to financial automation and robotics, we’re officially an automatic civilization. Please, be kind to our new robot co-workers.

Okay seriously, this is important stuff, even if we did all see it coming. Especially when it comes to the ever-expanding world of finance.

In every industry, every business, and every firm, finances and how they are managed are vital to the growth and development of a company. Whether you’re a business owner, CFO, or part of the finance department, the role of automation in the future of finance is vital to your role, growth, and the evolution of your organization.

Financial automation doesn’t just mean automating payroll, although it doesn’t hurt to do that as well. Automating financial processes incorporates much more, including risk assessment, audit, and compliance among many other aspects.

An article from DigitalistMag outlines the capabilities of today’s financial automation services, describing the ability to “gain new insights from existing data to optimize credit decisions and improve financial risk management, automating business processes that previously required manual human intervention, and improving the customer experience.”

Financial management has evolved rapidly since the advent of computational technology. As this technology evolved, financial experts and professionals soon recognized that process standardization and centralization are absolutely necessary to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of modern organizations. As efficiency grew into a central tenant of management processes, financial automation became the next logical step for businesses and organizations.

In 2016, McKinsey estimated that 60% of all occupations have approximately 30% or more capabilities that can be automated with existing technology. Moreover, there has been a significant change in the understanding of what can be automated and what should be automated, which has become increasingly evident due to the unprecedented effect the COVID-19 pandemic has had on work.

For businesses looking to hire and outsource their financial processes or professionals who want to simplify and streamline internal processes, it may be time to look at automating them instead. For many, this has already begun, as “CFOs around the world heavily invest in financial automation software as a next step in the evolution to enable enterprise transformation.”

In this way, financial automation could lead to a complex or fundamental shift in how an organization’s core business is conducted.

Taking the first step toward financial automation can seem daunting. However, with more businesses adopting automation into their day-to-day financial practices, it’s clear to see the power this technology holds.

So, what exactly is financial automation?

What is financial automation?

For us mere mortals, financial automation can be as simple as automatically depositing your paycheck, paying bills, or saving a portion of your income per month. The concept is similar for businesses and corporations, but at a much larger scale, and with a lot more moving parts.

Financial automation is the process of utilizing technology options to complete tasks with minimal human intervention. These tasks would normally be accomplished by employees, which, in theory, frees up time for them to perform more complex tasks.

According to another automation study from the McKinsey Global Institute’s automation research, current in-use technologies can fully automate 42 percent of finance activities and mostly automate a further 19 percent.

While many still consider financial automation and intelligent software to be on the horizon, organizations have already started to utilize cutting-edge tools and technologies such as advanced analytics, process automation, robo-advisors, and self-learning programs. A lot more is still yet to come as technologies evolve, become more widely available, and are put to innovative uses.

Levels of automation

The initial forms of automation were (and still are) macros and scripts: simple rules-based automation that repeated simple work with highly structured data — things like general accounting operations, revenue management, and cash disbursement have an over 75% fully automatable ability with already existing technologies.

Robotic process automation (RPA)

RPA is the basis (above macros and scripts) to understand the capabilities of automation. An example of an RPA would be simple software that can perform repetitive tasks quickly with minimal effort, like some of the rote tasks mentioned earlier.

According to the 2017 McKinsey research (also mentioned earlier), about a third of the opportunity in finance can be captured using basic task-automation technologies such as these.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and intelligent automation (IA)

On the other end of the spectrum is artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence is theoretically achieved when software is able to make intelligent decisions while still complying with controls using algorithms or machine learning.

Machine learning algorithms demonstrate the ability for computers to take in a constant stream of data, analyze that data for patterns and recommend solutions to problems humans can’t even see, proving vastly positive results in improving a company’s financial proficiency.

Once a dream for financial professionals and business owners, this form of financial automation software is becoming a reality, shaking up the way that tasks are performed, and even introducing other aspects such as forecasting into the mix.

Improvements with financial process automation

The umbrella of finance — from payroll to predictive forecasts can involve menial and repetitive tasks which leave limited time and resources to focus on value-adding activities to grow your organization. When financial process automation is added, it serves as a pivotal support to free up needed resources and time.

As these technologies can cover more ground and more deeply analyze company financials, many organizations are finding that AI and automation technologies are actively improving their bottom line. According to a survey from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners via the Harvard Business

Review, “organizations lose 5% of their revenue every year due to fraud. The typical fraud case causes a loss of $8,300 per month and lasts a full 14 months before detection. And lack of internal controls contributed to nearly one-third of all fraud cases.”

Risk discovery is just one aspect of financial automation, but a growing one.

#areteautomation #allinonemarketingplatform #business #CRM #mindpower

Credits to: Benjamin Wyrick

Date of Publication: March 18, 2021

Source: https://www.mindbridge.ai/blog/financial-automation-good-bad-future/

[rechelleblog]

Marketing Automation Tools: Choose the Best for Your Business

It is not easy to be findable in the digital age. The dense competition and the number of alternatives available make it hard for businesses to create a secure spot for themselves in the market. Digital marketing is more important than ever today.

Being a part of the marketing team, you have to generate new leads, increase the conversion rate, and ensure a competitive advantage. That includes everything from designing effective website landing pages to email marketing campaigns.

If you can somehow automate the entire process of lead generation and management, your business can benefit in myriad ways. According to email monday, 51% of companies are using marketing automation with more planning to adopt this solution.

With that in mind, let’s go over marketing automation and how it can revolutionize your overall marketing strategy.

What Are Marketing Automation Tools?

Top Marketing Automation Platforms

Final Thoughts: 7 Best Marketing Automation Tools for Small Businesses

What Are Marketing Automation Tools?

Marketing automation, as the name indicates, is the process of making marketing decisions in an automated manner, free of human actions. In a world where marketing is becoming more complex, it is essential to hand over the repetitive tasks to quality marketing automation platforms.

Marketing automation tools can make your life easy by managing customer relationships, tracking your leads, and streamlining your marketing workflows. These advanced tools can also come in handy for social media marketing, which is a crucial part of any marketing strategy.

The Benefits of Marketing Automation

When your business is growing, and the number of visitors on your online platforms is increasing, it can be challenging to keep track of the leads. Staying connected with customers and meeting their needs is, however, imperative for the success of your business.

Automated marketing can help you improve the customer experience and reduce the burden on your resources. That is of great value to small businesses where time and budget are of the utmost importance.

Some of the most notable benefits of marketing automation are as follows:

Streamline your marketing efforts by bringing it all to a single dashboard

Master email marketing and social media automation with simple steps

Generate new leads, follow-up and strengthen your relationship with existing customers

Send personalized messages to your customers and make them feel valued

Run multiple marketing campaigns without any hassle

Top Marketing Automation Platforms

There are several options to choose from when it comes to marketing automation tools. It is essential to know your primary goal and your target audience. Other factors, such as cost, resources and software integrations must also be considered before choosing.

You’ll see a comprehensive list of marketing automation platforms in what follows. Your marketing and sales teams will fall in love with what these tools have to offer.

Marketing Automation Tools for Small Businesses

Marketo — Automate and manage your marketing campaigns

Drip — Manage contacts and purchases with ease

HubSpot — Generate new leads and manage existing leads

Pardot — Automate your marketing and manage your sales

AgileCRM — Track, manage, and strengthen relationships with customers

Mailchimp — Communicate with your clients and leads

Hootsuite — Manage your social media marketing

Let’s look at these user-friendly marketing automation tools in more detail.

1. Marketo

Marketo is one of the best marketing automation solutions in the market. This tool helps you create focused marketing campaigns by observing and analyzing customer behavior. You can also use Marketo to test different versions of your marketing strategy by using split testing.

Marketo is focused more on communicating with customers via emails. That is useful during lead scoring and lead nurturing to grow customer relationships. Additionally, with Marketo, you get useful insights into the performance of your marketing and advertising campaigns.

Marketo, however, is not transparent about its price. It takes more of an enterprise marketing route where you have to contact the sales department first before getting a quote for your marketing solution.

Price: Contact sales for pricing information.

2. DripDrip allows you to create multichannel marketing campaigns from a single platform. You can use this automation tool to promote your products and services through email, SMS, social media, and interactive content on your website.

Another strength of this marketing automation tool is that it can integrate with platforms like Shopify and help you make the most out of customer data.

Price: Free with limited features. Premium plans start at $19/month.

3. HubSpot

HubSpot is an excellent tool that combines the functionality of customer relationship management (CRM) and inbound marketing to give an effective marketing automation solution.

HubSpot can automate repetitive tasks and improve customer service with features such as live chat.

Drip is a marketing automation tool specifically designed for small businesses. E-commerce brands can particularly benefit from the unique marketing automation features Drip offers.

Drip allows you to create multichannel marketing campaigns from a single platform. You can use this automation tool to promote your products and services through email, SMS, social media and interactive content on your website.

Another strength of this marketing automation tool is that it can integrate with platforms like Shopify and help you make the most out of customer data.

Price: Free with limited features. Premium plans start at $19/month.

3. HubSpot

HubSpot is an excellent tool that combines the functionality of customer relationship management (CRM) and inbound marketing to give an effective marketing automation solution.

HubSpot can automate repetitive tasks and improve customer service with features such as live chat.

With its unique features, HubSpot goes beyond the confines of a typical CRM software and helps you create targeted campaigns, thus generating more leads.

One of the best aspects of HubSpot is that it is relatively easy to use. You can control all the forms, email campaigns, and social media marketing from a single dashboard and use templates.

You can also track metrics and marketing processes in real-time and optimize as you see fit.

4. Pardot

Pardot is a powerful B2B marketing automation tool. This specialized software by Salesforce is designed primarily for big businesses planning to create strong partnerships and broaden their customer base.

Pardot gives you the power to create email marketing campaigns, generate fruitful pipelines and get valuable insights regarding your ROI. One of the strongest features of Pardot is its quality analytics and reporting using artificial intelligence (AI).

The price of Pardot may seem high, especially for small businesses. If you have the resources to support this tool, you can take your B2B marketing to a whole new level with Pardot.

5. AgileCRM

AgileCRM is one of the most comprehensive marketing automation solutions. This tool can help you manage your relationships with existing and potential customers (like a CRM) and add value to your customer support.

AgileCRM covers four significant aspects of digital marketing. These include email marketing, web engagement, social media and mobile marketing. This marketing automation tool also enables you to track your emails and assess their effectiveness.

The low price is another attractive feature of AgileCRM. Small businesses do not have to invest a lot of money getting an all-in-one marketing solution.

6. Mailchimp

Mailchimp is one of the most trusted marketing automation platforms for small businesses, particularly when it comes to email marketing automation. This marketing tool helps you understand and analyze customer journeys and create automation accordingly.

7. Hootsuite

Hootsuite is all about social media marketing and management. When it comes to selecting marketing automation tools for small businesses, there are very few specialized marketing platforms for social media.

For small businesses, social media marketing is of extreme importance. That is why Hootsuite is a must-have tool for online businesses.

#areteautomation #allinonemarketingplatform #business #CRM #mindpower

Credits to: Tiffani Anderson

Date of Publication: January 20, 2022

Source: https://www.bluehost.com/resources/marketing-automation-tools/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=genericsearch