Information plays an important role in almost every human activity and has become extremely valuable for business and organisations as it can affect a decision, behaviour or an outcome.
Information, however, is only useful if is actually accessible and communicated to the relevant people – whether or not this is internal or external. If it can’t be found or distributed it might as well not exist.
Employees and management require real-time information to help them make business decisions, perform their roles, as well as react to events and processes. Customers or members also benefit from up-to-date information as it helps them make purchasing decisions as well as make plans according to the information received.
With vast systems now storing all data and information it is essential to the success of any business or organisation that the information is extracted and distributed accordingly. It has to tell your staff and your customers what they need to know and it has to be accurate, understandable and at the right time.
The trouble with this scenario is that distributing information on a regular, timely basis can be time-consuming as well as prone to errors. The information may be hard to find within the system, and manually monitoring data changes and distributing updates to customers and personnel will consume valuable resources.
Automating Informational Business Alerts and Notifications
Automating the monitoring of data and the distribution of notifications and alerts can remove the manual processing involved in providing up-to-date information to the relevant people.
Here are a few examples of informative notifications and alerts that can be automated:
Logistics & Operations
- Notification of received stock for back orders
- Notification to service personnel of job details
Customer Service
- Delivery / service notifications
- Changes to events / itinerary / courses
Finance
- A payment has been received
- A new account has been created
Sales & Marketing
- Alert that a customer is browsing the website / product
- Customer notifications regarding offers / product availability
Management
- Major sale has occurred
- New proposals / updates to projects
Human Resources
- Reminders about timesheets
- Changes in procedures / protocol
Codeless Platforms’ BPA Platform makes it extremely easy to automate informational notifications and alerts, thanks to its drag and drop functionality and simple integration with any business system. It can send colleagues, suppliers or customers real-time email and SMS messages 24/7, 365 days a year.
Informative alerts and notifications can be instigated via four simple steps. Firstly, there are a set of Tools that enable the administrator to define the preferred trigger point, like a timed based event, instantaneous data change or monitored proprietary event stream. Once a trigger has occurred, associated data can then be simply extracted, for subsequent use in the chosen pre-defined output content. The data is then formatted to display the most effective presentation. Finally, an output method is chosen and a mode of recipients addressing is easily defined.
External Notifications and Alerts
Deliveries: The platform can dynamically monitor business systems and automatically send an email notification or SMS alert to customers saying ‘Your goods have been shipped’, including an ETA for the delivery of the goods.
Marketing: The platform can be integrated with a CRM or sales system and used to automatically deliver marketing communications such as sales offers, discount coupons and information about new products or services.
Internal Notifications and Alerts
Service management: When a service job has been received by your business and inputted into your system, the platform can automatically collate the information and then send an alert, whether email or SMS, to the relevant engineer or a third-party application, such as a mobile workforce management program. The alert can provide details of the job request, including problems and parts required, as well as the location of the job and the date and time that it has been scheduled.
Human Resources: The HR team can utilise the platform to deliver internal communications such as reminders about filling in timesheets, updates regarding company procedures and protocol, information regarding expenses, or updates regarding holidays.
The Benefits of Automating Notifications and Alerts
Automating informational notifications and alerts is a simple process to incorporate into any business system and can make a considerable difference to the running of an organisation: improving company performance, improving customer service and ultimately ensuring 100% visibility of information to help people make decisions and plans.