Hello 2024! The start of a new year is a great time for small business owners to not only reflect on the prior year’s business performance, but also to look at opportunities and goals for the year ahead, writes Elise Balsillie, Head of Thryv Australia.

If your business was its busiest over the holiday break, you’re likely feeling overwhelmed, inundated in an avalanche of messages with too many emails in your inbox, chats, social messages, webchats, calls and texts.

You’re not alone.

Many small business owners with whom I frequently chat with say one of their biggest pain points is the volume of communication they receive across every channel. This, combined with the pressure of running a business day-to-day, can lead to burnout.

In fact, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 48 percent of all small businesses fail within the first four years, with many due to owner burnout.

To avoid burnout, how can a small business owner navigate these communication challenges in 2024 and ensure greater operational efficiencies?

Implement digital tools and consolidate your inbox

The first step is to consider streamlining your business communication with customers and team members through free digital tools.

Communication is a massive challenge for businesses. It’s a necessary burden to be available on multiple communication channels, but this leads to a taxing and time consuming need to check multiple inboxes regularly. By adopting a central communications hub, small business owners have access to a centralised inbox that combines all their communication channels in one place – while enabling them to maintain a personalised approach to each conversation.

From email to social media, phone calls to SMS, and of course company websites, a centralised inbox will simplify your day-to-day communication operations and enhance your customers’ experience.

Automate to save time

The next step is to consider automation.

The most commonly asked questions from our clients is ‘how can I find a solution to operate my small business easier and more efficiently, and save time?’

Saving time is one of the biggest problems to solve. Finding new ways to grow your business, all the while staying organised and on-task, is a time-demanding endeavour. This is why automation is so crucial.

By automating your business, you will be able to reclaim your much-valued time while alleviating the pressures of mundane tasks that distract from the more important tasks at hand. From booking confirmations to sending and receiving emails, digitising your business can have profound impacts on customer engagement and time management.

So, as the year kicks off in full swing, consider how your business can kickstart goals this year with the support of digital tools.

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