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Tag: automation

  • NatWest invests in tech for efficiency| Bank Automation News

    NatWest invests in tech for efficiency| Bank Automation News

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    London-based NatWest Group increased its tech spend in the first half of 2023 as the company looks to remain competitive, create resilient operations and leverage tech to accomplish its climate transition plans.   The $28 billion bank spent $10.8 million in H1 2023 on technology while its operating expenses jumped by 13.4% year over year to […]

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    Vaidik Trivedi

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  • Barclays employs automation for CX\ | Bank Automation News

    Barclays employs automation for CX\ | Bank Automation News

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    Barclays PLC is looking to increase its investment in technology and automation to improve customer experience and reduce costs.  The company reported an increase in operating costs of 6% year over year to £3.9 billion ($4.4 billion) in the second quarter, driven by “continued investment in talent, systems and technology,” the company’s earnings presentation stated. […]

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  • How to Use AI and Automation to Boost Your Business Goals | Entrepreneur

    How to Use AI and Automation to Boost Your Business Goals | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Hold on to your hats, folks! The business landscape is evolving at breakneck speed, and AI coupled with automation is the catapult launching businesses to new horizons. But what’s all the hubbub about? In this article, we’ll dive headfirst into the deep end of automation. We’ll explore everything from the basics to expert strategies, and by the end, you’ll be raring to take the bull by the horns!

    Combining AI with business process automation is like having your cake and eating it. AI brings brainpower, while automation brings the muscle. Together, they streamline operations, enhance decision-making and make customers happy.

    Understanding the power duo

    Harnessing the power duo of AI and automation (BPA), we can liken AI to a virtual Sherlock Holmes within your business, deducing patterns and making intelligent decisions. At the same time, automation acts as the Road Runner, swiftly completing tasks that would otherwise take humans a considerable amount of time. Integrating these two technologies is as harmonious as peanut butter and jelly. AI’s intellectual prowess amplifies BPA’s capabilities, and reciprocally, BPA ensures the swift implementation of AI’s recommendations, creating a seamless and efficient system.

    Related: Automation Is Becoming a Business Imperative: Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late

    Identifying the areas for integration

    If you’re wondering where to begin integrating AI into your business, look no further. Start by identifying sluggish business processes that could benefit from AI, such as customer service. Modern chatbots, continually learning and improving, can swiftly respond to customer inquiries, maintain engagement and even handle order processing. AI and automation can also revolutionize your supply chain and inventory management. They enable you to predict and preempt disruptions.

    Setting realistic goals

    While lofty dreams can be inspiring, it’s crucial to ground ourselves in reality when setting business goals. Understanding how AI and BPA can contribute to these objectives is a key step in prioritizing what’s truly important. It’s equally essential to recognize the boundaries of AI and BPA.

    Setting realistic and achievable targets that consider these limitations is a wise approach. Lastly, remember that success often comes from an iterative implementation process. By gradually introducing AI and BPA into your operations, you can optimize, learn and grow, embodying the principle that slow and steady wins the race.

    Related: How to Use Automation (and Avoid the Pitfalls) as an Entrepreneur

    The financial aspect

    The financial aspect of implementing AI and BPA is crucial, but it doesn’t have to be a bank-breaking endeavor. It’s about finding cost-effective solutions, keeping in mind that every penny saved contributes to your earnings.

    Moreover, it’s essential to consider the return on investment (ROI) when investing in these technologies. Ensuring you’re getting your money’s worth involves taking the time to calculate the expected ROI, thereby maximizing the financial benefits of your investment.

    Real-world applications

    The proof of real-world applications of AI and BPA is evident in numerous businesses that have embraced these technologies and are now enjoying the benefits. Amazon, a titan of efficiency, employs AI and BPA to enhance everything from customer recommendations to delivery routes, functioning like a well-oiled machine.

    Similarly, Netflix, the empire of binge-watching, utilizes AI to seemingly predict your viewing preferences, offering a personalized user experience. These examples demonstrate the transformative power of AI and BPA in the business landscape.

    Related: A Guy Is Using ChatGPT to Turn $100 Into a Business Making as Much Money as Possible. Here Are the First 4 Steps the AI Chatbot Gave Him.

    Legal and ethical considerations

    Navigating the legal and ethical landscape of AI and BPA is akin to staying on the straight and narrow, where exercising great power demands great responsibility. It’s crucial not to throw caution to the wind but consider the implications of data privacy.

    Transparency with customers about their data usage is paramount in this digital age. Furthermore, the game of AI must be played by the rules, ensuring fairness and avoiding bias. It’s essential to scrutinize AI algorithms to prevent discrimination and maintain a fair and unbiased digital environment.

    Don’t reinvent the wheel! Learn from industry experts like Elon Musk. Where do we even start with this guy? He’s like a real-life Tony Stark. Elon believes in pushing the boundaries but with caution. He often stresses the importance of understanding and controlling the risks associated with AI.

    Be bold but not reckless. When implementing AI and BPA, ensure you have safeguards in place. Regularly review the ethics and implications of your AI applications.

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    Gajura Constantin

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  • Q2 earnings roundup | Bank Automation News

    Q2 earnings roundup | Bank Automation News

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    Financial institutions looked to automation in the second quarter to reduce costs and create more efficient operations.  The $3.2 trillion Bank of America, for one, saw its Q2 noninterest expenses increase by 5% year over year to $16 billion. U.S. Bank, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo increased their tech spends while BNY Mellon grew its […]

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    Vaidik Trivedi

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  • Fifth Third tech spend up by 16% YoY | Bank Automation News

    Fifth Third tech spend up by 16% YoY | Bank Automation News

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    Fifth Third Bank ramped up its modernization efforts in the second quarter as it looks toward automating its core platform to drive down expenses.    The $211 billion bank aims to invest “in the core platform to bring automation,” which will bring intermediate positive expense outcomes, Chief Executive Tim Spence said during the bank’s earnings call today. In looking […]

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    Vaidik Trivedi

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  • Goldman tech spend up by 9% YoY | Bank Automation News

    Goldman tech spend up by 9% YoY | Bank Automation News

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    Goldman Sachs is looking to automation, technology and headcount reduction to streamline its operations.   The bank reported a 9% year-over-year increase in technology and communications spend to $482 million during the second quarter, while recording a 2% decrease in compensation and benefits to $3.6 billion, according to today’s earnings presentation. WHY IT MATTERS: Goldman stressed […]

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    Vaidik Trivedi

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  • BNY Mellon ups tech spend by 11% YoY | Bank Automation News

    BNY Mellon ups tech spend by 11% YoY | Bank Automation News

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    BNY Mellon is looking toward digitization and automation to increase efficiency, drive down operational costs and improve consumer experience.  WHY IT MATTERS: The $425 billion bank focused on digitally cleaning inefficient operations and planning medium- and long-term digitization efforts, Chief Executive Robin Vince said during BNY Mellon’s second-quarter earnings call today. The bank’s Q2 software […]

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    Vaidik Trivedi

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  • BNY Mellon tech spend up by 11% YoY | Bank Automation News

    BNY Mellon tech spend up by 11% YoY | Bank Automation News

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    BNY Mellon is looking toward digitization and automation to increase efficiency, drive down operational costs and improve consumer experience.   WHY IT MATTERS: The $425 billion bank focused on digitally cleaning inefficient operations and planning medium- and long-term digitization efforts, Chief Executive Robin Vince said during BNY Mellon’s second-quarter earnings call today. The bank’s Q2 software and equipment spending jumped […]

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    Vaidik Trivedi

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  • State Street ups tech spend by 3% YoY | Bank Automation News

    State Street ups tech spend by 3% YoY | Bank Automation News

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    State Street Corp. looked to optimize savings and operational productivity through technology and automation in the second quarter. The $295 billion bank is “carefully investing in strategic elements of the company, including Alpha [its portfolio management technology arm], private markets, technology and operations, automation,” Eric Aboaf, chief financial officer at State Street, said during the […]

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    Vaidik Trivedi

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  • How to Disconnect in Order to Do Your Best Work | Entrepreneur

    How to Disconnect in Order to Do Your Best Work | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    John McPhee has been called one of the pioneers of creative nonfiction. A four-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, he took home that prestigious award for his book, Annals of the Former World (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998). In a forthcoming book addressing the concept of “slow productivity,” author Cal Newport shares an anecdote about McPhee — how, while working on his first in-depth New Yorker magazine story, the author spent the better part of two weeks lying on a picnic table in his backyard, trying to figure out how to make the piece work. Applying traditional notions of productivity, those fourteen days might seem like a massive waste of time. But in reality, this stretch of solo thinking was a vital part of McPhee’s creative process — a necessary step to produce something of value.

    As a society, we’re obsessed with productivity. For most knowledge workers, that entails being “always on,” including being digitally connected to coworkers and replying to messages as they pour in. But as the McPhee example shows, sometimes we need to disconnect and let our minds wander to do truly good and meaningful work — what I like to call “the big stuff.”

    At my company, Jotform, we’ve fully returned to the office, but with more than 450 employees in seven offices around the globe, digital communication is a critical part of our collaborative work. In overseeing all that — and while I can’t hop on a picnic table and stare at the clouds for a couple of weeks — I can strategically plan periods of uninterrupted attention.

    But before we get into addressing round-the-clock availability, let’s take a closer look at why it’s so essential to allow yourself to disconnect.

    Related: This AI-Assisted Productivity Tool Is Just $50 for Life

    Busy work is kryptonite to the best work

    A somewhat amorphous concept that includes rote, repetitive yet requisite tasks, busy work’s defining characteristic is actually what it isn’t: labor that inspires and fulfills. Put simply, these are not the meaningful tasks that move the career needle.

    Of course, communication is a necessity for today’s knowledge workers, but there’s usually too much of it. Experts say that we’re still parsing out how to use modern forms, without becoming overrun by them.

    As Newport noted in a recent interview, “History tells us that it will probably take a generation to figure out what the best kind of collaborative cognitive work looks like when we have external computational aids connected by high-speed digital networks. It’s going to take a while.”

    Answering emails and replying to Slack messages can certainly be a form of busy work. Let’s say you’re working on an article that requires at once analytical thinking and engaging language, but you also have an inbox brimming with unread messages. Do you go for the low-hanging fruit (the emails) or focus on slower, more mentally-demanding work (the article)?

    It might seem intuitive to knock out the former items first, but in fact that type of task often requires more time than estimated — a phenomenon called the “planning fallacy.” What’s more, emails might seem like a minor detour but are typically more mentally taxing than we realize. As Newport said, “When you looked at that email inbox for 15 seconds, you initiated a cascade of cognitive changes.” By the time you’re ready to turn to more meaningful work, a form of exhaustion may have already set in. “If you have to work on something that’s cognitively demanding,” he added, “the rule has to be zero context shifts during that period.”

    Strategies for disconnecting

    Certain professionals, like surgeons, must be on-call at all times. For the rest of us, that’s not necessary. That said, it’s not advisable to simply just go radio silent without also cluing in colleagues. The idea is to find a balance wherein you carve out time for yourself without disrupting the collective goals of the organization or project.

    Related: 5 Ways to Improve Your Startup’s Project Management

    But how?

    1. Identify “prime time”

    A great way to begin is to pinpoint when you do your best work. Everyone has different peak hours when their minds are sharpest. Motivational speaker Brian Tracy calls this “prime time.” He explains: “[This is] the time of day, according to your body clock, when you are the most alert and productive.” Harnessing this can supercharge productivity, especially when it comes to the big stuff. Once you identify yours, schedule a regularly-repeating block of unavailability — with your inbox browser closed, notifications off and alarms silent.

    2. Include colleagues

    Next, notify office associates to determine that this approach works for the team. Ask them:

    • Are there times when such blocked-out periods absolutely cannot be scheduled?

    • What times would they like to block out for their meaningful work?

    • How should team members break through blocked-out periods in case of an emergency?

    Because the workplace is dynamic, these questions can be periodically revisited. As I write in my new book, when we implement systems, they should never be stagnant, never-changing mechanisms. Instead, they should be continually refined to serve their original purpose.

    Related: Why Every Employee In Your Company Should Have Communication Training

    3. Automate the rest

    An essential component of blocking out time for meaningful, uninterrupted work is automating the other stuff, which requires auditing busy work. So, for a couple of days, stop working every hour or so (using an alarm clock as a reminder) and note how you’ve spent time, whether you enjoyed the activity or got something out of it, and whether you’d like to do more of it.

    This requires a few extra moments of reflection each day, but you’ll quickly see patterns emerge, and will soon identify rote, repetitive tasks that are perfect candidates for automation. Then, break down those activities into as many steps as needed and figure out where to plug in automation tools and apps. You may have to do some research to determine the best tool for this process, but fortunately, review sites like G2 are making it easier to sift through options.

    Related: Smart Entrepreneurs Use Automation to Become More Efficient. Here Are 6 Ways to Adopt It.

    Change can be intimidating. Once we have a certain way of doing something, like tackling busy work before we commit to the big stuff, it’s hard to pivot. Even a small tweak can seem to threaten the whole process. But with automation and coordination with colleagues, we can switch the usual way of doing things and carve out interrupted time for best work (on a picnic table, if you feel like it)… then, implement, refine and iterate.

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    Aytekin Tank

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  • Citi doubling down on automation | Bank Automation News

    Citi doubling down on automation | Bank Automation News

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    Citibank is ramping up its automation efforts and modernizing its platforms to maintain competitiveness and drive down costs. The $1.7 trillion bank increased its technology and communications spend 12% year-over-year in the second quarter to $2.3 billion, according to Citi’s earnings supplement.  Spending will continue to climb, Chief Financial Officer Mark Mason said during the […]

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    Vaidik Trivedi

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  • UiPath Taps AI to Process Loan Data | Bank Automation News

    UiPath Taps AI to Process Loan Data | Bank Automation News

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    Financial institutions including JPMorgan Chase, Truist Bank and Wells Fargo are using AI models to expedite administrative processes and organize unstructured data through UiPath. Unstructured data from emails, texts and voice notes can provide value to a bank but might take time to collect and store, Gartner analyst Moutusi Sau told Bank Automation News.  Financial […]

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    Vaidik Trivedi

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  • How next-generation retail payments solutions lower operating efforts for merchants and corporates – Banking blog

    How next-generation retail payments solutions lower operating efforts for merchants and corporates – Banking blog

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    Customers today expect a seamless omni-channel shopping experience with directly integrated payment options. Recently technical progress and the tokenisation of retail payment transactions have enabled omni-channel use cases. In this article we explain how omni-channel payments work in practice and how merchants and corporates are able to benefit from this modern payment solution.

    Automatic Tokenisation and Omni-Channel Payments

    Modern payments solutions tokenise all transactions to reuse the processed information in future transactions, whether through the same sales channel or others.

    Tokenisation describes the encrypting process by which unique identifier replacement numbers are assigned to transactions. If a payment system recognises a token, it decrypts it using the right decryption key to process the data.

    Use case 1: A customer buys a product (or service) in a store and pays by card. The payments system tokenizes the transaction based on the transaction reference number. If the customer is not satisfied with the product, returns it a few days later and wants a refund, the merchant or corporate can simply trigger the refund payment to the customer at the push of a button after entering the token. The payments system recognizes the encrypted token and the underlying transaction data.

    Use Case 2, click & reserve: A customer selects a product online, triggering a reservation. The customer is satisfied with the look and feel of the product and pays for it in-store. The payment system recognises the underlying transaction data assigned to the token created during the online selection and uses it automatically to process the payment.

    Other relevant omni-channel use cases for merchants and corporates include ‘queue busting’, click & collect’, ‘buy instore & pay at home’, ‘instore e-commerce’ and ‘endless aisle’.

    Retail payment 1_

    As omni-channel use cases rise, corporates and merchants are bound to implement them. Retail payments today are customer-centric and require a modern payments solution.

    Due to the seamlessly integrated payment functions within the different distribution/sales channels, retailers and corporates hardly miss out on any sales as their customers have the freedom to shop across channels and to choose how to pay. Additionally, purchase cancellations and time-consuming manual refunds can be avoided.

    Automation of accounting and reconciliation to reduce manual processes

    Modern retail payments solutions enable merchants and corporates to further automate accounting and reconciliation. This has the following benefits for merchants and corporates:

    • reduced manual effort
    • reduced sources of error
    • cost savings
    • more time for fundamental business activities.

    If modern retail payments solutions are used, all transactions are automatically tokenised. This ensures that omni-channel transactions are consistently correctly flagged and recognised at all times in the reconciliation process and booked directly in the accounting system if they match.

    This means significantly less manual search and correction effort for the parties involved, resulting in direct cost savings. Today, some payment providers and acquirers include automated reconciliation solutions to integrate added value.

    Retail payment 2_

    From simple terminal to future-proof multitalented smart POS device

    ‘All in one’ or ‘one device strategy’ are increasingly important for merchants with physical points of sale (POS).

    Simple terminals to accept cashless payments are being replaced by a new generation of android-based smart devices. These devices enable value added services and deliver an enriched in-store customer experience.

    Using modern smart POS devices to accept cashless payments in stores offers the following advantages for merchants and corporates:

    real-time software updates through cloud integration. The days when a terminal had to be returned to the payments provider for a software update are over. Thanks to integration, payment providers are always able to automatically provide merchants with the latest terminal software. New features can continuously be added and the internationally valid PCI DSS security certification covers all the security aspects of smart POS devices.

    manage Smart POS devices yourself.

    Thanks to the Android-based operating system, merchants can manage their smart POS devices themselves and activate and/or change new payment methods, FX currency conversion and other functions, and much more.

    use additional applications on the smart POS device, simply.

    Additional connectivity to applications such as the POS system for cashing, the warehouse system for querying inventories or the customer relationship management (CRM) system for viewing customer data can be conveniently activated on the smart POS device. This works via an app store, where the corresponding apps can be downloaded to the smart POS device and linked to the main system for use, turning the smart POS device into a mobile control centre and giving the merchant further flexibility.

    new instore shopping experience.

    Smart POS devices enable a wide range of new use cases, from self-service to close interaction with sellers, Web in-store, Gamification and others.

    Retail payment 3_

    And now?

    The entire retail payments infrastructure is being transformed, creating a multitude of new opportunities to offer cashless payment solutions in the future.

    Merchants and corporates are advised to upgrade their payments infrastructure to benefit from optimised operations and reduced manual effort, resulting in overall cost reductions.

    Due to the growth in retail payments, the cost structure for merchants has become more important than before. This is therefore the best time for merchants to consider the future Interchange++ cost structure of retail payments.

    Read our previous retail payments transformation blog here

    Sergio cruz blog

    Sergio Cruz, Partner, Consulting

    Sergio is the lead Partner of Deloitte’s Business Operations practice in Zurich and has more than 25 year of experience in Consulting. He focuses on large scale front-to-back digitalisation programs in financial services and has worked on several large assignments both in Switzerland and abroad, covering the implementation of regulatory requirements and the definition as well as implementation of target operating models and process optimisations.

    Email | LinkedIn

    David frei

    David Frei, Director, Consulting

    David is Deloitte Switzerland’s Payments Lead and a Director in the Business Operations Consulting practice in Zurich, with global experience gained in Consultancy and the Banking industry. He has vast experience and a macro view across retail and banking payments, financial service products, consumer, payments costs, regulations and systems as well as detailed knowledge of key processes in Acquiring, PSP and omni-channel/e-commerce payments. He has advised large clients through impactful payments transformation and digital payments projects in Switzerland and Europe.

    Email| LinkedIn 

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    Lena Woodward

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  • A Beginner’s Guide to Direct Mail Automation and Retargeting | Entrepreneur

    A Beginner’s Guide to Direct Mail Automation and Retargeting | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Automation has made many aspects of our lives easier, both professionally and personally. If you’ve ever used dictation to send a text or have separate “home” and “away” settings on your smart doorbell, you’ve likely benefited from automation.

    When most people think of automation, they think digital. But automation has evolved to help us in the offline world, where its effects can be felt all the more keenly.

    Case in point: Research shows that direct mail messaging has a deeper, more significant impact on our emotions than digital alone, resulting in stronger recall a full week later. Participants in the same study also demonstrated more neurological activity when interacting with direct mail versus online-based ads.

    Translation? Humans are hard-wired to respond to tangible — as opposed to digital — stimulation. Leveraging it at key points in your marketing and sales funnel could be the key to unlocking untapped revenue.

    Not only do I use direct mail automation in my own business, but I’ve also mailed 23.2 million automated mail pieces on behalf of clients nationwide, so I know what it takes to create and run a successful campaign. Here are some basics to get you started on the right foot …

    Related: How to Enhance Business Automation and Unlock New Levels of Operational Efficiency

    What is direct mail automation, and what can I do with it?

    Direct mail automation is a technology that automatically prints and mails postcards, letters or other offline material based on a pre-programmed trigger. It also goes by the names “triggered mail” or “programmatic direct mail.”

    Triggers can be programmed from your website, CRM (customer relationship management system), or a third-party source like Zapier, and these triggers can be based on behavior, data or timing — or any combination thereof. Contact details aren’t even required in some cases; the automation handles that for you while protecting everyone’s privacy.

    Some examples of direct mail automation:

    Ecommerce retailers can target browsers that abandon their shopping carts. The next day, those shoppers receive a postcard from you with a 15% off promotion to nudge them back online to finish their purchase. You can also target all website visitors regardless of whether your website has a shopping cart or not, though I suggest targeting people who spend at least 30 seconds on your site. This is usually called “direct mail retargeting” and works just like digital retargeting, but offline.

    A moving and storage company could target homeowners whose homes were just placed under contract. Even inaction could trigger a mailer. Let’s say that as soon as a customer hits the 3-month mark of inactivity, they get a postcard in the mail to remind them to give you a call or make a purchase.

    There are so many ways you can take advantage of this technology to bring in more leads and keep your current customers engaged. I recommend you analyze your customer base and existing funnel and ask yourself a few things. Are there any noticeable commonalities among my customers that I can take advantage of? Is there any point in my funnel where a large number of people drop out? These places are likely prime opportunities to add direct mail automation.

    Related: 3 Ways Technology Helps You Make Money With Direct Mail Marketing

    How does direct mail automation work?

    I don’t want to get too technical because, if you ask me, it isn’t how direct mail automation works that’s important — it’s more about what it can do for your business.

    That said, most people still want to get a little peek under the hood to see how the magic happens.

    Automated direct mail is possible thanks to something called an API, which stands for Application Programming Interface. In plain English, an API is basically how one software program talks to another software program, a bit like a translator.

    With direct mail automation, you’re telling a software program what to do. For example: When someone spends more than 30 seconds on my website, send this postcard. If someone calls me once and we don’t speak again for a week, send this other postcard.

    From there, the software connected to your website (if you want to target visitors) or your CRM (if you want to target one-time callers) needs to be able to speak directly to the software that will trigger your mailing. This is where the API comes in — it makes it possible for your website to tell a printing press what to mail and who to mail it to. It’s just following your directions!

    Automation allows you to do the work of setting up the marketing one time, and then you can let it run on auto for as long as you like.

    If only 20 people visit your website a month, then you only have to pay for 20 postcards. If you’re concerned about sending out too many cards a month and overextending your budget, you can also set up limits. So, if you can only afford to mail 500 cards a month, then once the system registers you’ve hit your 500th card, it will stop mailing.

    Probably the most important benefit of triggered mail is that every mailer is hyper-targeted to the prospect you want to convert. In many cases, the recipients are warm leads who have already shown some kind of interest in your products or services — now you can strike while the iron is hot without lifting a finger.

    Related: The Big Risks You Need to Avoid When Using Marketing Automation

    How do I choose an automated mail provider?

    Not all mail automation providers are the same, so you need to do your research and ask a lot of questions before handing over your credit card.

    The first thing to look for is print quality. Some direct mail automation providers only specialize in the software/API, meaning they don’t actually print anything. Instead, they farm out printing and mailing to a network of providers (often prioritizing lower costs over quality). This can result in a lack of quality control.

    Ideally, you’d want to work with an automation provider that doesn’t outsource the real work to third parties, because if something goes wrong, you’ll need direct support to handle the issue.

    Another thing to be wary of is cost, of course. Some direct mail automation providers will charge “tech fees” on top of the usual costs associated with printing and mailing — this is where they have a chance to generate their own profits, rather than just skimming a little off the top of every mailer. If you’re working directly with a print and mail house, you’ll likely find zero tech fees.

    You also want to consider your options for the design of your mailer. Every direct mail automation provider will allow you to upload your own design, but there are benefits to using a template instead, especially if it’s professionally designed and results-based.

    At my business, PostcardMania, we’ve delivered more than 250,000 direct mail campaigns and mailed more than 2 billion postcards over 25 years in business. That experience has allowed us to fine-tune a design formula that prioritizes real returns. The result is a gallery of industry-specific templates based on designs that have been road-tested to generate calls, clicks and revenue — like this real estate investor who made $70,000 after mailing a little more than 100 automated postcards over the course of a year. Often, a proven design translates to a greater likelihood of bringing in more revenue.

    I’ve often witnessed small business owners throw their money away on low-quality mailers that didn’t live up to their expectations. So, if you invest a little more in an experienced mail provider that is an expert in automation, you’re much more likely to see results.

    What are the steps to start my first direct mail automation campaign?

    Once you’ve shopped around and found the direct mail automation provider you want to work with, you’ll want to set up an account and get started by connecting your account to your website or CRM. Each platform has its own steps and processes you’ll need to complete to make this happen, so I won’t be able to walk you through it step-by-step from here. Hopefully, you’ve chosen a provider that makes it easy to set up your first order and can provide support if needed.

    I suggest testing your connections in a controlled environment all the way through to mailer delivery before turning them loose on your live website or CRM. That way, you’ll be able to test the automation for design, messaging, timing, print quality and more by just paying per mailer. The more mail your automation triggers per week or month, the more your price per piece should go down.

    Once you’re happy with your automation, set a weekly budget and check back often to track the incoming results.

    It shouldn’t be a headache. With this technology in place, you’ll impress customers, get ahead of your competition and foster a growing and thriving business that is attentive to every customer’s needs.

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  • Are the robots coming for us? Ask AI.

    Are the robots coming for us? Ask AI.

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    As we enter artificial intelligence’s brave new world, humans have naturally come to fear what the future holds.  Do computers like HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey pose an existential threat? Or in an incident not from Hollywood fiction, an Air Force official’s recent remarks implying that a drone had autonomously changed course and killed its operator, only to be later declared a hypothetical, certainly raised alarm.

    Closer to home for most of us, the release of large language models like ChatGPT have renewed worries about automation, reminiscent of earlier fears about mechanization. AI has advanced far beyond rote data-storage tasks and can even pass the bar exam, or write news, or research papers, leading to fears of massive white-collar unemployment.

    But, as new research looking at data of job churn over the past two decades finds, the impact of automation on workers and industries is, in fact, pretty hard to predict given the complexity of the labor market, requiring carefully crafted policies that take these nuances into account.

    First, changes in exposure to automation are not intuitive: they do not easily mesh with “blue-collar” and “white-collar” jobs, as typically defined. Instead, automation is more closely linked to the tasks and characteristics of each job, such as repetitiveness and face-to-face interactions. That translates to the three most automation-exposed jobs: office and administrative support, production, and business and financial operations occupations.

    Meanwhile, the three least automation-exposed jobs are in personal care; installation, maintenance and repair occupations; and teaching. In other words, even with the Internet of Things controlling your HVAC system, it cannot fix itself when it needs new refrigerant, but its smart-panel interface can help the technician diagnose the problem remotely quickly and know what equipment to bring for a repair. But back-end accountants in that company may not fare as well in the AI jobs sweepstakes.

    While automation can displace workers, history suggests that new technology also tends to boost productivity and create new jobs. Consider the automobile: while horses and buggies are outdated, we still need humans to drive (at least until autonomous vehicles come to full fruition), and the assembly line helped automate manufacturing with entire new classes of jobs created for every part of a car and all its electronic systems, with almost 1 million U.S. workers in auto manufacturing today.

    But automation has continued in the auto industry over the decades, with robots helping to make hard and heavy physical labor tasks easier, without fully displacing workers.  So there is a push-pull with automation, and the relative sizes of these countervailing effects remains an area of active scholarly debate.

    It is rare for an entire job class to disappear overnight; changes mainly take place over generations

    Second, it is rare for an entire job class to disappear overnight; changes mainly take place over generations. The research shows that newer generations of workers, perhaps deterred by the job insecurity observed in earlier generations and lured by high wages in the technology sector, are less inclined to enter automation-prone jobs than those before them. However, after embarking down those career paths, workers tend to stay in their fields, even if the prospects of automation loom large, likely because reskilling is time-consuming and expensive. It is relatively easy for recent high school graduates to opt for tech-centric college degrees like computer science, but learning new skills like coding is more difficult for mid-career professionals in automation-susceptible fields like manufacturing.

    Adjustments to automation can be slow on the business side as well. Incorporating automated technology takes time because modern production tasks tend to be so intertwined that automating one part of a business can affect all other operations. For example, when AT&T, once the country’s largest firm, began replacing telephone operators with mechanical switchboards, they found that operators had become central to the complex production system that grew around them, which is why there are fewer operators today, but some still exist.

    Third, the research found that the share of workers in highly automation-exposed occupations tends to be clustered, ranging from about 25% to 36% across commuting zones. The least-exposed areas in the U.S. are across the Mountain West, thanks to the area’s high shares of workers in management, retail sales and construction (which hasn’t had much automation or productivity improvement in decades but additive manufacturing may be a game-changer), as well as those on the East and West coasts, with their more innovative finance and tech industries.

    On the other hand, those most exposed to automation tend to be located in the Great Plains and Rust Belt, namely due to agriculture. In spite of the fact that U.S. agriculture has been exposed to automation for over a century (more efficient machines and advances in biotechnology), it has become even more technology-driven recently, making ag workers more likely to be impacted by automation.

    Read: How artificial intelligence can make hiring bias worse

    So will the robots take over your job soon?  More likely, they will make our jobs easier and more efficient. Trying to slow the adoption of technology is both futile and counterproductive: taxing or overregulating tech adoption may backfire, especially given global competitiveness and other countries who may not pause. While the advent of a new era of automation is likely to be both gradually incorporated and result in complements to human labor rather than full replacement, thoughtful policies can help disrupted workers transition to new and better opportunities, ensuring we can harness the transformative power of automation and foster a future of work that benefits all.

    Eric Carlson is associate economist at the Economic Innovation Group; DJ Nordquist is EIG’s executive vice president.

    More: AI is ready to take on menial tasks in the workplace, but don’t sweat robot replacement (just yet)

    Also read: ‘Make friends with this technology’: Yes, AI is coming for your job. Here’s how to prepare.

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