The world is changing daily, introducing new tools and developing products for people. No-code automation platforms are some of the biggest tools people have slowly adopted in recent years. The transition from purely technical skills such as programming and coding has allowed venturers to create another product for citizen developers. No-code workflow automation tools are here to stay and continue to give value to all types of people.
Gartner, a research and consulting firm, states in their article, “By 2025, 70% of new applications developed by organizations will use low-code or no-code technologies, up from less than 25% in 2020.” For the next couple of years, more businesses and industries will at least shift business processes towards a no-code approach. The use of automation tools will increase, allowing more organisations to focus on the more essential parts of the business.
No-code workflow will become a norm in many sectors. As more people upskill and learn about no-code, more companies will develop and launch their respective platforms and automation products for the market. No-code isn’t just a method of development; it’s a doorway for more groups and developers to produce something valuable for broader audiences, most notably, the ones that don’t have technical coding knowledge.
What is a No-code Automation tool?
A no-code automation platform is a software that allows people to create automation solutions for business processes. These tools and platforms enable organisations to create automated workflows, integrate external applications, and implement procedures with minimal human intervention. Most platforms provide a more categorised set of automation solutions in no-code, dividing pre-made solutions per industry demand, use case, and real-life application.
The switch from manual to automated work increases flexibility and freedom for people to focus on other things in the business. As people focus on scaling the business, all the different steps and processes are not left unattended and sacrificed to progress business value. The most significant efforts for people in the business are towards the creation and development of an automated workflow for specific business processes.
At the end of the workflow development, individuals need only to test the developed workflows. After refining and double-checking created workflows, deployment comes next. The challenge now is for business owners and organisations to find the right no-code workflow automation platform that gives the best value for investment. Instead of hiring people for repetitive work procedures daily, the platforms can offset routine work to programs.
On top of providing automation solutions via no-code, no-code development is fast. No-code and low-code platforms are efficient, and according to Forrester’s report, “they have the potential to make software development as much as 10 times faster than traditional methods.” (Rymer, 2018)
Examples of business processes for automation
The applications of no-code workflow automation are endless. While people can apply the use of no-code automation in almost all aspects of life, here are some of the most prominent uses of no-code workflow automation across industries and enterprises:
Marketing processes
Marketing has always been a crucial make-or-break process for every business. It’s one way to bring the business’s value to intended customers and potential clients. As such, it’s not surprising that marketing takes a lot of time and effort, and sometimes the process is costly.
One of the best ways to maximise time is to subscribe to no-code workflow automation tools for marketing. Let’s take email marketing as an example.
How businesses can utilise no-code platforms for automated email marketing:
1. Sign up for a no-code marketing platform that provides automation solutions. Some platforms are more direct and niched down to offer specific tools to businesses. For example, MailChimp is best known as an automated email marketing tool.
2. Develop a workflow for the implementation of automated emails. No-code email marketing platforms often provide some settings that users can modify to control the technicalities of the email before send-off.
3. Create the content of the automated email in the email builder. Always apply SEO techniques in the content, no matter what type of email to send, i.e., personalised birthday emails, Cart reminder emails, or event promotion emails.
TIP: Create visual emails to ensure that the emails look enticing enough to read through until the end. There’s no harm in bringing out the more creative side of things, even if the business executes it in something as simple as an email.
4. Generate a contact list for the emails. Businesses often collate and make specific lists for specific email purposes. While it may seem like sending automated emails to everybody will increase sales, the intent may not be as targeted. The business will end up with more unsubscribed users for misdirected emails.
TIP: Create a list for specific contact purposes: a contact list for people who are part of the business loyalty program, a contact list for September birthday celebrants, a contact list from one-time online promotions, etc.
5. Set up the workflow for the automated email send-offs. Users can plan for months at a time to automatically send emails to the intended contact list. Create emails in bulk and set up specific send-off schedules for the next few weeks or months.
Organisation-wide communication
Communication is key, especially when people are working in teams or groups. It’s best always to have a tool that spans horizontal and vertical structures. There are tons of no-code tools for automated communication functions. Most of the time, these platforms also provide services and products for project management, marketing, and collaboration work.
Examples of no-code workflow automation platforms for communication:
- Quixy
- Slack
- Click Up
- Airtable
- Kintone
Talent acquisition and Onboarding
It’s always effort-inducing to bring new individuals and professionals to become part of the organisation’s workforce. The hiring processes of the organisation are often rigorous and expensive. Talent Acquisition and Onboarding procedures take a lot of time and can often cause many mix-ups across HR Departments. As such, specific tools can aid in these processes.
How to automate Talent Acquisition and Onboarding processes:
1. Sign up for no-code platforms that offer functions for onboarding procedures. Some of the most common repetitive steps that businesses can automate are:
- Email send-offs
- Signature Capture
- Document verifications
- Notification send-offs
- Status updates
TIP: Go to the Use Case or Solutions tab of the web page to see if the no-code platform offers solutions specific to Onboarding and HR applications.
2. Assess the current workflow of the departments for recruitment and onboarding. Identify steps for potential automation versus steps better suited for manual effort. Identify specific contact points, separate department processes, and business schedules.
3. Create a workflow for all processes the business can automate in the entire recruitment and onboarding process. Typically, there’s a trigger to ensure that the process starts automatically, and it’s often a form that departments use to capture specific recruit information.
4. Set automation rules that will integrate all aspects in Step 2. As soon as a recruit or individual complies with steps from Step 1, the automated triggers will route the procedures to particular people or execute a step in the workflow.
TIP: Create conditions and logic cases to assess the steps.
5. Integrate the workflow with other external applications from the platform. Typically, organisations utilise more than one tool or platform to store, manage and execute onboarding procedures for new hires.
Customer service
Dealing with all types of people in the business is typical for business owners and organisations daily. Nevertheless, customer service takes a lot of time, possibly deterring key people from further developing the business’s value.
The aspect of Customer Service automation has become one of the critical opportunities for venture businesses looking to provide no-code workflow automation tools for B2B demand.
Examples and applications of no-code software for automated customer service tasks:
- Automated chatbots for immediate response
- Automatic notification and messaging for appointment and booking reminders
- Customer data analysis and insight generation
- Ticket automation and service support
- Automated complaints channel and customer portal
Sales
The bloodline of every enterprise is sales. No business ever has the chance to run sustainably without the emergence of profitability. Nevertheless, as one of the company’s most prominent and critical parts, all sales require a lot of management.
Dealing with money and records can often intertwine and get messy, especially for smaller ventures that don’t have specific in-house finance departments.
Best no-code tools for sales automation and management:
- Hubspot
- Airtable
- Microsoft Dynamics
- Automate.io
- Salesforce
How does no-code automation change businesses?
The growth of the no-code sector and industries will continue to grow in the coming years. Along with low-code development, no-code has an estimated growth rate of about 23% annually (Vailshery, 2022). These types of software development for various business solutions continue to provide enterprises, both big and small, the option to make business processes more efficient.
The real change that no-code development and automation provide businesses doesn’t only include monetary implications. People from all parts of the globe benefit from the continuous rise of no-code solutions. Here are some of the crucial changes that no-code has brought to the world:
No-code automation tools bridge the skills gap of people
The emergence of no-code means that people have something new to learn. There is a shortage of professional developers who can program and code various business solutions for all use cases. As citizen developers, or developers who have no or limited technical coding knowledge, begin to use these tools, there comes an increase in skill and proficiency.
No-code tools and automation software become that bridge to decrease the gap between high demands for digitalisation. Now, there’s no need to get a degree, gain multiple programming experiences, and wait for the turnout of professional developers before businesses can have access to the creation of automation solutions via online platforms.
No-code automation “future-proofs” the business
The world is evolving every day. More organisations launch their tools and solutions to the market, hoping to bring value to consumers. The rise of no-code platforms and automation software are just some changes that many businesses are beginning to adapt to. As the world shifts to a more digital landscape, more people need to think ahead of the curve.
The statistics for no-code demand continue to rise. Gartner states in their report, “By 2025, 70% of new applications developed by organizations will use low-code or no-code technologies, up from less than 25% in 2020.” Businesses that don’t adapt to these changes may succumb to their eventual end.
The transition from manual work to gradual business process automation
Automation makes things more efficient. Business processes usually take bulk loads of time that people can use to progress the business. Instead of finding ways and opportunities to keep expanding the business, key people are stuck in repetitive tasks. Fortunately, automation solutions and no-code development tools are now available.
The only investment people need to have is the initial time to develop the no-code workflow automation of processes and the subscription rates and payments of the platform. Companies can offset manual, arduous tasks to bots, removing room for potential human error.
Global opportunities as more venturers create industries and business niches to provide solutions for the demand in no-code automation
Naturally, more businesses and organisations in software development may look into providing no-code solutions to the market. No-code development, as well as low-code development, are still developing sectors. As one of the biggest selling points of software development, no-code already has an established and broader scope of target users – citizen developers or people who don’t know how to code.
Today, there are hundreds of no-code platforms, and while not all of them may provide the same set of products, a few stand-outs provide seamless automation solutions. The fact that more people have access to the creation and development of digital solutions without the need for coding offers companies the opportunity to code and create their very own brand of no-code platform.
Conclusion
No-code automation has undoubtedly brought about irreversible changes to the market. Industries continue to change as more people rely on solutions that allow efficient, affordable, and reliable automation work for business processes. People unearth more opportunities, choices, and advantages from all types of no-code software.
The world is becoming more digital and accessible. It provides freedom and flexibility for enterprises worldwide. Even developing automation solutions are becoming more reachable for small-scale businesses that rely on more limited resources.
