Do you use automation?

I’ve come to realize that, much like power, automation can be a good or bad thing depending on how it’s used.

Take my business for instance. I use automation to ensure that whenever someone signs up on my site or purchases a product they get the information they have requested immediately regardless of whether it is day or night. This “on demand” type of sale is exactly what people want from an online business and I couldn’t do it without some form of automation.

Unfortunately, there are also bad forms of automation. For instance – have you ever followed someone on Twitter and received a personalized, sweet direct message? Perhaps you then replied to that dm to get nothing more than dead silence in return?

That is when you realized that the warm welcome message was an automated response to your following that person or business. How does that make you feel?

I recently asked this exact question through a Tweet and on my Facebook Page. The reaction was pretty much what I expected. I cover the ups and downs of automation in this week’s Shop Talk video. Check it out and then, tell me what you think about automation!