In our data-driven, customer centric world the need to create engaging and timely communications is greater than ever. The humble document – whether delivered digitally or by post – remains one of your business’s most powerful communication tools. But not only do your customers, suppliers and employees expect to receive statements, invoices, or bonus letters that are high quality and specific to them, they expect them to be 100% accurate too.
The impact of inaccurate documents
Making sure the right information gets to the right recipient and that it contains the right personal or financial information isn’t the most riveting aspect of business communication….but when you consider the impact of getting it wrong, suddenly it becomes a lot more serious!
Of course in our post GDPR world this depends on which piece of information is wrong and how many recipients it’s been replicated across, but here are some of the potential consequences of inaccurate documents:
- Poor customer experience
- Damage to brand reputation
- Increase in general queries leading to additional pressure on internal teams
- Increase in invoice queries leading to delayed payments
- Compromises data security
- Failure to comply with other legal or regulatory requirements
The bottom line is that accuracy and trust go hand in hand and a business that can’t get small details right will find it difficult to persuade customers to trust them to meet their needs.
Ultimately that can mean a loss of revenue and a negative impact on profitability.
How it happens
The distribution of information can be a difficult process to manage, especially when organisations work across multiple locations and legacy systems, with individual users and teams creating documents in different ways. The lack of centralised control and quality management, often compounded by the on-going pressure on costs, significantly increases the risk of document errors.
There is a technology-driven solution that can be quickly and easily implemented, instantly reducing the risks and costs associated with inaccurate documents.
Automation = accuracy
Document automation allows organisations to regain control of quality and accuracy, enabling them to process time-critical and highly complex documents automatically at speed.
Benefits:
- It saves time
- It saves money
- It releases employees to focus on higher value tasks making them more productive
- It enhances brand identity
- It gives peace of mind for legal and regulatory compliance
How document automation works
In simple terms, clever software accepts data from any system and, using a series of rules, logic and checks, organises it in a way that eliminates the potential for inaccuracies.
For example you might decide to set a rule that rejects invoices showing zero amounts or displays a document digitally if the data contains a mobile number or email address. It also enables businesses to track a document’s journey from beginning to end, and setting automated follow-ups for documents that haven’t been opened or responded to.
Given the importance of getting document accuracy right, it’s important to find a document automation solution that can be flexible to your needs and adapt as your business and/or customer, supplier and employee preferences change.
