A Complete Guide to Marketing Automation

It’s no secret that marketing methods are evolving from pamphlets and newspaper ads to something a little more, well, digital! Digital marketing certainly is the way of the future and if you’re in business, you’re going to want to pay attention to it. 

One such digital component is Marketing Automation. You have likely heard the term being tossed around a few times but the question is:

What is Marketing Automation and why should you jump onto the bandwagon?

What Is Marketing Automation?

Picture this:

You’re sitting on an exotic beach. You’re soaking up the sun and sipping on a crisp drink. At the same time – your business back home continues to generate new customers whilst taking good care of your old ones. 

Sounds too good to be true, right?

With marketing automation, this vision can become more than just a pipe dream. It opens up the opportunity for “free time” (a concept that many businessmen and marketers are unfamiliar with). 

In a nutshell, marketing automation refers to software that automates your marketing for you. The software can be used to execute marketing tasks in a more streamlined and efficient way. This not only saves you time and money, but it’s also proved to be extremely effective. 

“According to research administered by Marketo [1], businesses that use marketing automation can grow their audiences by 45%, enjoy 25% higher revenue, and allow sales reps to spend 22% more time selling.”

The Different Types of Marketing Automation

Promotion techniques that work

Marketing Automation can be administered in a number of ways with options multiplying by the day. Right now, we’ll focus on: 

• Customer Relationship Management Software. Having a large customer base is every business owner’s dream. Trying to manage this base, however, can be short of a nightmare if you don’t have an effective system for collecting, storing, and retrieving customer data. A Customer Relationship Manager (CRM) automatically stores the personal details of your clients as well as their purchase history. This allows each company to personalise customer interactions. We all know that a satisfied customer is a dedicated customer! 

• Email Marketing Software. Automated email marketing provides one of the best returns on investment. It’s no surprise that it was one of the first marketing concepts to be used in the digital marketing channel. Essentially, email marketing tools allow you to automate the emails you send to your contacts whilst still keeping a personal touch to your messages. You can either send/schedule messages with a click of a button or responses can instantly be sent to the sender when they communicate with you first.

• Social Media Marketing Software. Social media marketing tools can be used for scheduling, network management, and measuring the performance of your social media efforts. From posting or broadcasting social media content to analysing the response and fine-tuning a target audience, your social activity online can be automated in several ways. This type of continuous customer engagement is currently one of the most effective ways to turn audiences into customers. 

• Marketing Analytics Software. Marketing analytics tools help you to look back at your efforts to figure out what worked and what didn’t. This way can focus on the best strategies going forward for the best ROI. 

From Wi-Fi marketing to Social Media Marketing, software is now being developed to include the different types of marketing research and automation in one software package. This allows you to ultimately streamline and, you guessed it, automate your marketing efforts for the most brilliant results. 

How Can Automated Marketing Benefit You?

If implemented correctly, the benefits of automated marketing can be bountiful, to say the least. To give you an idea, we’ve compiled this list of 5 advantages that we think take the cake:

1. It helps to build relationships. Automated software can help businesses to establish good relationships with customers. By analysing the data collected on a regular basis, you will have the ability to deliver more valuable communication to your potential buyers and current customers. This way, you can keep your audiences happy while continuing to market your products/services to them. 

2. It maintains consistency. The great thing about automated marketing software is that it allows you to apply your marketing strategies and communications according to a schedule. This means that consistency can be a part of your marketing process. You can now schedule timely follow-ups for all of your customers’ replies and post on your social media channels within the best time brackets and without any delays.

3. It personalises your customers’ journey. People appreciate personal service. So, if you want to please the masses, you’ll want to make their journey with you a unique one. Essentially, automated marketing efforts can be used to send the right content to the right buyer at the right time.

4. It saves time and money. With customers and their personal needs cared for, automated software gives you time to focus on the bigger picture. It also saves tons of capital by eliminating the need to spend money on “trial and error” marketing campaigns. 

5. It gives you invaluable information. This type of software can capture customer profiles and also track their spending patterns and expectations. This means that it gives you insight into what your next steps should be. There’s not dead-end to marketing with this method. Instead, you can use the data gathered to continuously refine your marketing efforts. 

The Bottom Line…

Marketing automation can connect your prospects and existing customers with the right messages at exactly the right time. It gives you the opportunity to focus on other areas of your business while your leads are engaged and customers are nurtured. The software is an investment and if you use the tools correctly, you’ll see a return in just a few months. 

References:

1. Marketo Statistics