Friday 12 November 2021
Marketing is a key function for any business, no matter your size or industry. You need to attract sales, leads and customers, then retain that interest to keep the business running, and that’s where marketing comes in.
The trouble is that marketing can be laborious. Repeated processes in planning and scheduling content, maintaining endless contact records, continuous relationship management and the merry go round of annual campaigns and projects; it’s a lot to keep on top of, and it makes marketing the perfect discipline for automation.
So how does marketing automation work?
We know that automation saves time and effort, because using software to automate marketing activities removes the need to repeat certain tasks, such as posting ad campaigns, social media posts or sending emails out. Scheduling in this way can also deliver a better experience for your audience, ensuring you reach them at a time that’s more convenient or preferable.
Using automation also allows you to coordinate messaging more effectively across different channels, strengthening your brand and your offer. Recent studies show that 80% of businesses that use automation tools experience more leads, and 77% see increased conversions.
From the point of learning about your company through an advert, article, conversation or post online, your potential customers will go through several steps before they finally sign on the dotted line and commit to a purchase or a contract. You want your marketing automation to ensure that journey is as smooth as possible, giving them the right information at the right time to build an effective relationship that can continue beyond the initial sale.
What marketing processes can be automated?
The industry for automated marketing is booming, and there are options for almost anything you can think of when it comes to promoting your business, such as:
- Social media posting and advertising
- Email marketing
- Lead generation
- Lead nurturing
- Customer relationship management
- Monitoring marketing performance
- Managing your strategy
How to make automated marketing work for you
Using automation is not a simple fix and systems must be used and monitored effectively to ensure your business can grow and your marketing activity can develop over time. As well as the ‘quick wins’ of automating your marketing, such as saving time, reducing duplication, and coordinating across multiple platforms, there are other long-term benefits too.
Automation can provide real time data and analysis of marketing performance, which means your staff can react to opportunities quickly. Not only can this support your strategy for marketing activity, but in a world where social media stories can evolve and go viral in hours, such capability could prove invaluable.
The same can be said for budget management. Using automated systems you can quickly see if your digital marketing spend is yielding results, and adjust accordingly. This data can allow you to quickly recognise campaigns that are underperforming, remain agile to market changes, and stay ahead of competitors.
It’s important to remember that there can be downsides to automation, too. Digital processes can not replace human interaction, and the best strategies include a delicate balance of both. Customers can quickly see if they are talking to a bot or a person, and although tools like chatbots can be useful in managing enquiries online, for example, they cannot be relied upon to develop meaningful relationships in the same way.
We recommend that the best systems are custom built alongside your existing processes to ensure that you are using automation that works for your business, and your customers. This not only means that integrating with your day-to-day operations will be smooth, but that you can get the most from your investment and ensure the results are exactly what you need.
