As you’ve probably noticed by now, marketing consists of a whole bunch of small repetitive actions. Writing, sending emails, checking your numbers… It doesn’t take long for these tasks to add up and become quite tedious. But what if you could eliminate these time-consuming steps completely? Allow us to introduce you to marketing automation, a remarkable tool that is sure to exceed your wildest expectations.
What’s marketing automation?
Marketing automation refers to the use of software to automate a set of repetitive actions. These generally include emails, social media activity and other types of actions that help you maintain your website.
As an example, a client might receive a welcome letter when they set up a new account. Or a post-purchase thank you or happy birthday email. Each of these actions occur automatically as a result of specific behaviour from your customers or prospects. Obviously, marketing automation means more than just emails, though email is the most commonly used element.
In B2B marketing, the tool is mainly used to automate email marketing campaigns to recruit qualified prospects and accompany them throughout the buyer’s journey.
How does it work?
The system is based on user behaviour, categorizing your audience according to criteria and patterns so you can send them targeted messages.
Internet behaviour can be evaluated in several ways. We can analyze how users navigate your website, how they respond to your emails, or their reactions to your social media posts. Using specialized software, you can adapt your marketing content according to your Internet users’ behaviour.
What happens next will depend on your goals. So much is possible with marketing automation. Some systems will let you set up automated links with social media, so a client who downloaded content on your site will be invited to follow you on LinkedIn or another platform.
For a long sales cycle, campaigns often include Lead Nurturing, which consists of giving the prospect relevant information to accompany them throughout the entire purchasing process.
Another concept you might find useful to learn about is progressive profiling. With marketing automation, you can continuously build on the information you have on your Internet users, so that you can get to know them in a gradual way.
What are the benefits?
With an effective use of marketing automation, you’ll benefit from saved time and boosted efficiency. You’ll also enjoy the perk of no longer having to complete repetitive, annoying tasks on a daily basis.
Your studies on your prospects’ behaviour will let you do a better job at identifying your potential customers and contacting them at the ideal time. This way, you’ll have the best chance at converting them into clients.
What’s more, marketing automation almost always helps you increase your sales. With automation, you will no longer have to use your intuition to find your leads. You’ll have your behavioural studies to guide you. This will give you a better ROI on your efforts to target your clients and prospects.
Why should you integrate marketing automation into your marketing strategy?
Just think of the benefits. This tool offers all kinds of advantages.
But you still need to make sure to take the time to prepare before you throw yourself into marketing automation. The value of this process depends on what you’re looking for and of course, your type of business activity.
You also want to consider how you can adapt and use automation to best suit your needs. There is a wide variety of software with different features that help you set up marketing automation. It’s up to you to decide what’s best for you.
Handy Tips
You have to stay on top of things. Automating doesn’t mean dehumanizing. Make sure you stay coherent with your brand image and keep in close contact with your clients. It’s of no use and can even be counter-productive to send a high volume of impersonal emails. You can be sure that these will end up in your customers’ trash or spam folders.
