Marketing automation is designed to fit into your existing workflow. It uses technology to plan marketing strategies and activities. It automates repetitive tasks and streamlines your efforts to increase efficiency. Marketing automation is a great tool to include in your marketing toolbox, along with all its other benefits, it also provides several ways to measure the results of your marketing strategies.
Marketing Automation is a platform used by marketing companies which includes a variety of computer programs and technologies allowing for more effective campaigns to be launched and managed more easily. It allows your marketing team to utilize multiple avenues online such as social media, online advertisements, and websites. Automated marketing’s original focus was on email marketing campaigns only, but has since become much more sophisticated. Marketing companies today use marketing automation not only for email, they also use it for lead generation, sales tracking, inbound marketing and so much more. The automated processes and analytical tools are invaluable to a successful marketing campaign.
Marketing automation was designed to simplify the marketing process, when integrating automated marketing into your current marketing plan, you should consider your current strategy and how you will implement the new technology. You should consider whether it will add value to your existing marketing plan and how you can get the most out of your new tools.
Automated Lead Generation and Management
Automating your marketing plan can be beneficial in attracting new clients as well as nurturing the relationships you have with your existing customers. With marketing automation’s tracking abilities, you can not only see who is visiting your website, you can track your visitor’s movements once they leave, which provides you with a more complete profile of your customer. This gives you the opportunity to launch a more personal, targeted campaign in order to win their business. Some of the benefits of good client management are larger deal sizes, more accurate forecasting, and a higher customer conversion rate.
Studies indicate that after implementing marketing automation and lead generation, overall leads sent to the sales department may have decreased, but the close ratio increased by an average of thirty percent and revenue per sale went up an average of seventeen percent. According to Marketing Automation Times, companies that invested in marketing automation saw an average annual revenue increase of almost fifty percent.
Another aspect of lead management, which marketing automation is having a positive effect on, is Market Segmentation. The analytical data received from various marketing automation platforms allow marketers to quickly and easily identify and categorize your customers making it easier to create unique marketing plans for each market segment. The analytical data also allows you to quickly and easily measure the impact your marketing strategy is having. Having this information available at the click of a mouse makes it easier to re-direct a campaign which is not performing as expected. Conversely, it allows you to intensify a campaign which is out-performing expectations.
Automated Email Marketing Campaigns
Marketing Automation has revolutionized the Email marketing campaign. In terms of personalization and timing, automation has increased sales, efficiency, and customer retention. Companies used to send out impersonal, blanket email blasts to everyone on their mailing list which resulted in poor performance and sales. Now, automation allows a marketing agency to create several very personalized campaigns designed to improve customer experiences, build lasting relationships, and encourage repeat purchases. A customer who receives an email specifically targeted to their needs feels like more than just a number. A well-timed, personal message to the customer can be the difference between a one-time sale and a loyal, repeat buyer.
In terms of timing, automation has allowed marketing agencies to streamline their procedures. No longer does your account manager have to sit at a computer waiting for the right moment to send that email. Today you can create and schedule multiple Email campaigns at one time and your clients will receive each email precisely when it will make the most impact. This allows more time for new marketing strategies and other activities.
Inbound Marketing Automation
Inbound marketing differs from traditional marketing techniques such as direct mail, TV or radio commercials, and spam by targeting your audience and bringing them to you. Its main focus involves strategically promoting your company and attracting clients and customers to your business. Inbound marketing accomplishes this through a combination of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), social media marketing, blogs, articles, and podcasts, as well as numerous other online platforms which are available to marketers today.
Inbound marketing attracts customers using specialized, targeted social media posts, blog posts, and SEO optimization. Using automated marketing for your social media and blog posts makes sense for several reasons. Automation allows your marketing team to schedule social media and blog posts in advance, creating a regular schedule which is easier to maintain and increases your exposure. The way Google’s little bots check for content, the more regularly you post, the more relevant your site becomes. See “How to Write Quality Content Now!” for more information on the importance of regular scheduling. Not only does consistency get you noticed by search engines, it gives your brand a certain credibility when you deliver what people expect when they expect it.
Automating your inbound marketing processes gives you flexibility by allowing your team to plan and schedule your campaigns well in advance and gives you more time to manage other aspects of the plan. There are many advantages of marketing automation. In the hands of the right marketing team, it can be invaluable. If you need help with Automated Marketing, Contact us today! Our team can help!