Marketers are always wondering how they can up their game. More often than not, the answer seems to have something to do with new or emerging technology. (I’d be willing to bet you have at least one email in your inbox daily trying to sell you on the latest and greatest.)
Transformation changed every aspect of business, including – and possibly especially – marketing.
So how can you keep up with the changing tides to yield the best results? Enter marketing automation software.
Riddle me this: What is marketing automation software?
Marketing automation software refers to systems that are designed to streamline, plan, coordinate, and manage tasks across multiple channels.
Besides automating repetitive tasks, these services allow you to load criteria and specific outcomes for marketing processes, which are then stored and executed by the platform, saving you time and greatly reducing human error.
The benefits of these products seem obvious and Google trending shows there’s ever-increasing interest in these web-based services and software, but what does it really mean and how can you use it?
Let’s take a look, and break down the kinds of automation into a few categories of products so you can best decide where to start.
Go with the flow?
Workflow automation is going to help you with building a marketing calendar, budgeting, and internal processes. This is particularly great if you’re working in a large scale business with complex marketing operations. It’s also extremely helpful if you’re flying solo and don’t have the resources for a team that might otherwise share the workload.
But what if you have a small to mid-size business and you’re really just wondering how to understand consumer behavior and move these prospects into the top of the sales funnel?
Marketing automation software can help you there, too. We are quickly approaching 2020, and customers are more discerning than ever. This means you absolutely have to figure out how to reach them ahead of their buying decisions.
Automation can help segment markets by analyzing consumers’ online patterns and behaviors. Using this gathered marketing intelligence helps to build the customer experience needed to nurture and qualify leads.
You better work!
The business development side of this moves further along the process as we learn about potential customers’ intentions and true interests.
You’ll want to use content marketing, SEO, social media, and email campaigns to get your prospects closer to conversion.
Marketing automation software can absolutely do that by creating lists that distribute material based on a person’s interests or prior interactions with your site. I don’t have to tell you that there’s a tremendous benefit to having emails sent at precisely the times that leads are interested in your business. If they’ve opted in or requested info via your web form, they’re asking for immediacy. This is where an automated process delivers.
Still not sure if you need it? Benefits of marketing automation software
There are some sure signs that your company could benefit from marketing automation software or services. If you’re swimming in contacts, count yourself lucky, but consider how you’re using utilizing those assets in waiting!
You need an automated process to cultivate those opportunities in order to grow them into solid leads for your sales team. Maybe you don’t have enough leads. If sales are slow, consider improving your outreach program through automation as well.
Lastly, there’s one huge (I said HUGE!) thing that an automated marketing platform can help you do, and that’s deliver the awesome content you’ve been developing.
Maybe your team has been doing amazing research on the latest and greatest industry innovations, or perhaps you have a phenomenal blog that just isn’t getting any traffic. The good news is that there’s software and services just waiting to be employed to get your digital assets in front of the best audience.
Get it yet?
It doesn’t matter if you’re in marketing or a sales leader – everyone needs to understand the differences in these software types to make the best selections for their businesses and teams while improving organizational processes.
Making a mistake on the front end can lead to clogs in the sales funnel, and lead to issues before you ever get a chance to ask questions about your CRM–but that’s a story for another day!
