Marketing Automation and Your Business in 2017

If you were not aware of it yet, 2017 is the year in which your business should explore all the ins and outs of marketing automation (MA).

So let’s go ahead and dive into the journey of marketing automation, and why Anno 2017 your business should automatize as much as possible! (in case you haven’t started yet).

But before diving into specifics, let’s talk general marketing automation.

What is Marketing Automation All About?

Allow me to ask you three questions:

• While working on your leads, how many times have you sent the same email at least two times to different leads?
• And how many times did you follow up on those leads to receive a reply?
• And out of all those emails sent, how are you keeping track of each interaction you had with the lead?
  
  

The chances are likely that you have been sending the same email over and over, that you have sent multiple follow ups and in the end lose track of those emails (that is kinda inefficient), and that it’s a challenge keeping an overview of all leads being worked (which down the line means a negative impact on your business).

That is where marketing automation comes in, making life as a marketing director, manager or executive much (I emphasize much!) easier and fun, and eventually bringing in more business!

Marketing automation refers to the software that has the goal of automating certain tasks to increase efficiency and ultimately create more business for your company.

Many marketing gurus have done things over and over, for every single lead, which brings double work and inefficient scenarios. And many businesses, in general, may not be aware that automating such tasks can increase your efficiency and be cost-effective at the same time, giving you more time to focus on what matters for your business and less on what doesn’t (for sure doing double work doesn’t count towards efficiency!).

Examples of Marketing Automation

Here are two examples of what marketing automation can do for your business.

• Welcome Series (Workflow Emails): have you ever been engaged by a company that sends you a series of emails? Like tips of the day, or your daily motivation to sell more in B2B. Those are the type of workflow emails (a form of marketing automation) that can result in 86% higher open rates, almost three times as much click-through rates and generate 320% more revenue than promotional emails. Now let’s assume that you engage with this content (i.e. by clicking the button ‘Learn More’ inside one of these mails), automatically a marketing signal gets triggered. Because of this recent interaction (the click on the button), the next email you will receive might be completely different, aiming to deliver you value and just that type of content you have been looking for.
• Data Gathering/Sourcing: another great example of marketing automation is the ability to gather and accumulate data of your leads over time. Let’s think for a moment about your website. I am sure you have multiple points of contact or contact forms on your website. An example could be a newsletter subscription form, or a contact form. Now how magical would it be if those forms can work together? Here is a scenario: a visitor (let’s call the visitor Ramon) is on your website and decides to subscribe to your newsletter. Ramon only provided his name and his email address, which are logged into a CRM system. Ramon once visited your website again and decides that he wants to get in contact with your business. He now also provides information such as : the Company he works for, his Function and the Company Website. These two interactions (the newsletter subscription and the moment he filled out the contact form) have generated two types of input (or data). With marketing automation, it will magically appear as one contact in your CRM.
  
  

By the way, I am considering writing an article on data-driven decision making. If you are interested in this topic, mind letting me know with ?

For What Type of Business is Marketing Automation?

The good news is : marketing automation applies to any business that is looking to peak, to be more efficient, to innovate in an ever-more competing more and to eventually outcompete your competitors. A businesses that is hungry for growth and ready to take the businesses to the next level, aiming for sustainable, long-term results.

Let me give you a handful of examples of businesses that are a perfect fit for automation (and that are applying marketing automation today), as well as some examples of how marketing automation can help.

• Real Estate Companies that manage a huge amount of leads and are the need of nurturing those.
• Universities that are under heavy competition and looking for new alumni. Startups that are looking to become the most-efficient business out there working with the least resources possible to get maximum output.
• Consulting Firms that are looking for a way to better position themselves, and segment their current database of leads.
• Travel Agencies that want to share the latest stories and travel tips with their leads, to finally close the deal.
• Financial Service Providers that are looking for ways to educate their leads.

And the list goes on. The beauty of marketing automation is that it can apply to both B2B and B2C type of businesses.

Yes! MA = A Fit for my Business

I am glad you have identified that marketing automation is a fit for your business! Your next step in this journey would be to check the different solutions out there. Ojo: there is hundreds out there, but not to worry, this might be the start of an exploration to find out the best solution for your business.