In this blog post we’re going to show you what marketing automation is, look at the latest news in marketing automation, and how to make it work for your business and customers.
Marketing automation uses software to tend to the customer relationship. It is often used by marketers to handle monotonous, repetitive marketing tasks. Marketing departments will use automation for email marketing, social media posts, ad campaigns, and communication with leads and customers.
Marketing automation provides efficiency and organisation but also a more personalised experience for your customers.
The technology is designed to make communication with a high number of leads faster and easier to do.
Examples of Marketing Automation
WhatsApp Integration with ActiveCampaign
The latest arrival in marketing automation is the integration of WhatsApp into ActiveCampaign.
WhatsApp has over 2 billion users worldwide, with people in over 180 countries using it every day to communicate via text and calls and sending images and documents. There is so much opportunity here for businesses.
ActiveCampaign are specialists in marketing automation, specifically email marketing, though they have integrated WhatsApp into their systems to offer 1:1, direct communication between businesses and their customers.
Customers expect businesses to engage with them through different channels and for that communication to be consistent with their level of involvement and activities.
As Activecampaign say on their website, through WhatsApp and ActiveCampaign “you can send tailored, relevant messages to your customers automatically based on their actions and behaviours to encourage them to take action and convert”.
With the ActiveCampaign automation builder, you can send a message based on your customer’s activity on your website, whether they make a purchase or even if they engage with an email.
Why is marketing automation important?
Generating leads and keeping customers engaged throughout their journey is a top priority for many businesses. At the same time, businesses are being inundated with data and struggling to make it work for them.
Automated marketing strategies can be used throughout the entire customer lifecycle, not just through email marketing somewhere in the middle of their journey. When marketing automation is considered carefully and strategically, it can build a strong foundation for healthy, long-term relationships with customers.
The biggest benefit of marketing automation is being able to nurture leads and customers, even when you have thousands of contacts in your CRM. You can get your teams in sync by prioritising tasks and making handovers easy.
For example, a contact can be handled by the marketing team until it is considered a warm lead and ready to hand over to the sales team. Automation software can assign and notify the sales rep. Once a purchase has been made, customer service is notified and a recorded history of all conversations and history up to the point of sale can be read, to build an efficient and long-term relationship between the customer and the business.
How does marketing automation benefit the customer?
As well as bringing many benefits to your business, marketing automation is great for the customer by solving their pain points quickly and efficiently.
In this digital, omnichannel world, your customers are overloaded with information, and it can be difficult to find the answers they need. Often, they are passed from team to team, giving them a disjointed experience.
Marketing automation reduces this negative experience by connecting teams, gathering data easily, and prioritising the repetitive admin tasks.
Automation also ensures your customers only see content relevant to them and their buying behaviour. It uses the data you’ve collected to highlight the most pertinent content at the right time.
As you branch out across the various digital channels and platforms, automation offers a seamless experience for the customer. Data is stored in your marketing software so it can provide your customers with a personalised experienced like pre-filled forms, targeted emails that meet their needs, and familiar customer service. No matter how they communicate with you, they have the same experience.
Get on board with marketing automation
The world of automation technology is big. There are many options, many uses, many ways to integrate it with your personal marketing strategy.
To narrow down the best experience for you, Future Marketing are experts in marketing automation, and can put together a plan for your business.
To start turning your leads into loyal, long-term customers, contact Future Marketing at info@future-marketing.co.uk and we can help you find your way through this brilliant, technical era we’re living in.
