Unsurprisingly, today, workdays tend to be increasingly hectic. Between consecutive meetings, managing teams, planning goals and projects, analysing results, and other tasks, it becomes complicated to ensure that everything is fulfilled within the intended. Also, it is essential to ensure that marketing effort reaches the desired audience, at the right time, with the right message, to generate new leads and customers.
It is mainly in the current business environment that it is essential to talk about Marketing Automation since it is a crucial component in business productivity.
What is Marketing Automation?
As the concept itself induces, Marketing Automation allows the use of technology in the automation of actions and marketing processes, to reduce time and work and increase efficiency. As this is an essential part of any effective marketing strategy and new business development, its implementation benefits all businesses, from all sectors. However, as small as the business is, the advantages of Marketing Automation are always visible. If there is no proper lead management, all resources and communication efforts will be wasted.
Currently, on average, 51% of companies use Marketing Automation. Besides, more than half of the B2B companies (58%) plan to adopt the technology in their business. We can admit that Marketing Automation is the future, as it allows us to expand human resources and make startups and growing companies compete with large-scale companies for the attention of qualified leads.
Why is it important for the business?
A marketing automation platform aims to simplify the tasks of sales and marketing teams by implementing automated solutions that are otherwise reflected in time-consuming processes. Using a practical example, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) automation tool enables marketers to analyse, manage, coordinate and plan all their online and offline marketing campaigns, focus the offer more efficiently on multiple online channels and automate repetitive tasks. This is precisely what marketing automation refers to.
Implementing a SaaS has a significant impact on business and has numerous advantages. MindSEO highlights five major benefits of implementing a marketing automation solution in a company:
1. Increases efficiency
Automating repetitive marketing tasks, such as sending emails and publish on social networks, frees up time for other relevant tasks. Brian Downard and Ehsan Jahandarpour clarify, through the infographic “Time & Money with Marketing Automation”, how marketing automation saves time and, consequently, money. Thus, according to the authors, the automation of publications and ads in social networks saves more than 6 hours per week in social media management. Also, it always keeps pages updated with recent content. Automating emails and follow-ups can translate into an increase in the response rate of 250%.
Source: Entrepreneur. 9 Ways to Save Time and Money With Marketing Automation.
2. Enables customisation
When a user makes an online purchase, he is immediately added to a “customers” database in the automation software, as well as when a user comes into contact to clarify a doubt, is added to a “leads” database since he showed interest in the offer. All this information allows triggering specific actions at specific times, offering personalised and automatic communications. Through user behaviour, Marketing Automation allows you to identify the purchase stage and the interests of each potential customer by sending appropriate content to take you to the next stage. “Content is King” only if the message is tailored to the specific needs of each customer.
With marketing automation, custom flows are easy to set up, reduce costs, and deliver incredible results. It is about reaching the right person, at the right time, with the right message.
3. Allows access to important data
Marketing Automation has a strong influence on the analysis, as it allows to collect, analyse and interconnect customer data from multiple channels in a single panel. In this way, data related to traffic, like conversion rates, clicks, are gathered in a single tool, enabling the improvement of segmentation and, consequently, the conversion of leads. Robust and multifunctional tools provide an overview of data and allow access to real-time reports. A Digital Intelligence platform such as S.O.N.A. R TOOLS, tracks a company’s digital ecosystem and crosses all information gathered with third-party APIs, to make it easier to get suggestions for improvement. By investing in a tool designed to track and understand how marketing efforts are being reflected in sales, it is possible to gain the visibility needed to adapt the strategy according to the results and objectives.
4. Ensures consistency in communication
Ensuring a consistent user experience is critical to nurturing customer relationships. An automation tool facilitates communication consistency without the company’s high effort. The correct email configuration or social networks publications automation promotes relationships and conversions. With marketing automation, it is possible to eliminate manual and daily tasks, ensuring optimised and regular messages and content.
5. Increases lead conversion
The primary goal of business is conversion. However, they are not always successful. Having an extensive database and making the message reach many people can be reflected in high traffic to the website, but if that does not translate into sales, what is the interest? A marketing automation tool provides an effective structure for nurturing leads, but the ability to respond to a lead and establish a relationship until it engages with the company’s products and services is essential. Nevertheless, these platforms promote a sustainable process of nurturing the lead and ensure that no point of interaction is forgotten. A well-structured strategy that takes advantage of lead behaviour to deliver personalised content results in more qualified leads and greater conversion opportunities.
At MindSEO we have a process that consists of automating data analysis and marketing actions in all digital marketing channels. If you want to understand the online behaviour of your users and automate your online channels, ask for a consulting.
