A common misconception regarding Marketing Automation is to assume it will fix all of your marketing problems. In reality, Marketing Automation is a tactic that allows you to determine when and how to reach your audience. Marketing Automation requires strategic planning in order to successfully engage your audience. Before deciding to commit to using Marketing Automation, here are four things to consider:
1. Develop a strategy. Marketing Automation is a dynamic and tactical approach to driving customers and sales. When deciding whether or not to go with Marketing Automation, the most important part is to determine your goals and what you want to accomplish. It’s not enough to say “I want to generate leads” – it’s crucial to hammer out how you would like to accomplish this. Your strategy depends on the different paths you can take to reach your goal. Your strategy should include specific calls-to-action in order to not only attract your audience but also qualify how interested they are in your product or service.
2. Reach your audience how they want to be reached. Another great thing Marketing Automation offers is the ability to combine different outlets to figure out how your audience likes to be reached. It is important to collect information about your audience either through direct mail, Twitter, Facebook, Email, etc. in order to reach your audience based on their preferences. By reaching your audience how they like to be engaged, you can also customize the relationship with your audience and contact them with their key points of interest.
3. Streamline your marketing efforts. By having the ability to combine various media outlets you can streamline your content and narrow down your audience. With a strong strategy, you have the ability to customize your marketing campaigns in a way that responds to what emails have been opened by your audience. Instead of sending the same email repeatedly to try to get their attention, you can customize your emails to encourage them to explore your product. On the other hand, it also provides a way to avoid bombarding your audience with information. If no interaction has been made on the customer’s side, they are removed from your email list in order to not pester them with the information.
4. Measure your success. Marketing Automation also offers the ability to measure how successful your email and other marketing efforts are. If there is little interaction with your emails, this can be an indicator to change your strategy and find a way to better engage your audience.
Have you found success in using Marketing Automation? Let us know in the comments!