Marketing Automation: Using It Right In Your Marketing Funnel
Marketing automation has become the de facto way of larger companies on the Web nowadays. Does it mean it cannot be used by startups and small business? Can't smaller business take advantage of automated marketing due to the cost that comes with the tools and platforms to be used.
Day-to-day marketing
For the uninformed, marketing automation is the use of applications, platforms, services, and even contractors to do the marketing for you. Marketing automation takes away all menial and repetitive tasks involved in day-to-day marketing. Often it comes with generated, captured, and analysed data that can is helpful in shaping your future marketing campaigns.
Reduces costs and human error
Primarily, marketing automation helps in managing the user’s marketing funnel. All content (videos, images, audio, and text) still comes from the user. It only takes away tasks like emailing, managing contact information, obtaining lead information, and generating reports and analysis. Using a marketing automation does not ensure 100% success or ease of conversion. Aside from making the marketing process easier, it reduces costs and human error. No more hiring people to perform easy but mundane repetitive tasks. Prevent wasting staff’s time and skills. Your opportunity to give them greater responsibilities in content creation, dealing with customers or leads. Or, guiding prospects through a buyer’s journey.
No guarantee for succes
Marketing automation is no guarantee for success nor a guarantee for failure. Marketing automations fail due to users’ lack of knowledge regarding marketing and the underutilisation of the platform (or tools) chosen.
How can you increase your chances of succeeding in marketing automation? First, as marketer try to understand the basics and intricacies of online business and the concepts of marketing funnel. Do research and stay tuned on the latest marketing trends, lead and customer behaviour. A good example of an improper utilisation of a marketing automation and the lack of understanding any marketing conversion strategy and current trends is a person using the platform to send emails every day to everyone in his contact list.
Two things that ensure failure of this person’s campaign.
- Don't send daily emails just for the sake of having email marketing automation tools on hand.
- People hate receiving repetitive emails from the same person or company over and over again. Great chances that the marketer’s email address gets blacklisted or flagged as SPAM. In Canada, you can get sued for spamming or emailing someone without his implicit consent.
KEY TAKEAWAY
In a nutshell, using a marketing automation will just make your life easier by freeing you from time-consuming repetitive tasks; however, it will not pave you an easy way to success. All the crucial tasks and important decisions that can lead you to your goal will still be in your hands.
