Chanelle Gibson

So, you want to know about marketing automation? Well, let’s talk about it. But first, let’s define what it is and what it isn’t. Looking back on its history, marketing automation is a technology that initially took root among enterprise marketers. They started using it a decade ago to improve efficiency, scale marketing, and drive higher ROI. It is essentially a full suite of workflow integrations that make up a central nervous system for all marketing campaign activity. Platforms that only provide email marketing capabilities or social posting are not marketing automation solutions, it’s much more than that. According to Salesforce, 67% of marketing leaders already rely on marketing automation, and 21% have it in the works for the year ahead. For a clearer example of what marketing automation can really do, consider this case study. Let’s say a software client books demos with leads, but the leads keep dropping because they’re tired of so many emails about who, what, where, when, and why. It becomes an arduous and time-consuming process, so the company decides to send key info via an automation series to leads who have interacted with their content. The automation gauges their interest level and encourages them to book themselves through an integration with a calendar plugin. The sales staff saves a lot of previously wasted time and the automated emails allow them to strike conversation while leads are most receptive. Behold, the power of marketing automation. Yes, yes, it sounds great. But, is it right for your business? Let’s figure it out. You have a CRM system? How is it doing? If it can’t gauge a lead’s interest once they’re added to it, your sales team is missing valuable information. And your CRM should know what a lead has interacted with and do work accordingly. As well, do you know where a lead is in your marketing funnel? Does your multichannel marketing strategy adapt based on how a lead behaves? Marketing automation is the key to setting these things right. Without the proper marketing automation strategy implemented, there’s a good chance you’re missing out on major client prospecting opportunities. So, by now you’ve determined marketing automation is right for your business, great! According to Forbes, 82% of marketers recognized a positive ROI from marketing automation and said that it makes them more efficient. Get ready for that to be you, too. Let’s dive deeper into the real potential of marketing automation for your business. You can improve efficiency by automating traditionally manual, time-intensive processes. Acquire more leads with inbound marketing management capabilities and built-in social and message strategy. Eliminate lead waste with a bidirectional lead nurture workflow between sales and marketing. Plus, convert more leads with personalized content, lead scoring, and automated nurture campaigns. Improve your strategies with a focus on scalable, personalized communications. With these new tactics, marketing automation can give your business the ability to improve and expand sales and marketing workflows. Marketing automation is a critical tool because marketers can’t reach for the stars with disparate systems or manual processes. Being able to create, maintain, and track all content in primary digital channels in one place is a gamechanger for efficient work. And being able to catalogue and track all digital traffic provides essential data. A full-service marketing automation platform offers the efficiency and flexibility needed for even the best sales team to scale efforts to drive revenue growth and improve marketing processes. Marketing automation is truly a hidden weapon, uncover it and see what it can do for your business!