We’ve all seen those commercials promoting niche products that solve problems no one has, right? Well, marketing automation is almost nothing like that. Got you with the misdirect.
Every business is looking to save time and increase its efficiency. Enter stage left: marketing automation software!
From eliminating menial, time-consuming tasks to generating more leads more frequently, marketing automation is the savior you never knew you needed. Speaking of saving time, let’s cut to the chase. You’ve got a lot to do.
What is Marketing Automation?
You wouldn’t be wrong to assume it’s exactly what it sounds like. Marketing automation is making steps in a marketing process automated. It involves using Specific software to make things like social media posts autonomous. In addition, it employs software that can do tasks for you instead of dedicating a person to do them.
How Does It Work?
Imagine your social media team spends 3 whole days shooting a promo video for an event coming up. All of that time later and it’s ready to be posted. Instead of jumping through all the hoops to post it to all of your socials, you can use automation software to post it in a fraction of the time. Two big advantages are present in this example: no more time needs to be spent on this project and no one can forget to post it.
Marketing automation typically covers repetitive tasks that require more time than skill to complete. Posting to social media is just one example.
Let’s go back to Imagination Land for a different example. Dave spends 3 hours a day emailing people to generate leads. Sorry Dave, you could use marketing automation software to complete that task. Email marketing can be done automatically to streamline lead generation and free Dave up to do something else.
Customer service isn’t always a marketing function, but how can you market to consumers if you are losing unhappy ones? Customer service can also be automated! Use software to resolve issues quickly and streamline customers based on the level of service they require.
Why is It Useful?
As seen in the two examples so far, it’s useful for multiple reasons. Marketing automation saves time and frees up real people to do things that real people need to do. Forgetfulness or a busy day won’t hinder your presence in a consumer’s social feed.
However, it’s more than just posting memes automatically and emailing people. It can also make things like lead generation easier. Some platforms constantly gather data, using the software to provide catered content that will have better odds of generating leads, making a sale, or increasing engagement.
It seems silly but look at it kind of like a choose-your-own-adventure novel. Certain actions taken result in different reactions by the software. If an email is widely distributed to potential leads, the ones who ignore it may be sent a follow-up email a few days later delivering a “Hey, are you there?” message, doubling up on the original message. Instead of Dave having to manually follow up, your little robot friend will do it for you.
Someone who interacted with the email as intended may receive a completely different follow-up. Maybe they’ll receive a newsletter they subscribed to. Maybe they’ll receive an exclusive discounted product catalog. Whatever the path looks like, it is quicker and more efficient to delegate this work to marketing automation software.
Where to Look for Marketing Automation
There are a lot of marketing automation services you could use. Some specialize in certain types of automation. Others do it all. Companies like Hubspot, Mailchimp, and even Shopify offer marketing automation. Your company’s resources and needs may lead you to a different provider. This is truly just scratching the surface.
Save Even More Time!
There you have it. That’s marketing automation at a glance. If you’re looking to save time, boost your business’s efficiency, and generate more and better quality leads, looking into marketing automation may be the next step your company should take.
Hey, you must be interested in saving time and resources, and making life easier for your employees if you’re looking into marketing automation, right?
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