Marketing automation has changed the face of the marketing industry. But like with any major innovation, some people say the change is good, and some say it’s bad.

 

Marketing AutomationWhy is this? Many marketers don’t know what they want, and select software that is often neglected and eventually discarded as a bad investment.

Marketing automation takes time and effort to get it to work, but once it’s rolling, it just keeps getting better!

Needless to say, marketing automation is here to stay and will only improve from this point forward! In this post we’ll take a look at the critical components that make for a successful marketing automation business strategy.

Implement a Methodical, Strategic Approach Rather than a Plug and Play Method

Today’s consumers are more connected through technology than ever before. This is why it is critical for you to stay connected and be readily accessible for your prospects. Doing this paves the way for multi channel marketing, meaning there are now multiple touch points available to your customers where they can engage with your brand, boosting the lines of communication.

Client data can also be tracked through mobile, web, and email which in turn floods marketers with thoughts of if/then situations. Don’t worry, you don’t have to take this on all at once – small changes and additions to different communication channels can build your strategy slowly over time while increasing the intricacy of marketing campaigns.

Use the Best to get the Best

It’s critical that you include the best people within your business when deploying a marketing automation solution.

Marketing automation is not only the responsibility of marketers, but should be shared amongst all teams who tie into it. You’ll want to gather support from your product development, customer service, sales, customer service, and other functional support areas as well.
Your marketing campaign outcomes should also include details on new prospects, useful feedback, and social media engagement, which should all impact what your future operations set out to achieve.

Incorporating internal and external feedback for your future campaigns is important. Remember, this is a multi-directional path, not just a one way street.

Take the right approach

While it may be easier said than done, you need to learn how to take a more strategic approach to marketing automation.

Marketers often wish to fully automate their marketing process. This takes time and is nearly impossible to implement overnight. The key is setting realistic, attainable goals and slowly building them up to later become a maximized marketing automation process.

To start, you should establish notification messages like thank you emails to those who have visited your site and provided information through forms, as this is the most basic approach to marketing automation.

Later, you could use segmentation to deliver personal emails to certain groups located in certain geolocations and tailor these emails based on what level those prospects are in through the customer lifecycle.

Baby Steps…

You need to learn to crawl before you can walk and walk before you can run. You can’t expect to have a completely automated system right out of the gate! You need to set specific goals and methods to achieve them and in no time you’ll become a master at multi-channel marketing!

If you can focus on these three important steps, you are on the road to establishing a robust marketing automation strategy for your business.

If you’d like more tips on setting up your marketing automation tool or what marketing automation platform is best for you, contact SharpSpring today!

AUTHOR
Maryka Burger
Maryka has worked across multiple industries ranging from hard news journalism to digital tech companies and advertising. She is an expert at building online presence, and offers a wealth of knowledge on digital marketing, social media and automation trends to agencies and digital start-ups.
AUTHOR
Lindsey Sherman