Marketing automation software provides key measurement information and helps you make better marketing decisions. We explain what it could mean for your business.
Before the internet and social networks, buyers had limited ways to obtain the information they needed. As such, the seller controlled the buying process. Today we are more informed and armed with more resources than ever but we still want to learn at our own pace.
Buyers want certain information, assurance, evidence, hand-holding and explanations at different stages along their journey to invest in a product or a service with you. This trend in buyer behaviour has forced us to change how we market.
This is where marketing automation has found its niche. Only one in five leads are ready to buy after the first touch point but you can nurture them. Marketing automation is a set of steps that is mapped out to strategically provide the next piece of communication – be it content, contact or offer – that will move the buyer towards purchase.
Marketing automation technology allows you to use software to automate touch points so it can be a repeatable consistent experience. It can provide key measurement information, tasks and workflows so that over time you make better marketing decisions.
It used to be that large companies were the only users of marketing automation technology but today the software is more affordable for small businesses to use.
So what does Marketing Automation software do?
There are a few different modules to most marketing automation platforms but here are the key ones:
- Lead Generation – via forms, landing pages, integration to social media
- Segmentation – via database (CRM integration)
- Lead nurturing and scoring – ranking leads by criteria
- Relationship marketing – communicating over time (email marketing and social media marketing)
- Cross sell and up-sell – presenting choices along the buyer’s journey
- Retention – communication and offers (campaign management)
- Measurement and RIO – measuring via criteria (marketing Analytics)
The key advantage of marketing automation is the opportunity to integrate the touch points to the customer and make their journey purposeful. Being able to measure and use analytics to make better marketing decisions is a valuable insight.