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What is new in the FMCG world of AI, Chatbots and Robotics?

Marketing automation is all the rage, which is unsurprising given that it takes the hassle out of planning, scheduling and synchronising complex marketing campaigns.

Sick of scheduling targeted social media campaigns and messages yourself?

Need to send a batch of emails to your biggest clients?

Let marketing automation software take care of it.

In short, marketing automation does (some of) the logistically tricky stuff for you.

And not only can this marketing tech boost productivity, by streamlining your workflows and freeing up your best players to tackle bigger problems, it can increase your revenue too.

Sold?

Here are 11 steps to marketing automation success.

1: Figure out the best automation tools for your business

As marketing automation has taken off, so has the number of tools and programmes that will help you achieve a zen-like state of streamlined bliss. So, take some time to consider your options and make sure you’re investing in the right software from the get-go. Of course, this ties into the need to…

2: Define your goals

As with most things in life, you’re unlikely to achieve without a goal to strive towards. The same goes for marketing automation. So, take time to work out and actively define your objectives before investing in marketing automation tech. Do you want to focus on your email marketing strategy? Or is social something that needs slimlining? The more considered your approach, the better your results.

3: Take it slow

Even after defining your goals, it’s important to go slow in the rollout phase. Don’t try to do everything at once when it comes to marketing automation! Spend time running some A/B tests and figure out if your aforementioned goals are being achieved and, most importantly, how. Not everything will work for everyone, nor can you figure it all out on paper beforehand.

4: Get the team onboard

Marketing automation can be…overwhelming at first. It’s important to make sure your entire team has at least a general overview of what it entails, why it’s important and what you’re hoping to achieve. So, endeavour to dedicate some precious meeting minutes to explaining your new strategies and software and make sure everyone is working towards a common goal.

5: Delve into the data

Congratulations! Your marketing automation strategy is going well, you’ve figured out how best to use it (for now) and it’s giving great results. Now’s the time to dig into the data your software will likely be throwing up and capitalise on it. Does one big client respond particularly well to a certain technique? Double down on that. Instead of sending email after email or prepping endless social posts, dig into the data and personalise your marketing further.

6: Develop your content

Now you’ve freed up plenty of time in your daily schedule with marketing automation, it’s time to make use of it. Work on creating a backlog of content, ready to be mailed out, posted, or shared at the drop of a hat as and when your marketing strategy calls for it. As the Scouts say, ‘always be prepared’.

7: Recognise the nuance needed

Sometimes, marketing automation is understood to be synonymous for ‘generic email blast’. Really, it couldn’t be further from the case, as marketing automation helps you create and implement highly customised marketing strategies. But it’s worth keeping in mind that nuance is needed when using this software—make sure your content isn’t the same old, same old for everyone.

8: Don’t forget to run quality control from time to time

However, that’s not to say that once you have marketing automation up and running within your organisation that you can just…forget about it. Sure, you can dedicate your time to bigger picture problems, but it’s always worth staying on top of your strategies and optimising when and where possible.

9: Remember that marketing automation isn’t a quick fix

As you might have gathered, marketing automation can be an extremely beneficial and cost-effective (in the long run) business solution. But it doesn’t mean it’s a one-stop marketing shop. You’ll still need to do the heavy lifting when it comes to generating leads. However, your marketing automation can then help you work to maximise those leads.

10: Bring the sales team into the mix

Marketing automation might seem like it’s only useful for the, well, marketing team. But sales and marketing should go hand-in-hand and marketing automation strategies, when done right, can nurture that. For example, if a sale isn’t quite ready to be closed, you can use marketing automation to strategically target that client and, hopefully, lead to a sale.

11: Finally, don’t automate everything

Once you get a taste of the good life, it can be easy to want everything on a timer. Sadly, it’s not possible (or wise) to automate everything, because sometimes you just need the personal (rather than pre-programmed) touch. Recognise what situations call for that and draw your automation line there.

Are you thinking about implementing marketing automation for your business? Hopefully the above steps will prove helpful!

Or maybe you’re just getting started in marketing? At Vertical Advantage we work to transform your career and can help you find a job in the marketing world. Then, you can put the above marketing automation skills to good use! If you want a partner to offer you the best professional advice to help your career development, then drop us a line for a chat.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Vertical Advantage .