The key to running a successful business is in having customers. To attract customers, you need to market your business. There are many ways to market a business, ranging from conventional advertising to social media profiles, and even pay per click advertising campaigns.
Unfortunately, much of the marketing process is repetitive. It’s time-consuming but essential. This is why marketing automation has become so popular.
The principle is that any simple and repetitive task can be automated, removing the need for human interaction and dramatically reducing the time marketers spend marketing.
The Marketing Automation Process
The simplest automation tasks are created by defining the expected end result, the criteria that a marketing campaign needs to reach. Once this has been established a computer can interpret the criteria and repeat set processes to ensure that the expected outcome occurs.
The data regarding criteria and outcomes are logged in a customer relationship management package, allowing the marketing team to evaluate it and tweak the programming if necessary.
Cookies are also an important part of marketing automation. Tracking cookies monitor where a customer has been on the web, allowing you to create a profile of them, their likes, and their shopping habits.
This will allow the marketing team to create targeted ads for specific groups of people.
Another automated process that collects information for a business is the contact form. The standard form includes name, contact details, and where the lead has come from. This helps to ensure the advertising campaign is successful and hitting the desired target audience.
From the info generated it should be possible to identify new leads and the best way of communicating with them.
It’s worth noting that, despite advancements in technology, email remains the easiest and most effective way to contact customers old and new.
Emails can be categorized to ensure the right campaign goes to the right people. They can also be traced, ensuring you’re aware of which campaigns are actually successful.
Why It’s So Important To Use Marketing Automation
The goals are constantly shifting in marketing. Many businesses are vulnerable to the whim of Google. If they decide to change the criteria for keywords or another field it can have a serious impact on the profitability of a business thanks to the relevance of the information posted.
Marketing automation relieves the pressure, allowing the marketing team to focus on trends and create plans for the future while the automated process takes care of day-to-day monitoring.
Ecommerce
Ecommerce is often overlooked but it is an important part of any automated marketing campaign. Getting known to the customers is only a good thing if you have a great website that has been created around the principle of ecommerce Web Design.
In short, you need to be able to sell your product online to generate a profit. If you can’t do this then all the marketing automation in the world is unlikely to help you. After all, finding you isn’t enough, a customer needs to be able to purchase from you.
