3 Ways Automation Tools Are Increasing Marketing Productivity
Did you know that 51% of companies currently use automation tools? That number is also increasing.
It’s not hard to see why. A company that isn’t using automation tools is incurring unnecessary overhead and probably not getting the same results as those using automation software. If your company isn’t seeing the kind of marketing productivity you want, automation may be a smart investment.
Marketing automation tools are used to execute important tasks without requiring ongoing manual input from an employee. Common marketing tasks that are often automated include things like:
• Emails
• Social Media Posts
• Website Actions
• Employee Task Management
Usually, these tasks tend to be extremely repetitive, meaning they would require a major investment of time from any employee responsible for executing them. Automation frees that employee to handle more demanding tasks without sacrificing quality. Automation tools are also the driving force behind the growth of methodologies like “agile marketing”—which are producing incredible results.
Here are three exciting ways automation software is currently improving marketing productivity in unprecedented ways.
1. Focusing on Current Customers
Everyone knows it costs less to keep an existing customer than to attract a new one. So it makes sense that companies would use marketing automation tools to increase customer retention. Email and social media are two channels that are extremely effective at keeping current customers engaged and happy with your brand.
Businesses can use social media to react to customer service issues in real time. Imagine a customer has just received a new sunglass shipment from their favorite online retailer, but when they open the box the sunglasses are broken in half. The customer immediately snaps a photo and shares their experience online. Using social media automation tools like Hootsuite, the sunglass retailer can instantly identify the customer mentioning their brand and engage them to remedy the problem.
Using email marketing automation is much more of a proactive approach to engaging with current customers. Marketing automation software, like SendinBlue, allows businesses to dynamically send email messages to customers based on their behaviors.
For example, an online fashion retailer can make their best customers feel special by creating targeted workflows that are set to send VIP customers special promotions once they’ve purchased over a certain amount. These automated emails keep current customers happy by rewarding them for being loyal.
2. Rise of the Machines
Currently, most marketing automation platforms are rule-based. They’re given a set of “if-then” directions that tell them what to do in specific scenarios. A simplified example would be a social media scheduling tool like Buffer. You can program it so that at any specific time of day it will post content you gave it to your Twitter account.
However, now we’re beginning to see the next step in the evolution of these platforms: machine learning automation.
In short, this means the software can learn and, thus, predict, which leads to proactive marketing steps, instead of waiting for if-then scenarios and reacting based on rules. Instead of automatically sending out emails to prospects at the prearranged time, these platforms can now reference old data to find out when the best times are to message different segments. That produces better results with even less work from employees.
3. Turning Big Data into Actionable Information
Big data is only getting bigger. While some marketing automation platforms can essentially learn from this data and adjust its behavior accordingly, that’s hardly where their abilities end. This software can also process massive amounts of data and pass on important insights. In the not so distant past, companies needed to hire consulting firms or spend large sums on custom systems to really benefit from their stores of big data.
As we touched on above, marketing automation platforms can use predictive analysis to completely remove the human element from essential tasks like lead scoring. The user still receives the vital information they need, except it happens in a fraction of the time and with almost no human input.
Could Your Marketing Use Some Automation?
Are your current project management efforts constrained because certain marketing tasks require your employees to take action? If so, you must begin implementing automation immediately. As I’ve pointed out here, these platforms are already helping other companies reach unparalleled heights of productivity. It’s important that you join them before your competitors do.