Marketing is not a fancy new term for email marketing. It is a suite of tools that enable modern marketing practices to improve the customer experience and potential for revenue.
We like to think of marketing automation as the competitive advantage that all online businesses need to add to their arsenal.
What it Usually consists of:
Generally speaking, marketing automation suites all require:
- A place to store everything. A marketing automation system is useless if you don’t have a database to organize everything you’ve acquired.
- Customer Relationship Management. Your leads, list segments, and everything else will need to tie into your CRM. Using the information “smartly” will not only drastically improve your revenue, but your customers will welcome the “extra attention”.
- Analytics. You can market all you want, but blindly marketing is just plain stupid. Make sure to have a few different components to check your ROI. Evaluate and then iterate until you are moving in the right direction.
Check out the ebook: What is Marketing Automation?
What it is not:
- A fancy name for email marketing – Not even close. Email marketing is only one component of Marketing Automation.
- A way to send spam or generic duplicate messages – Like anything else, you get out, what you put in. Although it can be used for bad marketing like SPAM – You can develop lasting relationships with your customers if you use it the way its’ intended.
- A department centric solution – Yes, the marketing department will benefit from marketing automation. However, an effective strategy will affect your entire business.
- A solution that delivers value without effort – The automation component doesn’t mean “set it and forget it”. It requires the right processes and workflows to see results. A strong strategy is one that allows for adaptability.
What are the Common components or Features?
Features generally include, but are not limited to:
- Email Marketing
- Landing Pages with smart Call To Actions
- Forms that help segment customers
- Campaign Management (Think Autoresponders and/or Drip Campaigns)
- CRM Integration
- Analytics
- Lead scoring and Management
How Can I Maximize My Success?
Your success is determined by 5 major things:
- Your strategy and process
- Your content
- Traffic to your site
- Offline marketing
- Your staff
The last one is the most important.
Make sure your staff is on board and they are aware of the plan. Marketing automation does not mean jobs are being replace by software, but actually will require intelligent employees to ensure its’ success.
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