We live in an automated world. Stores have self-checkout machines, hailing a cab has been replaced with the tap of a smartphone, and self-driving cars are now in our foreseeable future. So why not automate your marketing strategy?
Marketing automation “helps organizations manage marketing efforts across multiple digital channels, automate manual processes, and track results.” This software platform allows marketers to reach leads and prospects at all points of the sales funnel, getting the most valuable message to the right person at the right time. Here are the top four reasons to adopt marketing automation in 2016.
1. You will get maximum visibility for your content
Now more than ever, organizations are investing substantial time and effort into their content marketing strategies. In fact, according to the Content Marketing Institute, 51% of B2B firms plan to increase their content marketing spending for 2016. Marketing automation perfectly complements any content marketing plan, as it ensures that the right people see all of the content businesses spend money on. Through features such as targeted email and automated social media posting, marketing automation ensures your content gets maximum visibility.
2. It takes (a lot of) the work out of lead nurturing and assessment
Most businesses will agree that generating new leads is among the highest priorities of their objectives. While traditional lead nurturing takes a lot of guesswork and energy, marketing automation instinctively sends strategic messaging to leads that show genuine interest in your company. Using lead scoring technology, marketing automation software analyzes where a lead is in the sales funnel and how the lead engages with your organization. Then, it interacts with this person accordingly. The catch? It is up to the marketer to create the strategy behind the process. Do not worry; most marketing automation programs offer many resources to implement your plan.
3. It benefits customer engagement
Marketing automation is beneficial not only for lead nurturing efforts but also for the overall customer experience. With many of the time-consuming administrative efforts being automatically taken care of, marketers now have more time to focus on consumer-engaging tasks such as responding to social media comments or speaking to customers on the phone. Additionally, automated emails make everyone feel noticed and necessary, especially if personalized information is included. This form of relationship building not only increases your customers’ trust but also adds to their lifetime value.
4. Real-time analytics are available
One of the best aspects of marketing automation is that it gives you real-time access to data and analytics to optimize your strategy accordingly. This ensures that you have immediate insight into your campaigns’ performance and can make future adjustments. Most marketing automation software also offers A/B testing so you can feel confident when launching a campaign.
Are you interested in boosting your marketing plan with automation? Starkmedia has integrated marketing automation software like Pardot and Marketo into our clients’ websites. For more information, contact Starkmedia today.