It’s a new year which is usually the time when people evaluate everything and decide on making changes that will help them improve and grow in the coming year. The same philosophy can also apply in the business world too. Now that 2021 is in full effect what changes are you planning to make this year? How will you help take your business to the next level?
According to most digital marketing experts, marketing automation is the way to go. With more and more companies implementing marketing automation in 2021, and the fact that Google noting an increase in searches on the topic, we thought now would be the right time to discuss the top 8 reasons we think every business should implement marketing automation this year.
1. Save time by automating your marketing activities
Most companies are guilty of doing manual work or having manual processes, which can be too time consuming and wasteful. By implementing marketing automation, you can easily begin to automate recurring tasks. This can help save you and your team loads of time. And we all know time is money.
Another added bonus is that by automating manual processes, you’ll free up your time and that of your marketing team. This will allow everyone to focus on more important things like optimizing your current campaigns or creating new ones.
2. Make sure your marketing and sales teams are on the same page
Implementing marketing automation tools like HubSpot can help you connect your marketing and sales teams. By sharing data and customer info, both teams can be aware of what the other side is up to.
The funnel can begin with your marketing team running lead generation campaigns on social media. These leads get tagged and added to a central database, which can be viewed by both teams. All relevant leads will pass over to sales, which can help increase conversions.
Marketing and sales go hand in hand and implementing marketing automation tools can help you better connect these departments and ultimately get everyone on the same page.
3. Reduce the need and cost for a dedicated marketing team
New and small business owners tend to think they need to hire a full team of marketing experts with different skills and knowledge. For example, they may believe they need an SEO specialist, a PPC expert and an email marketing guru. They would be wrong.
Today marketing automation gives you the tools you need to do everything with a limited marketing staff. This means you can easily set up campaigns, automate different processes, and get detailed analysis on your campaigns all in one system. Implementing marketing automation can help reduce the need for more staff and help you save money as well.
4. Generate better leads
Another great incentive to implement marketing automation is to help you better filter your stream of new leads. The idea that one size fits all is outdated and no longer an effective way to reach your audience and convert your leads. Today most people are looking for personalized content and offers that speak to them. Using marketing automation, you can funnel your leads through different customer journeys depending on multiple different factors.
For example, send leads to specific funnels based on which channel they came from (social media, PPC, email campaigns, etc…) or perhaps by which campaign they responded to. Maybe they filled in some personal details like age, sex or location which can also better filter your potential leads in the correct funnel. Ensuring your leads are properly categorized can ensure that each lead will receive the most relevant content and offers you a better chance to convert them.
5. Nurture your leads
Marketing automation tools can help you better nurture your leads. The idea that someone who visits your website for the first time will take action is more often than not false. Today many potential leads and customers like to compare and visit your site a few times before deciding to make a purchase or take any other action you want them to perform.
By implementing marketing automation, you can create custom-tailored funnels that your potential leads will go through to better engage with them and nurture them. By sending them relevant and useful content or information, they are more likely to convert. You want to build long-lasting relationships over time with your user base.
6. Target your leads across multiple channels
In order to generate better results and get more conversions, more and more companies are choosing to implement a multi-channel marketing plan. Fancy words aside, multi-channel marketing means using different channels or platforms to reach your users.
Some examples of multi-channel marketing include social media like Facebook and Twitter, newsletters and email funnels or sending text messages. Combining different channels can help increase the effectiveness of your campaigns, which will lead to more conversions.
7. Boost your customer’s lifetime value
It is much cheaper to retain customers than to bring in new ones. Unfortunately, for many, it may seem like once you’ve accomplished your goal of converting a potential lead to a customer, that’s where everything ends. However, this would be false.
Now that you have their attention and have gained their trust you can start looking at potential up-sell offers. This could mean sending offers that relate to some product or service they previously purchased. Another way to increase lifetime value is to offer them cross-sell offers. Here you can promote products and services from other companies you have partnered with. This allows you to receive a commission or percentage on the sales from the cross-sell. Either way you should always engage with your users and look for ways to extend their lifetime values.
8. Schedule posts and blogs in advance
Another great reason to start using marketing automation is the ability to schedule your campaigns in advance. This allows you to prepare everything ahead of time and schedule it to go out when you need via the relevant channel. This can also help boost your campaigns’ effectiveness as you can schedule blogs, social media posts and PPC ads to start running at the same time to help boost your chances to get new leads and convert them.
If you’re looking to implement a marketing automation strategy or to start working with marketing automation tools in 2021 send us an email to marketing@threeedots.com or visit us at https://threeedots.com for more information.
