Denis Robinson
Customer
If you have looked up ways to get better results from marketing, you would inevitably come across the term marketing automation. Whenever we see the word automation, we expect something fairly advanced.
But is marketing automation worth it? The answer is a resounding yes, but there’s a catch. If your fundamentals are not strong enough, no amount of automation will do the work for you.
That said, automation does offer some game-changer benefits to marketing teams. Chances are, you are already using some form of marketing automation without being aware of it.
Let’s find out what marketing automation can and cannot do.
Automation can make you more efficient
Among all the other benefits of marketing automation, efficiency remains uncontested. There is no doubt that marketing automation tools make you a more efficient marketer. If you were reaching 10 people in an hour, automation will let you reach 1000 people in an hour. Yes, the degree of difference is that significant.
Marketing automation tools focus on eliminating manual tasks. If you are writing and sending welcome emails for each new customer or client, you can automate the process instead. Once you have done that, you can sit back and relax and let all your welcome emails be taken care of.
This is one of the many ways in which marketing automation makes you more efficient. No matter how you choose to use it, marketing automation will always make you a more efficient marketer.
Customer acquisition
The journey of a customer until they reach your landing page is a very interesting thing for marketers. Automation can let you influence this journey in several ways. Without automation, all you can do is run ads and hope that people click on them.
Targeted advertising is one of the many use cases of marketing automation. However, targeted advertisement along may not land people on your landing page. But when you add other factors like content and influencer marketing, the chances of converting leads increase significantly.
Customer support
Marketing automation also includes ways to automate your customer support system. If someone wants to know something about your products or services, they can let automated systems handle the query.
This offers two benefits: customers no longer have to wait for a query, and you do not need to have dedicated personnel for answering queries.
These are some of the definite assistance that marketing automation offers. As you can see, the core of these benefits/advantages is undeniable. But does that make marketing automation a one-size-fits-all solution? The short answer is no.
What automation cannot accomplish
There are several things that automation cannot accomplish, not on its own at least.
Efficiency and quality
Marketing automation does make your marketing efforts faster. But does it make it better in terms of quality? Not necessarily.
Let’s take the example of automated email response. While you can automate your emails, you cannot automatically make them more convincing emails. You will still have to use your copywriting and designing skills to make the email worth paying attention to.
Targeted ads
Marketing automation makes targeted advertisement easier. Just as with the email, it doesn’t have any impact on the efficiency of the ads themselves.
Targeted ads can be useful for marketers, but they can be very annoying for buyers. Poorly crafted ads do not make the cut, irrespective of whether they are targeted.
The assumption that marketing automation will handle every aspect of marketing is wrong. There are several nuances to take care of, and a blanket solution would never address each component equally.
How to use automation in marketing?
The right way to use automation in marketing involves achieving a balance between what automation does and what you do. Automation makes everything faster. If you have a bad idea, automation will help you execute it faster.
You must take into account all ramifications of marketing automation before implementing it. There are several ways of using automation, but not all are equally effective.
Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Automate only those aspects of marketing where increased speed/reach will make a difference
- Make sure you can oversee the functioning of all marketing automation tools
- Analyze the cost of using marketing automation tools. If it is not generating enough returns, you can consider giving it up
- Use tried and tested marketing automation tools. Not every new fad is worth the investment
- Set clear objectives on what you want to achieve from your marketing automation tools
Conclusion
Marketing automation tools are one of the best innovations in the marketing space. Using it the right way can take a business to the next level. However, remember that you cannot rely on automation for every component of your marketing effort. Keep these factors in mind to make the most of marketing automation tools.
