Marketing automation is a relatively new development in the field of digital marketing, but one that is already seeing widespread use in multiple industries. It refers to the use of software tools to automate marketing activities such as campaign management, data synthesis, and customer segmentation.
The main benefit of marketing automation is that it eliminates a lot of tedious busywork associated with running digital marketing campaigns. It also gives companies the opportunity to use more advanced marketing strategies, which would otherwise be too costly and/or complicated to implement.
Marketing automation makes it easier to provide personalized customer experience (CX). By using marketing automation, you can:
Marketing automation has something of a steep learning curve, at least at the outset, but with enough practice, anyone can master it. If you want to start using marketing automation to enhance your CX strategy, here are 5 tactics you can try out.
1. Pinpoint High-profile Leads
Lead quality is often the deciding factor for marketing success. And marketing automation gives you the ability to identify high-quality leads with ease.
The first step is to sort and segment your leads according to several different criteria. You can segment based on lead source (website, blog, video, newsletter), previous interactions (returning customer, referral, no previous interactions), demographic data (age, sex, location), and other criteria relevant for your line of business.
The second step is to narrow these segments further to find quality leads. To do this, think about the problems your ideal customers are likely to run into, the options they have for solving them, the amount they are willing to spend, and others. Finally, start using the information gathered to nurture leads that fit these criteria, and develop content and products that suit their needs.
2. Optimize End-of-Funnel Conversions
Your end-of-funnel conversion strategy is an essential element of CX. Narrowing down your potential customer’s choices by giving them relevant information and an optimized CTA will net you more successful conversions than leaving things to chance. Consider contacting your potential customers through a Linkedin email finder that can ensure you find the right people.
The greatest obstacle for end-of-funnel CX is unnecessary distractions. Giving prospects a bunch of unsolicited options in the end game will prevent you from closing the deal. This whole procedure can be automated via tools such as Marketo or HubSpot. You can use your segmentation lists to specify the kind of content your prospects will receive towards the end of the funnel, thus ensuring conversion.
3. Decrease Customer Churn
Acquiring new customers probably sits pretty high on your priority list, but retaining existing ones is as important, if not more.
Studies show that acquiring new customers is five times as costly than maintaining them, which makes you should be taking steps to decrease customer churn. And the most common reason for why customers churn is unsatisfactory CX.
There are Marketing automation tools that can help you pinpoint customers pain points, identify customers who you haven’t engaged with in a while, and discover what customers are saying about your brand on social media. This will give you the information you need to work with customers one-on-one to find a mutually-beneficial solution.
4. Customer Service Chatbots
Customer service is the foundation of CX. It is nigh impossible to forge long-term relationships with customers without it. However, providing customer service can be a costly endeavor, especially if you have a large customer base. Fortunately, with the development of AI-powered automation, it became possible to develop software that could perform this task as well as a human customer service rep.
Customer service chatbots are programs designed to respond to customers queries through a chat interface. Chatbots can automate your entire customer service operation. Once you set one up on your website or instant messaging profile, it will remain available to serve customers 24/7 barring regular maintenance. If you have an in-house developer, you can create your own chatbot from scratch, or you can purchase a pre-made one with the features you need.
5. Email Marketing Automation
Email automation is an integral part of modern CX. Automated emails allow you to reach out to customers at the most opportune moments, which is essential for providing a positive CX.
Email marketing automation has two basic modes: drip emails and trigger emails. The former work on the basis of sending emails in a sequence, where each email represents an ‘episode’ of content. The latter are sent out whenever certain conditions are met, such as a customer registering for your newsletter or after buying a product.
Email marketing automation is accomplished via specialized tools such as MailChimp or ActiveCampaign. Setting up an automated email marketing campaign is fairly straightforward. All you have to do is to decide on a workflow (either a sequence or a set of triggers), create an email template, and provide customer data, and you’re done.
Conclusion
Implementing marketing automation has the potential to transform your business for the better. Marketing automation tools will help you generate leads, guide them through the conversion funnel, and ultimately turn them into customers. With marketing automation, you will have an easier time integrating marketing, sales, and customer service to create a seamless experience that your customers will love. Any business can benefit from marketing automation, provided they are willing to plan ahead, set clear goals, and use the appropriate tools.
Author bio: Michael Deane is one of the editors of Qeedle, a small business magazine. When not blogging (or working), he can usually be spotted on the track, doing his laps, or with his nose deep in the latest John Grisham.
