The best marketing automation definition is simply this: The use of software to automate and simplify tasks.
Tasks that otherwise would take a lot of daily time and effort include sending email drip campaigns and follow-up messages, adding sales calls to your calendar, sending invoices, and posting on social media. Essentially, everything you need for customer relationship management can be done with a marketing automation strategy.
What is marketing automation software?
The software itself is the platform that works in the background to make the automation happen, kind of like your very own personal assistant. The right marketing automation software can help any company get organized, increase sales, improve the customer experience and save a tremendous amount of time. They can be a real game-changer for small businesses.
So let's take a closer look at how marketing automation systems work.
Skip ahead:
We all have that list of manual, repetitive tasks: reminders, follow-ups, reporting, drafting emails. These tasks aren’t difficult, but they distract you from the more meaningful to-dos that can have a bigger impact on the bottom line.
With marketing automation, you can set those manual processes up once and forget about them. Your automated campaigns can continue to run in the background while you focus your attention on bigger projects.
How does marketing automation work? At a very high level, marketing automation campaigns send specific content to leads based on behavior and data, with the goal of closing more sales.
Here’s an example:
View some more marketing automation examples in action.
Finally, when leads download that case study, they are automatically routed to your sales team so they can follow up with them (because these leads are much more qualified and further down the purchasing process).
Below, we’ll dive deeper into marketing automation. We’ll look at how it can be used in small businesses, the role of email marketing, how to choose the best marketing automation software, and more.
Marketing automation isn’t limited to companies with huge budgets or a seemingly never-ending list of customers. It can make a powerful impact on companies of all sizes, especially small businesses who are already strapped for time and resources. With the right software like Keap, small businesses can easily learn how to use marketing automation to best serve their needs.
So, what does marketing automation do?
Email marketing is the key asset in marketing automation. Emails are the vehicle to communicate with leads and provide endless flexibility in what you say and when it is delivered.
Email marketing automation is the act of using software to automate and simplify your email sends, decreasing the time and effort needed to execute successful performances. From drip campaigns to welcome campaigns to customer experience surveys and more, email marketing automation utilizes innovation to help target specific customers with smartly scheduled sends.
Marketing and sales automation can be used throughout the customer journey, from building awareness to cultivating a dedicated user base. It is especially powerful in the conversion stage, helping you boost revenue.
Here are three ways marketing automation can help increase sales:
How do you find the best marketing automation software? As a general rule of thumb, here are the top features to look for:
Marketing automation features can also include:
Personalize communications to all your contacts
Nurture leads without any extra effort on your part
Lead generation through landing pages and lead capture forms
Track the milestones that are important to your business
Boost conversions by targeting customers with the highest purchasing potential
Platforms like Integromat and Zapier that integrate multiple apps can automate workflows if you're not looking to adopt a whole new platform.
What if you want to cut down on how many tools you use? Keap has all of these features and more! It’s simple to use and built specifically for small business owners who want to begin transforming their business via marketing automation.
Simply put, a CRM is the place where all your customer data and information is stored. Information like name, phone number, email address, customer start date, etc. The list here is endless.
On the other hand, marketing automation software leverages the information held within the CRM to personalize your communication. Every data point that you collect into your CRM fields can be used in marketing automation campaigns.
You can think of the backbone of marketing automation as the use of client management software (CRM). When kicking off automated marketing campaigns, make sure they integrate with your CRM software and you’ll experience a number of benefits, including:
Marketing automation can be a real game-changer for small businesses. It helps you score, sort, and nurture leads throughout the sales cycle, boosting conversions by targeting customers with the highest purchasing potential. But more than that, it helps you live your dream life. It takes all of those pesky tasks off your plate and rockets you into the big leagues.
Want to see how Keap’s sales and marketing automation software works?
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