What is Marketing Automation and How Does it Play a Role in Inbound Marketing?

This post is the second of a five-part series on Inbound Marketing campaigns, and the different pieces that go into them.

“Marketing automation” is a phrase you might be hearing more often. As a busy Cary business owner, you probably haven’t had time to dig into it. Let’s take a look at what that means and how you can use it to generate more potential customers.

What is Marketing Automation?

Marketing automation refers to software that combines email marketing and customer relationship management (CRM). Marketing automation gives you a place to track all your contacts and leads and then set up an email schedule to reach out to them on a regular basis. Such programs can also push out social media updates and manage some of your content.

Here’s one example of how might look:

1. A customer visits your website or landing page and downloads your free white paper or signs up for your newsletter.
2. The email program sends a “thanks for signing up” message.
3. The email program also sends the free white paper or whatever other content/deal you set up.
4. Your contact will then receive any other emails you want, set on a schedule, to help him or her through the buying process.
   1. You might send emails that answer FAQs or messages with a more sales-driven angle. The idea is that this person will see your brand in his/her inbox regularly and remember you.
5. The email program shows your contact as he/she goes through this path. You have a place to write down notes about any follow-up calls you make. The program keeps his/her information.
6. Let’s say a contact clicks on something and buys or signs up. You can set up the program to alert you, send them a different email, remove them from your other email path, or other actions.
7. A contact can always unsubscribe; the software will manage it for you.

Quick Notes about CRMs and Email

• Smaller companies often don’t use CRMs such as Salesforce, Highrise, Zoho, and others because they may not have a separate sales person to manage those contacts and leads. If you are the “sales team,” for your company, you might be using the “contacts” section of your email client. And that’s fine.
• You may use an email marketing program such as MailChimp, popular for its low cost and ease of use. Each month (or whenever), you put together an email to send to your clients and customers.

Connecting Automation to Your Inbound Marketing

As we mentioned recently in our post about Inbound Marketing, you need to create a campaign targeting a specific set of your audience. You can then set up email marketing to help you guide prospects on their buyer journey. To connect the two, you need:

• A piece of content, or something your potential clients find or receive that leads them to sign up. (You can also add contacts manually if you have a bunch from networking or elsewhere.)
• The software to execute this. Many people use programs such as Sharpspring, Active Campaign, Email on Acid, and others. Some of these programs are meant for marketing agencies -- with prices to match! However, you can find lower-level programs or talk to us about connecting automation to your Joomla!-based website.
• Text and images for the emails you’ll send and a plan for how and when. This part of the strategy is often the most challenging. One critical point: You must tailor your email messages to prospects. No one wants to receive generic emails.

A Note about Email Software

Why use software instead of your Gmail or Outlook anyway? We hear this a lot from people who are emailing a few hundred or fewer people with a newsletter each month. There are a couple of good reasons to sign up for the free version of an email program:

• Look more professional. You can design better emails with software.
• Lighten your server load. If you get to be sending hundreds (or thousands) of emails, your email provider is going to shut you down.
• Spam laws/unsubscribe. You can more easily manage your email sends and do it correctly — without risking hefty fines.

Challenges with Marketing Automation

To some degree, marketing automation has become a buzzword. We often meet people who have signed up for fancy programs, paying a lot of money for one of the big-name brands thinking it’s going to transform their business. But software only works if you use it. Smaller companies often struggle just to get their daily tasks done. Those who sign up for a silver bullet program may later realize it was a waste of money because they aren’t using it.

Instead, research the best practices for marketing automation and find a solution that fits your business size and abilities. You can always add on later! We’re happy to offer guidance for Cary business owners who are ready to take steps to grow. Contact us for a consultation.