By Isabelle Bryan
In today’s competitive business environment, it can be difficult for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to build an audience. Without an abundance of staff and funds, your reach may be limited, and repetitive tasks may eat up valuable time. Time that could be better spent elsewhere.
But how can you allocate tasks more effectively as an SMB with limited resources? One option available to you is marketing automation, a form of software that completes repetitive marketing tasks for you. If you are unfamiliar with automated marketing tools, however, you may not know where to start or how to implement them. That is where our team at Marketing Choices comes in. We can help you determine the right marketing automation platform for your business as well as how to utilize it.
What is Marketing Automation?
Marketing automation is the use of software to complete routine and time-consuming aspects of the marketing process. Besides handling tasks like email marketing, it can also help personalize your campaigns. As a result, customers may be more engaged and likely to purchase your product or service.
To begin automating marketing tasks, you first need to have a collection of customer data. This includes everything from where your customers are located to the pages they visit and posts they interact with. Once the software has this data, it can build customer profiles and groups to help you target them efficiently. Additionally, it can track audience engagement after the messages have been sent out. This will allow you, and the software, to shift your content and marketing strategy as necessary.
Of course, this is not to say that marketing automation tools take away your ability to manage the marketing process. You can still determine the kinds of messages you want to send and the customers you want to engage with. The software simply exists to give you the information you need to create these messages. Then, it automates the process of sending them out. As such, you and your team will be free to complete the tasks and projects that require a human touch.
Using SMB Marketing Automation Tools to Benefit Your Business
But what are the benefits of marketing automation for SMBs specifically? More than anything else, what marketing automation gives SMBs is time and assistance. As an SMB owner or manager, you may only have so many employees who can only do so many tasks. And if your funds are limited, hiring more employees is likely out of the question. But SMB marketing automation tools allow you to pass off many of your time-intensive marketing tasks to the software.
Other potential benefits of automated marketing for SMBs include:
- Data analysis. It takes time and effort to look through audience data, which can take your team away from other projects. However, data analysis is often necessary in order to determine how to convert leads and engage current customers. Marketing automation software gathers and analyzes data from various platforms to present you with comprehensive customer insights.
- Improved lead generation and conversion. Engaging in lead nurturing with marketing automation allows you to personalize your messaging and site to better target leads. This may boost prospective customer engagement and conversion. And for your current customers, personalized and relevant messages can keep them interested in and loyal to your business.
- Greater visibility. Consistent and targeted emails and social media posts, among other messages, can help you better connect with your target audience.
- Scale your business without worry. A growing business means a growing workload, but software can help balance the scales. Using marketing automation for efficient communication and lead generation means more time to handle other projects. It may also save you money by reducing the need for additional marketing staff.
Choosing a Platform with Which to Automate Your Marketing Tasks
When choosing a marketing automation platform, it is important to know what you are looking for. Some platforms may focus on emails and text messages, while others may primarily offer lead generation and workflow automation services. And then there are the all-in-one platforms, multipurpose software that can help you manage various marketing tasks.
The first step is to consider what you want your marketing automation platform to do for you. Some examples include:
- Analyze customer behaviors and preferences
- Help your marketing team design an interesting and engaging landing page for your website
- Email marketing. This may include sending newsletters, welcome and birthday messages, customer satisfaction surveys, and emails to help reengage your current audience.
- Social media marketing. Your personalized marketing automation software can help you determine what kinds of posts to make and platforms to post on. It can also schedule and send posts, automate replies to messages, and track customer engagement, among other things.
- Mobile marketing. This includes communication such as text messages and push notifications. When done right, these messages can be both engaging and beneficial for customers. For example, providing your subscribers with sale and coupon notifications. But be careful—if you send messages too often, they may be deemed irritating rather than helpful.
Once you know what you want the software to do, it is time to look for the best platform for your business. Consider things like price, customer reviews, and overall capabilities. And remember that you can always choose a different platform as your company and marketing objectives grow and evolve.
Integrating Marketing Automation Into Existing Systems
Another benefit of marketing automation tools is the ability to automate existing processes such as customer relationship management. This may include organizing customer data for easy access, sending emails, and assisting marketers in nurturing and converting leads. In short, it allows you to track customer interactions and interests to better engage them with personalized content. Doing so may provide benefits such as improved customer satisfaction and an uptick in purchases.
Your sales team may also gain an advantage from the use of marketing automation tools. Providing your sales representatives with access to the software’s insights may offer benefits including helping them identify and nurture leads. Additionally, automating parts of the sales process such as lead identification and data management may improve your sales team’s productivity.
Leveraging Marketing Automation to Boost Your Marketing Strategy
When creating your marketing plan, it is important to consider how you will achieve your marketing goals. As an SMB, the cost and time required for marketing can be overwhelming. But automated marketing platforms can assist you in both these areas. The software can complete routine and time-consuming marketing tasks as well as save you money on hiring. In short, it is the perfect tool for a growing company looking to improve their marketing efforts.
At Marketing Choices, we can help you implement your marketing automation tools and effectively leverage them for the best results. And that is not all. Our team of smart, social, and creative people is here to deliver colorful solutions for our clients’ marketing plans. From creating a marketing strategy to tracking your success, we can assist with your content marketing needs. To learn more about our services or get assistance implementing your automated marketing tools, contact us through our website today.
marketingchoices.com 