Ten short years ago, it was rare for a company to have a marketing automation platform in place. Since then, it’s become ever more clear that acquiring marketing automation (and applying the expertise to make it hum) is a huge competitive differentiator. SiriusDecisions research indicates that 80% of the organizations with the highest-performing demand waterfalls (based on the number of won deals per 1,000 inquiries) have implemented marketing automation platforms. This tallies with other research; the 2015 report “Rethinking the Role of Marketing” from Gleanster and Act-On found that Top Performers were 20% more likely than the average organization to use marketing automation technology..
I think it is still rare for most organizations to have a marketing automation platform, but what is even more rare are companies who are taking advantage of their platform. The promise of marketing automation is very enticing as this article articulates. The benefits of a well-run marketing automation program is an extreme competitive advantage.
1. Marketing Automation Lets You Put the Customer in the Center of Your World.
List management. Marketing automation lets makes it easier to segment your lists by field values (explicit data such as title, department, industry, company size) and by implicit, inferred factors (often actions) such as web pages visited, eBooks downloaded, emails clicked on. It also lets you sync chosen data back and forth with a CRM system.
Well beyond the realm of salespeople, marketing automation lets you manage your customer base on a level of personalization that is not possible otherwise. Some say these platforms make the relationships with customers less personal, but that is a fallacy. With the amount of personalization and targeting capable with these platforms, the customer gets a more personalized experience with marketing automation.
The amount of time manual processes take to manage the customer, it is impossible for these processes to really give the best experience to the customer. There is just not enough time in the day. However, a marketing automation platform can create customized communications based on all of the data described above, including behavioral information, geo aware messaging and preferences of communication channels.
Campaign management. Automated programs can save time (which is money, yes) and take a little human error out of your programs. You can set them up to replicate successful lead nurturing or onboarding programs, for example, and they will run exactly as programmed, no matter who misses work on Tuesday. You can add prospects as they enter your world (perhaps through a form) and exit them (perhaps to another program, or to sales) as you learn more about them, or as they become increasingly qualified. You can set up trigger emails (thank-yous, congratulations, expiring trials) and landing pages that make offers or fulfill requests, showing how responsive you are.
Campaign management is a difficult process if you have different programs pulling lists, then fulfilling communications and measuring results. The amount of time saved by having a platform where everything is integrated and can trigger off the behavior of the customer is very powerful.
6. Marketing Automation Takes Care of the Established Customer
The platform gives you a structure you can scale in your retention strategy. Start with using a nurturing educational strategy to support onboarding. Move on to keeping your customers in the loop, educating them about new features, showing them new plays with old features, and keeping them abreast of changes in the industry that affect them. Take the same techniques you use to notice when a lead is warming up and apply them to noticing when a customer is looking at an upsell … or needs attention to prevent churn.
Retention is the most important part of the database. The greater the number of sales coming from your established customer base allows for the greatest growth in your business. Marketing automation at its heart is best for the established customers. The platform is designed to drive more business from this segment. Since the majority of most companies revenue comes from loyal customers, having the ability to grow this groups sales is essential to a longterm stable business model. The marketing automation platform should be at the center of this model.
7. Marketing Automation Spurs Revenue and Growth
These benefits are all pieces of a puzzle that every company using marketing automation puts together in its own unique way. The common denominator is that most companies that apply marketing automation – whether they use every feature or just the basics – will see faster growth and post more top-line revenue.
Well who doesn't want that?