In today’s fast-paced digital world, keeping up with your audience can feel like a never-ending race. But what if you could be in multiple places simultaneously, delivering the right message to the right person at the right time? Enter marketing automation, the ultimate time-saver for businesses looking to scale without breaking a sweat or the bank

What is Marketing Automation? 

Marketing automation is any software that aids in creating and distributing marketing materials. This advancement is typically used for many digital strategies like email, SEO, and social media. Marketing automation typically has three different categories: 

1. Marketing Intelligence: Using tracking codes to follow your customers’ behaviors online. 
2. Business Development: The idea of bringing customers from the beginning stage of awareness to the decision stage when they’re ready to buy. 
3. Workflow Automation: The internal process that keeps things running smoothly. Some examples are budgeting or a marketing calendar.

The one thing to remember about marketing automation is that you still need to put in some work. Shocking, right? A robust marketing automation process demands strategic planning to ensure the entire system is valuable and effective. 

The Benefits of Marketing Automation 

There are endless possibilities when it comes to marketing automation. Arguably, the most apparent benefit is efficiency. Marketing automation can take on repetitive, trivial tasks that reduce your marketing team’s productivity and innovation. Marketers can take on more creative activities, such as brainstorming for upcoming campaigns. Marketing automation systems also provide more accurate and efficient data reporting. Imagine having a comprehensive view of the entirety of your marketing efforts. With marketing automation, you can! By spending less time tracking metrics, marketers can put more effort toward innovation. And when your team is spending more time on innovation, you also focus more on your audience. Your campaigns will likely be more personalized, especially with a marketing automation system that consistently nurtures your leads and tracks consumer insights. These are only a few of the many benefits of having a solid marketing automation strategy, so it’s crucial to stay up to date on all things automation. You never know how this process can boost your marketing efforts and make your entire organization more efficient. 

Choosing the Right Automation Tool: 5 recommendations

Choosing the best marketing automation software for your business should reflect your current goals. Many useful systems exist, but each offers unique benefits that should be carefully considered before diving into automation land. Here are a few options that we recommend checking out. 

1. HubSpot

We are big fans of HubSpot’s marketing automation platform. It provides an all-in-one solution for workflows, data analytics, socials, and more. The Marketing Hub integrates seamlessly with the platform’s CRM and CMS features, which is great for companies wanting to automate across the board. Where HubSpot really stands out is in its ability to create omnichannel automation. There are Free, Starter, and Paid plans with different levels of offerings, giving your business the option to decide which plan fits best with your goals. HubSpot is known for investing in its user experience with demo videos, chatbots, and industry experts on its team. HubSpot is worth the investment for marketers hoping to create a killer automation strategy. 

2. Mailchimp 

Mailchimp is the champ of email marketing automation. With easy integration into other apps and third parties, this software is ideal for marketers who love email. However, Mailchimp may not be the marketing automation solution for brands prioritizing SEO or social media. At the Free level, users can access the Classic Automation Builder. At the Essentials level exists the Customer Journey Builder - a tool that offers perks such as recommended automation and the ability to integrate content from third-party apps. Lately, Mailchimp has moved towards becoming a more general-purpose automation tool with prices ranging between $0-$350/month. 

3. Brevo 

Brevo is an affordable solution for businesses looking for an all-in-one platform. It features a strong CRM system and meeting scheduler function. Brevo offers a free plan, so it’s great for beginners looking to up their automation game! Because the system is relatively simple and user-friendly, it does not offer much flexibility in some functions. However, at the free level, it automates email, SMS, and WhatsApp - more than some paid softwares offer. If your business is searching for an easy-to-use platform with only a few necessary automation functions, Brevo may be your new holy grail! Prices range from $0-$18/month, depending on your preferred features. 

4. Omnisend 

Omnisend is the perfect software for small companies on a budget. It offers a variety of resources and advanced features that will boost marketing automation without breaking the bank. The Omnisend platform offers an entire academy of resources for learning the functions and tools of the service. This software prioritizes flexibility and access to many tools at an affordable price. However, Ominisend is narrowly focused on e-commerce selling, so it may not be the best choice for service providers or predominantly in-person sellers. Prices range from $0 to $59/month, with great benefits at each subscription level. 

5. Klaviyo 

Klaviyo is widely known for its emphasis on user-friendliness. The software provides its users an extensive library of high-quality, customizable templates. The interface is clean, balancing simplicity with variety in its tools. Klaviyo also places a heavy emphasis on e-commerce selling, so depending on the goals and set-up of your organization, this should be a significant factor of consideration before jumping right in. Although there are not many options for workflows, the ability to create solid “jump-off” points picks up the slack. Users can access pre-built options to nurture leads, encourage repeat purchases, and build customer loyalty. Price is highly comparable with a few others on this list, ranging from $0-$60/month based on preferred content types for automation. 

Although this list is not exhaustive, it does provide insights for newer marketers or companies switching focus to marketing automation. There are platforms for just about any marketing strategy, so pick one that aligns with your brand identity and audience preferences. 

Set Up & Best Practices  

Before jumping into marketing automation, you must identify your audience. Lucky for you, they are likely spending a whole lot of time online! This gives your brand the luxury of opportunity, but the tricky part is meeting your target with the right words at the right time and place. Marketing automation is the solution, but only if it’s leveraged correctly. 77% of marketing automation users say they have seen an increase in conversions. If you want to join the pack, check out these four steps to building a (great) marketing automation strategy. 

1. Define Your Goals and Customer

Set SMART goals that make sense for your business. One of the worst things a marketer can do is set goals that aren’t realistic or related to their audience. This comes back to choosing the right automation platform for your company. Your audience differs in the customer journey and preferred digital platforms, meaning your software and goals must reflect this. Get to know your ideal customer’s demographics, preferred channels, and interests. However, this is not enough. Discover their online behavior and find out what your brand means to them. 

2. Understand Your Analytics 

Tracking performance is at the core of marketing automation. Automation softwares provide up-to-date insights into campaigns and digital content. To build an unbreakable marketing automation strategy, you must learn how to take the numbers and turn them into meaningful content for your audience. Although a good platform will do much of the data tracking, a good marketer knows that tracking metrics is only the tip of the iceberg. 

3. Map Your Customer Journey 

After you’ve set your goals, identified your audience, and gathered some data, it’s time to map the customer journey. If you are unfamiliar, the customer journey is the estimated “flow” of a customer’s interactions with your company as they move through the marketing funnel. Your audience will be more engaged through personalization and meaningful interactions, which is why you need marketing automation by your side. We told you that data was important! With the help of your automation tools, you can customize every interaction of the customer journey using the information you previously collected. 

4. Monitor and Optimize 

This is arguably the most critical step for solidifying a killer marketing automation strategy. Your campaigns are now automated and pushed towards your audience. Sadly, this does not mean the job’s finished. You can efficiently adjust your customer journeys as needed by monitoring your data and consumer behavior. It is important to note that different measurements and numbers will tell you different things. Marketing automation tools can tell you just about anything, from engagement to conversion rates. Open rates and CTRs will tell you a story about the success of your email tactics, but site traffic is all about SEO. Make sure to distinguish these measurements and listen to what the data is trying to tell you. 

Data-driven strategies in marketing automation aren’t a thing of the future. They are necessary for success right now. You can create a more well-rounded and effective marketing strategy by staying on top of your data. At the end of the day, both you and your audience will reap the benefits. 

Maximizing Efficiency with Marketing Automation  

It’s important to remember that, just like other marketing strategies, it all comes down to the basics. If you let the basic elements of your marketing automation tactics lack, the entire process will lose value. This will be noticed by your viewers. Every choice should have your audience in mind, whether choosing the right platform, setting goals, or tracking data. Marketing automation is an irreplaceable tool that can take your brand from zero to a hundred if you learn to leverage it right. It’s time to get automated!