Automation in marketing – If you aren’t automating, you aren’t on the right path

As super hard workers, we are used to manual tasks. We are used to doing things the hard way and achieving results, and until recently we were conditioned to believe that hard work was the only way to succeed. The wind is blowing in the other direction now, and we are living in the era of smart work.

Automation is the pivot of smart work in this dynamic, intriguing world that spends most of its time online.

Now, let’s talk about marketing. Marketing is the life-supporting atmosphere for a business and digital marketing is the oxygen. Where would you be if you hadn’t marketed your product online? Not where you are right now, definitely.

With evolving trends, demand, and changes in the online world, marketing has become unpredictable, obnoxiously competitive, and tiresome. That directly means that you need more time on your hands and more manpower. Will you keep hiring then? Will you work 7 days a week just to keep up with the booming marketing industry? If you did, you would be working hard, not smart.

Working smartly would be to automate tasks so that you focus on other important aspects of the business without working your bottom off round the clock. Let’s take a look at some facts to underscore what we are saying.

Marketing automation statistics that will open your eyes, mind, and soul

• More than 80% of marketers use automation software tools to accelerate lead generation. (LinkedIn)
• In 2017, 67% of marketing leaders were using at least one marketing software tool. That percentage has only gone up since. (Salesforce)
• As of 2018, almost 50% of businesses were using email automation. (Emailmonday)
• Businesses that have used automation tools for lead management have reported at least a 10% rise in revenue within 8-9 months. (Strategic IC)
• Almost 80% of the best companies have been using automation tools for at least 3 years. (Venture Harbour)
• By 2023, the annual spend on marketing automation will likely reach $25.1 billion. (Martech Today)

Is saving time the only benefit? (You ask, as if that’s not a good enough reason). The answer is, no. Marketing automation gives businesses a wide range of benefits, which is why the numbers above are so strong. Here are a few:

• With automation software in place, you won’t have to hire so much. One employee will be able to do what 10 (or even 50) employees did manually. Thus, staffing costs will drastically go down.
• What’s happening to all the qualified leads? Is someone following up? With automation, every single step will become transparent and every person involved will become accountable.
• Automation helps better lead management and that directly increases revenue.
• There’s harmony, seamlessness, and ownership within each department and in the entire team because the roles are set and the process is defined.
• It helps you improve your marketing processes and target more potential customers effectively.
• Your targeting will get much better than it is currently, leading to lower cost-per-click and more qualified leads.
• Social media campaigns will become a breeze because you will be able to schedule everything, analyse the right times to post, and check their progress in one shot. This will save you a lot of time.
• The reports will be more concentrated and accurate, telling you what’s performing & what’s not so that you act accordingly.

To say it in a few words, automation in marketing benefits every sphere that’s involved, thereby uplifting the way a company works internally and with clients.

Marketing automation tools – Because we give answers as well

From helping you send targeted messages, to delivering emails, generating leads, and tracking those leads, there are marketing automation tools for a wide range of processes. We have here a few of the best in the market today:

Hubspot

This inbound tool is your Bible for content marketing. It will help you with marketing, sales, and CRM among other things. You can either choose one tool or a stack of products based on your needs.

Price: Starts at $200 for 100 contacts

AdRoll

Get all your ad campaigns in line with AdRoll. It makes retargeting on social media platforms very easy. Its features include expert optimization, analytics, segmentation, dynamic LiquidAds, and conversion reporting.

The platform lets you choose the features you need and gives you a quote according.

Price: Customized with a 2-week trial

InfusionSoft

This one will help you get organized quite easily. It is considerably more affordable than other tools. It automates repetitive tasks such as payments and follow-ups. It also helps create a marketing/sales strategy and close sales efficiently.

Price: Starts at $99 for 500 contacts and 2,500 emails (monthly)

BuzzBuilder

This tool will help you find prospective leads and create cold email campaigns. It also offers a website form builder, lead nurturing, analytics, lead tracking, social media marketing, and alerts.

Price: Starts at $250 per month per user (2,500 contacts)

Marketo

With this cloud-based tool you can build and sustain customer relationships. It helps you increase revenue through mobile marketing, lead management, etc.

Price: Free trial and no set-up fees.

This is just a drop in the ocean of automation marketing tools. We shall cover more in our articles to come but for now, we hope we have established the importance of automation in marketing.

We shall end this by reiterating – if you aren’t automating, you aren’t on the right path.

Go on, get set and automate!