Marketing automation is software that sends the right message, to the right people, in the right place at the right time.
A fancy way to say it is: marketing automation sends multi-channel, personalized marketing materials to contacts based on their individual activity.
I know what you’re thinking: that’s a lot of jargon. Let’s break it down and look at what marketing automation does and what it doesn’t do.
What Marketing Automation Does
Marketing automation takes the heavy lifting out of marketing. It is still necessary for a business to create information that is educational and creative, but marketing automation makes sure the right people get the right information in the right place at the right time.
To put it simpler: Marketing automation = people + info + place + time
Determining who gets what message when and where is based on rules. It’s easiest to think of these rules as if/then statements:
- If Scott does this, then send him an email/tweet/text/etc.
- If Scott hasn’t visited for two weeks, then change the website to say “We miss you.”
- If Scott looks at more than 10 pages, then email his contact information to a sales rep.
Marketing automation software allows a business to set up these rules. They could be broad enough to apply to all contacts or specific enough apply to only contacts with certain characteristics (for example, people who have visited the site in the last week).
Performing all of these actions for every contact would be impossible to do manually. Marketing automation enables the if/then rules that drive the ongoing marketing actions of a business for every individual contact.
In practice, marketing automation enables marketers to talk to an individual instead of everyone. Different content can be created for different media to be consumed at different points in time. For example:
- Did someone just visit from Facebook? Send an email inviting them to connect on Twitter.
- Did someone just submit a contact form? Send their name internally to a sales rep.
- Did someone just purchase a product? Send a thank-you email with a coupon for their next item.
What Marketing Automation Doesn’t Do
Marketing automation is the traffic controller behind the scenes, making sure the trains run on time and everything gets where it needs to go.
What marketing automation doesn’t do, however, is generate a customer’s initial interest or close the final sale.
If your marketing materials are not useful or if your email list was purchased and is thus filled with people who don’t want to hear from you, marketing automation won’t work. Marketing automation drives everything, but it doesn’t make campaigns succeed, nor does it make content more interesting.
For that, a creative mind is needed.
Similarly, marketing automation does not typically close a sale. Instead, it prepares a contact for a sale. A visitor may fill out a form for more information and automatically get an email with more details about a product. Now, they are more interested in purchasing. If the potential customer is well-informed and interested in the product, the salesperson’s job is much easier–but it’s still required.
Marketing automation is a growing trend in business because it enables a personalized, data-based approach to marketing. What’s more, marketing automation helps sales teams better qualify leads and use their time more efficiently.
Marketing Automation or Marketing Agency?
Consider your business’s greatest needs.
Do you need a tool to help your marketers share information at the right time with the right people?
If so, consider marketing automation software. It will provide greater reach and conversion for your current marketing efforts.
Do you need to create the marketing materials that will educate and inspire someone to work with you?
If so, consider hiring a marketing agency to help you create the best content for your business. What’s better is if the agency uses marketing automation to power their marketing efforts.
Here at 9 Clouds, we provide the marketing materials and use marketing automation to share our marketing efforts. If you’re interested in learning if you’re a fit, just request a free consultation.
Marketing automation is the next logical step for our digital world. As we use more devices to access information at all times of the day, our marketing needs to keep up.
Use marketing automation to help you share the right information with the right people at the right time and place.
Photo: Jonas Ginter
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