Marketing automation increases efficiency and saves resources
Every marketing professional is aware that there is no way around marketing automation today. At least not if you want to run successful lead management.
Collecting data and generating leads is only half of the story; it is necessary to turn them into qualified leads and finally welcome as returning customers. And – if anyhow possible – do it in an efficient and resource-friendly way. This is exactly the point where marketing automation can provide valuable services.
Focus on the important subjects
Marketing automation usually refers to a software that carries out certain processes automatically. These processes can include email campaigns, lead nurturing, lead segmentation and lead scoring. A note in advance: Marketing automation is not a magic bullet. This means that you cannot achieve success without precise planning, a good strategy and valuable content.
The software takes over routine tasks so that you can focus on strategic planning and creative work. Time and costs are reduced, qualified leads are generated faster and more business deals are completed.
It all starts with data
Collecting data is the first step on the way to gain more customers. As soon as a user is on your website, his surfing behavior can already be analyzed and saved: which page did he come from, how long did he stay, which links did he click, etc. When he fills out a contact form, it is easy to assign these data to him. And once a user registers for your newsletter, you can use so-called drip campaigns for lead nurturing.
Lead nurturing with drip campaigns
A drip campaign is usually an e-mail campaign consisting of several successive emails. These end up in the lead’s mailbox “drop by drop” and are precisely tailored to his behavior and needs. The mails are triggered by certain (re)actions of the lead or sent at fixed periods. Lead nurturing means maintaining leads, forwarding them on their customer journey and leading them to purchase decisions. That’s exactly what drip campaigns can do very efficiently. This is how you deliver valuable content to the lead and collect more data about him in return. Again, these data will be used to provide more of the relevant content to the lead – and at the right time. This continues until a prospective customer becomes a qualified lead and finally a loyal customer. (Similar to inbound marketing.)
Performing this process manually for each individual lead would be beyond any human resources and budget. Marketing automation software makes it much easier: Data can be tracked better, automated workflows simplify campaign planning and execution, and content is easy to personalize.
What is the best time for a drip campaign
There are many cases where a drip campaign would pay off. Here is an example: When a lead fills out a form, he receives a link to a white paper or a free e-book. When he downloads the content, you send him a case study and a discount voucher in addition. Even after a customer has made a purchase, you should continue to maintain the relationship with him and send him tips on how to use the product or cross- or up-selling offers. If you don’t hear from a lead for a while, a reminder email is appropriate, which could be followed by a voucher to motivate the contact to further interactions. Only if this does not lead to success, it is time to reconsider the campaign for this lead.
Relevant and individual
Both sides benefit from a drip campaign – your company as well as the (potential) customer. The emails can not only be automated, but also personalized to a high level. This way, the lead does not receive any irrelevant mass mails, but relevant content that is oriented to his user behavior. The lead’s reaction to a specific message then determines which content he receives next. Due to marketing automation, customer satisfaction and loyalty can also be increased.
A solid basis is the key factor
The preconditions for a successful drip campaign are a good knowledge of the buyer personas, a realistic objective, a good strategy and appropriate content. According to any marketing campaign, you should know in advance when, why and with what you want to achieve something. The key advantage of a drip campaign: With a relatively small amount of content, a lot of people can be reached and picked up at exactly the right place and at the right time – once initiated, the entire lead nurturing process runs practically by itself.
Reviewing and customization at its best
The whole subject is still less final than it may sound at first, because you can intervene at any time and adjust the individual steps exactly. Marketing automation allows you to analyze and evaluate the measures you have taken, which you can use for both your current and future campaigns. This way you can easily keep track and remain flexible at all times.
Faster to success: With classifying and evaluating
Not all leads are on the same stage of their customer journey at the same time. Neither do they all have the same interests or needs nor the same position in the company. In order to play out exactly the appropriate content at the right time for each individual lead, it is important to classify and evaluate the leads. Marketing automation is as well perfect for lead segmentation and lead scoring.
Based on the data that a lead leaves behind about himself – through surfing behavior, contact form, social media, etc. – he can be assigned to a specific, previously defined group. Therefore you can decide which group receives which content. Depending on how the lead reacts to this content – which emails he opens, which links he clicks on, which materials he downloads, etc. – he is being assigned a certain number of points, which will be added. This helps to evaluate the lead by how far he has progressed in his willingness to buy. This allows you to better assess when the lead is ready for a sales talk or offer, which increases the chance that he will actually become a customer. Properly adjusted, the marketing automation software executes these steps in a fully automated process.
dietz.digital leans you a hand on your way to marketing automation
Anyone who wants to generate leads from data and customers from leads is well advised to use marketing automation. But the purchase of software is not enough: The basis of successful marketing automation is still effective (online) marketing. Support of a specialist can make all the difference. Our team at dietz.digital looks forward to assist you with the conversion and/or take over the complete further support of a marketing automation solution. So, you can focus on your products or services – we take care of the rest.