Marketing Automation

The Marketing Automation Story: Increasing Efficiency, Celebrating Success

Marketing professionals already know: Today, there is no way around marketing automation. At least not if you want to manage leads successfully. Collecting data and generating leads is only half of the equation; the goal is to turn that into qualified leads and ultimately (recurring) customers. And all this should ideally be done efficiently and with as little human effort as possible. This is where marketing automation can provide valuable services.

Focusing on What Matters

Here in our marketing automation story, we mostly refer to software (we use HubSpot) that automatically executes defined processes. These processes can include, for example, email campaigns, lead nurturing, lead segmentation, and lead scoring. But to say in advance: Marketing automation is not a cure-all. That means, without precise planning, a good strategy, and valuable content, no successes can be recorded.

Routine tasks are handled by the software so you can focus on strategic planning and creative work. Time and costs are reduced, qualified leads are generated faster, and more deals are closed.

Data is the Beginning

Collecting data is the first step towards more customers. Once a user is on your website, their surfing behavior can already be analyzed and stored: From which page did they come, how long did they stay, which links did they click, etc. If they fill out a contact form, it's easy to assign this data to them. And if a user subscribes to your newsletter, you can use so-called drip campaigns for lead nurturing. Marketing automation thus offers many ways to target interested customers more effectively.

Lead Nurturing with the Help of Drip Campaigns

A drip campaign is usually an email campaign made up of several consecutive emails that land in the lead's inbox "drop by drop" and are precisely tailored to their behavior and needs. The emails are triggered by specific (re)actions of the lead or predetermined times. Lead nurturing means taking care of leads, advancing them on their customer journey, and leading them to a purchasing decision. This can be achieved very effectively with drip campaigns. For they provide the lead with valuable content for them and collect further data about them in return: this data is then used to deliver more content that they are looking for – at the right time. Until a prospect becomes a qualified lead and ultimately a loyal customer. (This is how it should work, for example, in inbound marketing.)

Executing this process manually for each individual lead would exhaust any personnel resources and the budget. With marketing automation software, this can be handled much more easily: Data can be better tracked, automated workflows facilitate campaign planning and execution, and content is easy to personalize.

When is it Time for a Drip Campaign?

There are many situations where a drip campaign would be worthwhile. Here’s an example: If a lead fills out a form, they receive a link to a whitepaper or free e-book. If they download the content, you send them a case study related to a discount voucher. Even after a customer has made a purchase, you should continue to nurture the relationship and send tips on usage or cross- and up-selling offers. If a lead hasn't heard from you for a while, a reminder email is appropriate, which could be followed by a voucher to motivate them to continue engaging. Only if that doesn't work is it time to reconsider the campaign for that lead.

Relevant and Personal: A Marketing Automation Story Crafted for People

Both sides benefit from a drip campaign – both your company and the (potential) customer. The emails can not only be automated but also personalized to a high degree. Thus, the lead does not receive meaningless mass emails, but relevant content tailored to their user behavior. The lead's reaction to a particular message then determines what content they receive next. Thanks to marketing automation, customer satisfaction and loyalty can also be increased.

The Foundation Must Be Right

The prerequisites for a successful drip campaign are good knowledge of the buyer personas, realistic goal setting, a good strategy, and suitable content. As with any marketing campaign, you should already know in advance who, when, why, and with what you want to achieve what. The key advantage of a drip campaign: With relatively little content, you can reach a large number of people and pick them up exactly at the right moment – once set in motion, the entire lead nurturing process practically runs on its own.

Reviewing and Adjusting Made Easy

However, it is less final than it may initially sound, as you can intervene at any time and adjust the individual steps precisely. Marketing automation allows for a detailed analysis and evaluation of the measures taken, which you can use for both your current and future campaigns. This way, you can easily keep track and remain flexible.

Categorizing and Evaluating Leads Leads to Success Faster

Not all leads are at the same stage of their customer journey at the same time. They also do not all have the same interests or needs, nor the same position in their respective company. To deliver exactly the right content to each individual lead at the right time, it is important to categorize and evaluate the leads. Marketing automation is also perfectly suited for lead segmentation and lead scoring.

Based on the data a lead leaves about themselves – through surfing behavior, contact forms, social media, etc. – they can be categorized into a specific, pre-defined group. You then decide which group receives which content. Depending on how the lead reacts to this content – which emails they open, which links they click, which materials they download, etc. – they are assigned a certain number of points that are added up. This helps assess how far along the lead has progressed in their purchasing readiness. This way, you can better gauge when they are ready for a sales conversation or offer, increasing the likelihood that they will actually become a customer. If set up correctly, marketing automation software carries out these steps automatically.

dietz.digital Guides You on the Path to Marketing Automation, with or without a Story

If you want to turn data into leads and from those leads into customers, marketing automation is a wise choice. But simply purchasing software is not enough: The foundation of successful marketing automation is still good (online) marketing. Having a specialist by your side can make the difference. We at dietz.digital are happy to assist you with the transition and/or take over the complete ongoing support of a marketing automation solution so you can focus on your products or services – we take care of the rest.