By the year 2020 85% of consumers are expected to manage their customer relationships without talking to a human.¹ Since consumers today are connected to multiple platforms, channels, and accounts on various devices, this statistic, while alarming, makes sense in the face of our increasing digital dependency. Consumers can go lifetimes without actually meeting some of the people they interact with in person. Yet they demand authentic relationships, forcing businesses, marketers, and salespeople to rise to the occasion. But curating these personal relationships takes time and there are only so many hours in a day, so companies that are growth-oriented must find a tool that maximizes limited time, energy and resources. This is where marketing automation comes in.
A marketing automation platform like the one we have here at Marketing Armor helps marketers generate leads, nurture those leads through the sales pipeline and manage customer relationships. Not convinced yet? Here are 3 critical reasons why your business need marketing automation:
Reason 1: Marketing Automation Provides Data to Refine Strategies and Capitalize on Trends
Every day marketers are executing campaigns with the goal of driving sales. In previous years it was generally accepted that if sales are up or down, it was because of the campaign. There was no official data available that could actually measure the success of a campaign, and identify which parts needed improvement. With marketing automation having hard data is no longer wishful thinking. With our platform, you are given insight into all aspects of a campaign and more, including the ability to:
- Track email performance and response rates
- Measure the effectiveness of campaigns
- Monitor the behavior of your leads
- Prove ROI
- Track website visits
- Segment your customer lists
- Create and send customized content
Marketing automation gives you the tools to determine the effectiveness of a strategy so that you can put more of your resources into the ones that work and get rid of the ones that don’t.
Reason 2: Marketing Automation Helps Deepen Client Relationships Through Personalization
Personalization is the key that opens the door to customer relationships. Personalization can be something as simple as including their name in an email or something as complex as creating a customized drip campaign, but in both cases, the customer feels valued. Cultivating a relationship like this with each customer can be time-consuming and expensive- but it is completely necessary. By implementing marketing automation, you ditch the cost and the time commitment by creating customized marketing messages that are automated to send to a customer when they are at various stages in the buying cycle. Other tools that can help develop customer relationships include creating email templates, landing pages, dynamic content, blogs and call to action buttons all designer to lead customers back to your website. Once you have their information, you can use customer data to create personalized content that appeals to your buyer personas, nurturing them through the sales cycle. These meaningful interactions will appeal to your clients and help you stand out from other companies.
Reason 3: Marketing Automation Boosts Client Retention
Once you have converted a lead into a customer, the next biggest hurdle is retaining them. In a study conducted by Small Business Trends, it was discovered that a 5% increase in retention can increase your profits by up to 95%.²
Marketers have developed tunnel vision when it comes to capturing new leads when instead the focus should be shifted to retaining existing customers. With our platform, you no longer have to make this hard choice. Instead, you can spend equal amounts of time on finding new leads and retaining your current ones by sending personalized messages designed to engage your customers. Engagement can come in various forms, the most popular being asking for product reviews, testimonials or informing them of referral incentives. Another way you can work on customer retention and customer engagement is through drip campaigns. These campaigns can span weeks, or months and are a good way to keep customers in the loop, notifying them of new products or services, recent blog posts or industry news.
If you are interested in learning more about marketing automation and how it can help your business grow, click the banner below to schedule your free 30-minute consultation with us.
References:
- CRM Strategies and Technologies to Understand, Grow and Manage Customer Experience.” Gartner Customer 360 Summit, March 30, 2011, https://www.gartner.com/imagesrv/summits/docs/na/customer-360/C360_2011_brochure_FINAL.pdf
- Stillwagon, Amanda. “Did You Know: A 5% Increase in Retention Increases Profits by Up to 95%.” Small Business Trends, 2 Oct. 2014, https://smallbiztrends.com/2014/09/increase-in-customer-retention-increases-profits.html
