We started off last week with an introduction to marketing automation and a brief overview of how it can increase revenue and build a stronger brand for your company. In this week’s segment, I’m going to walk you through the specific automated tools that marketing automation can offer you and the benefits to each. By the end of this segment, you should be able to identify what kind of automation your company should implement.
Each organization has different goals and thus different marketing automation needs. MarTech has expanded to such an extent that choosing a program and even beginning to address what tools you need can seem overwhelming. The options presented in the infographic below might look a little like how your brain feels when weighing all the marketing automation tools available.
First, we will get a handle on what types of marketing automation exist, so you can get a big-picture view of what is available. Remember, you don’t have to (and shouldn’t) start out automating everything at once. There will always be a learning curve when you implement any new software – it will take time to get your team up to speed so that programs can be maximized to their full potential.
Process, Process, Process
Luckily, all automation tools fall into five main categories: CRM, email marketing, overall marketing, social media, and analytics. Before we look at how to identify what might be the best fit for your company, here is an outline of the five different ways software can automate your processes, compiled by Marketing Insider Group.
Identifying What You Need
Once you’re familiar with the options available, you can start sorting out what the right choices are for your business. Sitting down and planning out your exact needs will ensure that you choose a program best suited to meet your unique goals. It also helps ensure that you’re only paying for what you need, not buying into programs that aren’t worth your time or resources.
Try thinking of marketing automation in categories depending on the overall size, need, and experience of your company. GetResponse separates marketing automation into three levels.
Level One: Software geared toward entry-level users and those who are only looking for basic levels of email marketing automation. This level of automation uses basic automation tasks like email templates, analytics, and A/B testing. To use this to your advantage, you can set up triggers to send certain emails, and create auto response sequences. If you’re a company just starting out, one with a small budget, or one with basic needs, then level one should be the extent of your focus.
Level Two: Software that mid-sized business can use with the intent of growing and excelling past the initial level of email automation. GetResponse clarifies that level two is primarily for a marketing team who manage less than 100,000 subscribers. Businesses on this level need more in-depth features to their software that will expand the business’ online presence. This starts to encompass automated CRM, social media, and more advanced tools that handle your marketing automation as a whole.
Level Three: Software intended for businesses up to the enterprise-level who have a strong marketing team intent on all-encompassing automation. They have the resources and opportunities to draw in customers across all possible platforms and can invest in the most optimized experience to suit their needs. These tools can handle all of the listed processes above.
After you’ve identified approximately where your business goals fall and what level of marketing automation software you need to start looking at, you’re ready to dive into software-specific research. As shown in the infographic above, there are more than enough options to sift through. Lists like this one from NG Data or this grid from G2 Crowd pepper MarTech sites; choices are easy to find, it’s just a matter of narrowing them down. Always remember to weigh your options, allow for optimum training time before you judge the results, and use your resources to the fullest capacity.
Join us next week as we dive into Part III of our marketing automation series: How to Create Workflows. Workflows are the next step in the automation process and we will discuss how to use the marketing tool you’ve chosen in Part II to create active, workable strategies that align with your story. In the meantime, make sure you subscribe to keep up with the latest in Transformational Marketing.