Marketing automation is a powerful technology that uses software to automate repetitive marketing tasks and workflows. The goal is to streamline marketing efforts, improve efficiency, and deliver more personalized and timely experiences to potential and existing customers.
Essentially, marketing automation takes actions that would otherwise be done manually and sets up rules to do them automatically based on triggers or schedules. This frees up marketers to focus on strategy, content creation, and other high-level tasks.
Here’s a detailed look at how it works and what it’s used for:
How Marketing Automation Works
The process is typically based on workflows and triggers. You define a sequence of actions (the workflow) that will be set in motion when a specific event (the trigger) occurs.
- Data Collection and Segmentation: The automation software continuously collects data about your audience’s behavior. This includes website visits, form submissions, email opens and clicks, and shopping cart activity. This data is then used to segment your audience into different groups based on demographics, interests, or behavior.
- Creating Workflows: You build a sequence of automated actions for each segment or scenario. For example, a workflow for a new newsletter subscriber might look like this:
- Trigger: User subscribes to the newsletter.
- Action 1: Instantly send a “Welcome” email.
- Action 2: Wait three days.
- Action 3: Send a follow-up email with a popular blog post.
- Action 4: Wait one week.
- Action 5: Send an email with a special offer or a discount code.
- Lead Nurturing: As a business owner, you know that not every lead is ready to buy immediately. Marketing automation is critical for lead nurturing. It can send targeted content to a lead over time to build a relationship and guide them toward a purchase. For example, if someone downloads a guide on “forging techniques,” the system can automatically send them a series of emails about the materials you use and the unique qualities of your custom products.
- Lead Scoring: The software assigns a score to each lead based on their engagement. A lead who opens multiple emails, visits your pricing page, and downloads a product guide would get a high score, signaling that they are a “hot” lead ready for a follow-up from the sales team. This is particularly useful for businesses with longer sales cycles.
- Multi-Channel Automation: Modern platforms can automate tasks across various channels, not just email. This includes:
- Sending personalized SMS messages.
- Automating social media posts and ad campaigns.
- Displaying dynamic, personalized content on your website.
- Sending push notifications to mobile app users.
Key Applications of Marketing Automation
- Email Drip Campaigns: Sending a pre-written series of emails to an individual over a set period of time. This is perfect for onboarding new customers, nurturing leads, or re-engaging inactive users.
- Abandoned Cart Recovery: A customer adds an item to their cart but leaves the site without purchasing. An automated email can be sent within an hour, reminding them of the items they left behind and perhaps offering a small discount to encourage them to complete the purchase.
- Post-Purchase Follow-up: Automatically send a thank-you email, ask for a product review a week later, or recommend related products based on their recent purchase.
- Event-Based Communication: When a customer’s birthday approaches or the one-year anniversary of their first purchase, you can automatically send a personalized message with a special offer.
- CRM Integration: Many marketing automation platforms integrate with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software. This allows the marketing and sales teams to have a unified view of a customer’s journey, from their first interaction with an ad to their final purchase.
Popular Marketing Automation Platforms
Some of the well-known platforms that offer marketing automation capabilities include:
- HubSpot: An all-in-one platform for marketing, sales, and customer service.
- Mailchimp: Known for its user-friendly email marketing tools, it also offers more advanced automation features.
- Klaviyo: A popular choice for e-commerce businesses, with powerful segmentation and automation tools.
- ActiveCampaign: A platform praised for its robust automation workflows and ease of use.