Figuring out the world of sales and marketing automation for small business is no small feat. A space that can offer great potential to businesses of all scales, it’s also an area where it’s easy to feel overwhelmed with information, tool recommendations, systems and workflows, and heated Google reviews from software to software. 

Business automation for small businesses shouldn’t feel like wading into another language, so we’ve outlined three simple keys that can help you find the tools you need.

1. Understand what you’re working with.

Small business marketing automation software and sales automation tools can sound like a new language when you’re first moving your way into the world. Here’s a helpful cheat sheet that’ll keep you on the lit path….

CRM = Customer Relationship Management. CRMs (like Salesforce and Insightly) are designed to systemize client and customer interactions. The work engines under the hood, CRMs are the backbones of key sales and marketing automation strategies, and can house all kinds of combinations of industry and business-specific data sets.

EDM = Electronic Direct Mail. Emailing marketing campaigns are one form of EDMs, but other marketing automation tools such as remarketing campaigns, PPC campaigns, follow-ups via offline advertising and social media tie-ins come into play in the EDM space. Some of the market-leading EDM providers are Mailchimp, ConvertKit, Intercom and Ontraport.

CMS = Content Management System. CMS automation software gives users tools to create and manage content in a website environment, all without a single drop of code. Whether it’s building websites, blogs, online courses, membership sites or eCommerce stores, CMS providers bring powerful structures to small business sales and marketing automation capacities.

 

2. Look for what will move the needle.

What’s the biggest pain point in your business?

Are you bringing in leads but struggling to move them through your sales funnel?

Are you spending so much time manually managing projects and teams that you’re weakening your profitability with every meeting or back-and-forth internal email chain?

By figuring out where small business marketing automation tools could have the greatest impact, you can set yourself up for automation success, bringing about immediate workflow improvements and opening the door to even larger automation opportunities.

3. Start with what’s in your hands.

While there are certainly plenty of paid tools on the market, marketing automation software for small businesses doesn’t need to hit you where it hurts financially. 

By identifying what’s going to make the most impact on your productivity by strengthening your workflows, you can take a day-by-day approach to building up your arsenal of automation tips and tricks. Implementing even one time or cost-saving automation can also bring about the space and clarity you need to focus on your sales and marketing automation priorities, highlighting what adds value back into your work life on a daily basis, freeing up time to focus on growth or project momentum.