Jump back a post if you’re yet to read part one of our introduction to sales and marketing automation.
Once you’ve found a great CRM you can trust wholeheartedly with your customer’s data, and you’ve considered what can be integrated to drive data input in and out of that CRM, it’s time to ramp up to the next level of what automation can offer to your business – marketing automation.
Marketing automation is a dream come true – when it’s approached with the same kind of understanding and consideration that any other kind of marketing would be treated with. Automation isn’t a one-size-fits-all for your business solutions. If you don’t have an effective understanding of your customer base, existing and potential, or you’re unsure how to communicate the value of your product or service, automating your systems isn’t going to solve these issues.
However, when you DO know why it is you do what you do, and how it will be of benefit to your customers, automating your marketing processes can lead to a genuine increase in engagement, opportunities and profits. Marketing automation gives your business the benefit of streamlined processes, measurable goals and progress, and the ability to press go on marketing campaigns that are run in real-time without human input.
Here are some powerful tools that will help you flex that strategic marketing muscle…
- Buffer. Buffer has been called the Siri of social media. Buffer gives you the power of easy, set-and-forget social media scheduling tools across a wide range of social media platforms. Consistency is key when it comes to building an engaged and connected social media following. Buffer provides an automated solution – save time by posting daily, and instead, see weeks of posts laid before you in one work session (as long as you don’t run out of relatable gifs, right?). Fill your Buffer queue and move on with your day, knowing your social media presence is handed.
- Intercom. Intercom’s an outright gift when it comes to automating your external communications. Intercom is scalable to your communication needs, and can fulfil functions including chatbots, live chat, targeted email, push messages, integrated help desks and scheduled EDMs. Centralizing your communication channels gives you a deeper level of oversight, offering you the ability to know what’s being shared with your customer bases or leads across each communication touch point.
- Kajabi. Entering into the world of Kajabi is like falling down a (rewarding) rabbit hole – there’s a plethora of punchy tools that could entirely reshape the way you work each day. In terms of its marketing automation, it offers the ability to build targeted email pipelines which can carry a lead along the path towards a secured sale. By automating your customer’s journey, you reduce the risk of losing a sale due to manual error. Kajabi offers easy-to-use templates and a wide range of integration opportunities. Kajabi’s other features include the ability to build your own website, create rich online shopping experiences, build communities, manage member lists and dashboards, and more. Check out the full range of features here.
In the same way you’d expect of a new employee, these tools are designed to come alongside you and help to lift the load. Benefit from their strengths whilst keeping your overheads low. For me, it’s a winning formula.