Marketing is what drives a business forward and keeps the brand in the forefront of people’s minds. With our 24/7 online culture, it’s important for brands to maintain, segment and target their database using automated systems, to ensure customers get the right message at the right time. Consumers are continually expecting tailored, personalised content that speaks directly to them – marketing automation can provide this with a click of a button.
This provides enormous benefits to small and medium businesses who, without marketing automation, could never keep up with the giants. Marketing automation frees up time for marketers to spend on the bigger picture targets, without laborious duties filling their day. Examples of marketing automation include:
Automated Emails
Some email clients can provide email templates, segment groups, and automatically send out grouped emails at specific dates and times.
• Promotional emails – sent to large groups of customers at the same time
• Multi-step campaigns – a series of emails leading up to or winding down from an event, built to inform, prepare, and convert
• Winback emails – following up on online basket abandonment, ‘we miss you’ emails to those who haven’t logged in for a period of time, sometimes including incentives to stay a loyal customer
• Reminder emails – personalised for when a customer hasn’t, for example, clicked through from a previous marketing email, often repeating or adding extra incentives
• Follow-up campaigns – to gain testimonials, reviews, and ratings – also used to cross-sell
Retargeting
Have you noticed that adverts you see online are tailored to things you have browsed over in the past? It’s no coincidence – it’s retargeting. Automated, paid advertising, created by cookies and designed to target specific consumers to win the custom of those that have one been interested in your product.
Tailoring content based on acquisition
Web pages can be altered for each method of acquisition, further tailoring the experience to the consumer. Landing on a page through social media, organic search (like Google) or via email, can trigger tailored content, like a banner or promotion.
Tailoring your content based on the way they enter your site keeps your content relevant to the user, and can increase conversion – if you get it right! It’s vital to keep an eye on the stats, so make sure you’re measuring the right parameters before the campaign starts. Check regularly what works and what doesn’t, and optimise your strategy based on your findings.
Marketing automation key benefits
Not only does marketing automation allow you to get in front of the right customer at the right time, it allows you to personalise your content to each customer which pays dividends in increased conversions. Here’s a basic overview of how marketing automation can help your business:
- Reducing cart abandonment
- Increasing email open rates
- Increasing website conversions
- Increasing brand recognition
- Increasing brand loyalty
- Freeing up time for your marketing team to work on bigger objectives
At UEC, we utilise the benefits of marketing automation to put together holistic campaigns that attract, engage, convert and retain customers. Along with savvy media and creative expertise, marketing automation can benefit your business and your customers unanimously.
