A GUEST POST FROM OUR FRIENDS AT Content Marketing & Automation

Marketing automation can sound highly technical and intimidating. But, it is actually a set of tools that can make life easier for members of both your sales and marketing team. How can marketing automation tools help your small business? We’ve compiled a few of the top benefits:

1. Marketing automation allows personalization.
   It seems counterintuitive, but, adding automation tools allows a greater degree of personalization. Instead of spending hours manually segmenting your customer base, marketing automation can separate customers into lists for you based on demographics, purchase history and other factors. Then, you can target each persona with the promotions, messages and content most likely to resonate with them. Prospects receive the most relevant communications, increasing your chances of a sale.

2. Marketing automation means reaching people at the right time.
   Setting up triggered emails and drip campaigns can increase your sales by reaching people when they are most receptive. Experts say that automatic emails sent when a customer abandons a shopping care recover between 3 and 11% of sales. If your product is consumable, an email that suggests reordering can trigger a purchase. These timed emails can be set up ahead of time and sent automatically when appropriate.

3. Marketing automation gives you better control.
   Marketing automation tools allow you to look at a single customer and see how marketing efforts are performing across all channels. They allow you to take in inventory at a glance and plan future promotions. Instead of operating blind, you can use valuable data to make marketing decisions.

4. Marketing automation means fewer leads slipping through the cracks.
   Few prospects are ready to buy during their first interaction. According to Business Insider, it can take anywhere from three to twelve or more contacts for a potential customer to make a purchase. Consistent lead nurturing is needed to establish your brand, build trust and nurture interest. Marketing automation makes it easier for contacts to continue so a relationship can be built.

5. Marketing automation means getting the most out of your content marketing.
   Quality content is a significant business cost. By using automation tools to promote your content on social media and ensure it is seen, you can maximize your ROI. You can also use automation tools to suggest additional reading and include relevant blog posts in emails to customers. Providing more exposure for compelling marketing content means more chances to reach a prospect and influence a buying decision.

6. Marketing automation means a better understanding of how well your campaigns are working.
   Detailed campaign reporting allows you to see how many clicks ads get, how many emails are opened and how long people spend reading content on your site. By using these analytics, you can hone your future campaigns for maximum effectiveness.

7. Marketing automation offers great time savings.
   You could manually send emails to customers on a regular basis, but it would eat away at your time. Having automation in place means that your marketing messages get to customers while you can focus on other things that need your direct attention.

8. Marketing automation saves you money.
   Analytics allow you to use more effective campaigns, increasing your ROI. Content management ensures that you get all the mileage you can out of your content marketing campaigns. Time savings means that you can use your team in the most efficient way possible. In the end, that means that you are spending your marketing budget effectively, which saves you money.

Marketing automation is not 100% automatic. Time still needs to be invested crafting market segments and buyer personas, writing emails and crafting landing pages. But, automation allows you to perform an action once and benefit for months and even years.

Putting these robust tools to work for your small business will form deeper relationships with your prospects and customers and increase your marketing ROI.