Marketing automation is what everyone is discussing at conferences, meetings and seminars. If you hoped that marketing automation was just the latest buzzword that will be forgotten in a year or two, you may find yourself disappointed.

Automation is growing at a rapid rate and with this in mind, it is vital to know what marketing automation means and how it will affect your brand or company. Here is what you need to know: 

What is marketing automation?

Marketing automation technology refers to software solutions that automate repetitive marketing tasks, such as publishing ads, launching marketing campaigns and posting on social media.

This reduces the workload on the marketing staff members and allows marketers to focus on what's important — engaging with clients and developing strategies and tactics.

Why is marketing automation so popular?

The popularity of marketing automation comes from its utility and versatility. By setting up automated workflows, automation doesn't just reduce the workload, it increases productivity and improves the overall work environment. All of this is achieved thanks to the software's ability to remove the monotonous and boring tasks such as invoicing and emailing. 

What can marketing automation achieve?

Advanced software solutions, such as CRMs and ERPs, can take on a variety of different tasks. If a business relies on a long list of contacts, leads or opportunities, marketing automation can achieve incredible results.

Most notably, marketing automation can do the following:
  • increase the value of the individual customer
  • improve customer engagement with the company
  • improve the conversion rate
  • decrease the overall length of the sales cycle
  • improve the return on investment
  • streamline B2C or B2B communication
On top of that, certain types of automation software also allow you to manage multichannel marketing campaigns on a single dashboard. This means that you can create highly personalised posts and emails, without spending too much time on the technicalities. However, marketing automation is primarily meant for businesses that operate online. As such, it may not be the best fit for all companies.

Does your business need marketing automation?

While many will see this question as a no-brainer and simply reply, "every company should use the possibilities of marketing automation software," there is room for disagreement.

It's true that automation can make most processes more efficient, but some companies will not be a good fit for it. For example, companies that still haven't moved online may find it easier to continue doing things as they've always done them.

Automation is likely not a good option for them, because it requires an incredible amount of effort to implement it. If the company and its employees aren't ready to adopt the technology, it will be a wasted exercise.

In such cases, rather gradually move your business to the cloud and carefully integrate marketing automation during the process. This will help smoothen the transition, which can often be problematic.

Here is a simple questionnaire that will help you to determine whether your business needs marketing automation or not:
  1. Is your marketing or sales process largely undefined and prone to frequent changes?
  2. Do you regularly forget to follow-up on leads and miss out on opportunities you've found?
  3. Do you upsell to existing customers and do you have regular customers?
  4. Do you still send out company newsletters manually?
  5. Are you still responding to all customer inquiries manually?
  6. Do your marketing and sales processes take up a large percentage of your work hours?
If you have truthfully answered yes to all of these questions, your business is a prime candidate for marketing automation. If you answered yes to some of them, but not all, your business will likely benefit from automating certain tasks. In case you answered no to all of these questions, then your business doesn't really require automation.

For more information, visit www.simply-crm.com. You can also follow Simply on Facebook or on Twitter.