A modern marketer knows only too well that his customers are not identical. Why then send out a campaign that is not tailored to each individual? Sending the same message to all your contacts is not always the best approach. Don’t we all want to create campaigns that increase the open rate and maximize conversions?
The solution? Marketing automation. If you closely follow trends in email marketing or if you’re looking for a way to boost your email marketing, marketing automation will definitely sound familiar.
In a nutshell, marketing automation means that you as a marketer can send automated messages to specific people at a specific time depending on their online behavior, shopping habits or the way they interact with your company. This doesn’t mean that a marketer’s job is irrelevant. On the contrary, it makes it much more effective.
Observe
Know your contacts
It is important to thoughtfully segment your contacts. This can be based on demographics or online behavior they were exhibited already. Using proper identification, you can send meaningful messages. When you make a match between your content and a segment, you immediately create a personalized message. Despite the fact that the message is broadcasted on a large scale, the message feels personal. In addition, social media, landing pages and surveys can give you the necessary information about your contacts that you can implement in your marketing automation scenarios.
Possibilities
1. Marketing automation can be a timesaver for yourself, but also for sales. Potential customers are handed off to sales at crucial moments, after which they can set up the proper follow-up.
2. What about your existing customers? Here we rely on their existing customer behavior and their purchase history to create targeted campaigns.
3. You know your contact has just made a purchase. Perfect. Make use of cross- and upselling by recommending related products.
4. Didn’t get a response for some time now? Try to reactivate and win back dormant contacts. Make sure the contacts still add value.
If not, you are wasting time and money on someone who is not interested in your information.
Are there more results in the reactivation of your dormant contacts? Consider then what trigger generates enough interest to get them to return to your website.
5. There are still plenty of opportunities to leverage marketing automation. Use birthday wishes, transactional emails, .. and so much more.
Marketing automation should certainly not be linked to ‘set and forget’. By leveraging and constantly updating customer data you can create personalized communication and a greater customer satisfaction. As you can conclude yourself, there is no reason to give all your contacts the same treatment. Remember that contacts appreciate your messages if they are relevant and meet their needs.
Are you already using marketing automation for your business? If not, go ahead and find out how it can contribute to your business. If you’re already setting up marketing automation campaigns, try to look for new ways to get your email campaigns and automation to work for you.