Modern marketing demands innovation. To remain competitive in our fast-paced industry, marketers are continually on the lookout for ways to make their processes more efficient. We work hard to tell our clients’ stories—stories of companies that exist to make consumers’ lives easier. But we can’t tell these stories by ourselves. In today’s digital age, we rely on tools to help us meet deadlines and make meaningful change. One of those tools is marketing automation.
Chances are, you’ve heard this term tossed around a bit. In fact, we tout the importance of marketing automation on our own blog. But what is marketing automation, exactly?
Marketing Automation Drives Efficiency
Marketing automation is technology that helps companies streamline, automate, and measure marketing tasks to help increase operational efficiency and grow revenue faster. In short, marketing automation helps take some of the manual processes off modern marketers’ plates. Those processes can include:
- Email campaigns
- Social media content
- Lead generation
- Audience segmentation
- Customer retention
- ROI measurement
Pretty compelling, right? According to Salesforce, businesses using marketing automation to nurture prospects see a whopping 451 percent increase in qualified leads. Furthermore, Gartner Research predicts that by 2020, companies will manage 85 percent of customer relationships without ever talking to a human. Put simply, the time for marketing automation is now.
But don’t be fooled. New research suggests more and more marketing automation purchases fail because too many marketers assume purchasing the software means they’re off the hook. In reality, it’s only the first step. Even with marketing automation, you still have to put in some work.
Marketing automation will improve the marketing processes you already have in place and help you more quickly determine which of your tactics is working and which you may need to revise. With marketing automation by your side, you’ll be on your way to finding more qualified leads and the resources necessary to nurture those leads toward conversion. Get a head start on this process by learning how to use marketing automation to satisfy your audience’s needs.
