Marketing automation - a few effective strategies
Process optimization and higher conversion - see how to gain a competitive advantage through automation.
Marketing automation in your company - why is it worth it?
Running a business means juggling many responsibilities. You often lack the time, energy, and bandwidth to handle it all. That is why a great solution is… process optimization and automation.
Marketing automation will relieve you of repetitive, predictable, yet labor-intensive tasks and free up your time. In which areas is it worth implementing marketing automation strategies? Check out our article!
In this article, you will learn:
What is marketing automation?
How does marketing automation help in dealing with abandoned processes?
How will marketing automation tools support you in the onboarding process?
What are anti-churn processes?
What else can marketing automation tools do?
Marketing automation - what is it?
The internet is crowded, and dozens of entities compete for user attention at every turn. The cost of acquiring a lead is rising and is already higher than the cost of customer retention. Companies are going to great lengths to retain existing users and acquire new ones, yet it is becoming increasingly difficult year by year. Are you in this situation? Marketing automation is here to help!
Its goal is to optimize and effectively manage online processes using various algorithms and artificial intelligence. This allows marketing messages (such as newsletters or ads) to be directed at specific groups of people who meet precise criteria. Marketing automation activities are faster and more cost-effective than traditional methods. They also enable better personalization of customer communication and allow you to tailor offers to clients' requirements, increasing engagement and conversion rates. Additionally, thanks to ongoing analytics, you can monitor the effectiveness of your efforts in real time and respond to situations as needed.
Marketing automation in 2024
Lower cost per lead
Higher conversion rate
Higher average order value
Increased customer loyalty
Better data utilization
Scalability of marketing efforts
Access to detailed reports and analytics
Marketing automation - a remedy for abandoned processes
An abandoned process is one of the biggest challenges in marketing. It refers to a situation where a customer starts an action but does not complete it. For example, they add items to their cart in your store, but then log out and do not return to finish the transaction. Or, they start filling out a contact form but do not submit it, failing to complete their registration for a program or platform.
Marketing automation will support you in the fight to recover such customers. Thanks to properly optimized efforts (e.g., regularly sent emails with content tailored to the specific recipient, containing discounts or product recommendations), the number of processes interrupted along the sales funnel will decrease, and consequently, the financial losses incurred will be lower.
Remember!
Abandoned processes are a very serious problem that generates significant losses for businesses. The Baymard Institute estimates that in 2024, as many as 70.19% of shopping carts will be abandoned before the transaction is finalized[1]. This means that only one in three customers will ultimately decide to click "Buy".
Read also: Omnichannel
Marketing automation in onboarding and post-purchase
Onboarding - that is, welcoming the customer, introducing them to how the store or service works, familiarizing them with the website’s content, and providing broadly understood “customer care” - is a very important element of an eCRM strategy. It can cover several areas, the most popular of which are:
response to newsletter signup,
response after lead submission,
response after purchase,
response after account creation or subscribing to a service.
In each of these cases, the action plan will differ because it involves different sources and platforms. The common denominator, however, will be the desire to introduce the customer to the world of your company or product. Marketing automation tools are perfect for this.
Sending an automated email immediately after adding an address to your database is a great move, as it is one of the few moments when the customer expects the message, will open it, and will likely read it with interest. To further boost the positive impression, you can include a discount code, attach an e-book, or add another gift. Also, don't forget to ask about the customer's preferences. Properly configuring the message will allow you to learn the user's specific needs, which you can then use in your future communication with them.
It is worth using a similar approach for post-purchase communication as well. Someone who has completed a transaction has left a lot of data in your store. Marketing automation tools can collect and analyze this data, then send a precise message to the customer, helping to build a bond, stay top-of-mind, and perhaps encourage them to make another purchase.
Read also: Hyper-personalization
Marketing automation - tools for anti-churn processes
"Churn" refers to customer attrition or migration. Anti-churn processes are, therefore, activities aimed at preventing the loss of users and retaining them. How? Naturally, with the help of marketing automation tools. Their role is to understand customers and constantly monitor their activity, thereby: building trust, fostering customer loyalty, and creating long-term relationships.
When algorithms notice a decline in activity, cart abandonment, failure to renew a subscription, or other alarming behavior, they automatically step in: they deliver personalized and valuable interactions to the customer at the right time to prevent them from leaving. These can take the form of emails or push notifications and include reminders about the company or the need to take action, followed by a discount or a limited-time special offer.
Acquiring new users is up to five times more expensive than retaining an existing customer[2]. That is why it is worth taking care of them - and for this purpose, engaging in anti-churn strategies related to marketing automation.
Marketing automation is not just about emails
Marketing automation also includes other activities, such as segmentation and combining automated scenarios with social media.
Segmentation involves MA tools analyzing user behavior, actions, preferences, and habits, and then using this information to identify target groups from the entire user base. Each group is characterized by specific traits, making it easier to create personalized messages and target them effectively.
Data collected by MA tools can also be used in social media to more effectively target ads displayed by Meta or Google Ads to people who have already had contact with your brand or, conversely, are seeing it for the first time.
Marketing automation encompasses a broad spectrum of activities that will have an unequivocally positive impact on your business. If you want to learn more about this topic and discover specific ways to put these strategies into practice, read our e-book!