Businesses are always looking for ways to become smarter, faster, and more precise in their actions. Figuring out the right cadence and steps to take regarding certain processes is challenging. How often should certain actions be performed? Are the actions being performed actually affecting the company’s bottom line? Which actions are actually contributing a net good to the organization?

These are tough questions to answer. Luckily, the progression of technology has made answering these questions a little easier. Marketing automation made a big splash in the digital marketing world a few years ago. Heralded as a massive time saver for organizations everywhere, it seemed like every big brand was clamoring to get their hands on marketing automation software. But what is marketing automation, and how does it help a business?

Put simply, marketing automation is a set of tools designed to streamline and simplify processes that have typically been time consuming or labor intensive for marketing and sales teams. This includes the automation of sending emails to prospects, designing and building new landing pages, and nurturing leads through the sales funnel more effectively.

So, what are some of the big benefits of marketing automation for a business? Take a look at the list below:

Reduce Labor Intensive Activities

There are certain actives within an organization that are considered labor intensive. This includes sending sales and marketing emails, organizing a CRM, and moving contacts and leads through different parts of the sales pipeline. Marketing automation streamlines these processes by making these actions automatic.

Instead of having one employee devoted to these menial tasks, the software sends emails to new contacts through a predefined trigger. It also assigns certain attributes to new contacts automatically, further saving a company time.

Streamline Sales and Marketing Processes

Each organization has a specific way of handling sales and marketing processes. Sometimes, these processes work together. Often times, they don’t. Marketing automation ensures that sales and marketing are working in tandem and toward the same goal.

The software acts as a central hub for both departments, so each department can see which tasks have been completed and which tasks still need to be done. Sales and marketing end up working together much more frequently when they are on the same page with their respective processes.

Accurately Pinpoint Potential Customers

Another benefit of marketing automation is that contacts within a CRM are meticulously tracked and assigned certain attributes that distinguish them from one another. This helps when forging new marketing campaigns that require the most accurate targeting possible.

Since all of the information used for the marketing campaign is stored in the software, it becomes a seamless process to send sales and marketing emails only to those contacts that need them at any given time. Superfluous emails decrease open rates and raise unsubscribe rates. By emailing the right people at the right time, open rates are maximized and sales have a better chance of increasing.

Continue to Delight Existing Customers

An area of marketing automation that is often overlooked is the fact that it makes it easier to delight current customers. While businesses need to be careful at the amount of emails they send to their current customer lists, the occasional newsletter or email is a great way to keep in touch.

Depending on the business, industry, and sales cycle, keeping in touch with customers is important. Doing so via marketing automation software makes it easier for sales and marketing teams to execute regular communication without getting bogged down in the minutiae.

Track ROI and Further Define Success

It is very difficult to measure and define success of specific marketing processes. Marketing automation makes it easier for businesses of all sizes to determine which marketing processes are positively affecting the bottom line. It can also identify bottlenecks in the sales process that may be holding up lucrative deals from closing.

By having a better understanding of specific processes within the marketing and sales teams, managers are able to tie specific returns on investments to activities performed by the company. This in turn helps with the decision making process of which processes need to be improved and which processes are deemed most valuable.

While these are just a few benefits of marketing automation within an organization, they may be enough to persuade you to give it try. If you want to learn more about marketing automation and the software that drives it, contact us today!