by Randall CraigFiled in: Blog, CRM, Growth, Make It Happen Tipsheet, Marketing, ServiceTagged as: CRM, Digital Strategy, Marketing Automation, Marketing Strategy
Back in the dark ages of the internet, marketing was simple: send a monthly ezine, sales offers, and any other buzzworthy content down the pipe and a certain percentage of people will “convert.” Money automatically transferred into your account as the list was monetized. Today, it’s no longer that simple.
There are a number of flies in the ointment that have significantly reduced the effectiveness of this “spray and pray” strategy:
One approach to these problems is to stop producing the ezines/newsletters altogether. Another is to shorten them to their essence, and increase the value provided. (My Make It Happen Tipsheet follows this strategy.) But a more powerful strategy is to develop a strategic and relevant communications processes: that’s where marketing automation comes in.
Marketing Automation can be defined as the family of initiatives (and underlying technology) that builds trust by automating the improvement in the relationship between your organization and a particular stakeholder. At the most basic, consider Marketing Automation as a sequence of interactions – usually by email – that both educate and increase trust.
Here are nine key marketing automation sequences that every organization should consider:
Done right, Marketing Automation can do it all: improve relationships, educate prospects, improve efficiency, and grow the organization. But if you are clumsy, Marketing Automation can kill your brand.
If you currently are using Marketing Automation, how do you know that you are getting the most from your efforts? This week, look carefully at the metrics: what is the one thing that you can do to improve your numbers?
If you don’t have a marketing automation program in place, maybe it is time to look into it. (Happy to share a behind-the-scenes look at how I use this type of system in my business: just ask me at request@RandallCraig.com.) Or, look for yourself: In my businesses, I have used Keap (Infusionsoft), Active Campaign, and Zoho/SpeakerFlow.
Marketing Insight: While choosing the right technology is clearly important, a successful marketing automation initiative is grounded in the strategy, copywriting, and implementation. Don’t believe the product vendors when they say it is “quick and easy”.
Does this topic resonate? Reach out to Randall: he can present it to your group. (More presentation topics) Download Randall’s professional credentials: Speaker credentials one-sheet or Management Advisory credentials.
Content Authenticity Statement: 100% original content: no AI was used in creating this content.
@RandallCraig (Follow me for daily insights) www.RandallCraig.com: Professional credentials site.
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