It was in 1992 when marketing automation software had come into existence. More than two decades after, there have been numerous changes in the industry as a product of technological evolution. It cannot be denied that various enterprises are getting a lot of benefits from these innovations. The marketing sector, for one, had undergone a substantial transformation, from traditional marketing campaigns to digital marketing ads, in order to cope up with the fast pace of business.
For a company to thrive and last for a long-term basis, they must adapt to changes. The questions “What’s hot?”, “What’s New?”, or “What’s the latest?” are always inculcated in the minds of marketers. For that reason, marketing automation tools are considered essential to the success of a business. Its countless advantages to the company and its users can never be replaced by the old school method of promoting and advertising products and services.
According to Marketing Automation Insider, the marketing automation industry started to grow drastically in the year 2000 from $225 million to $ 1.65 billion industry in just a period of half a decade. This just shows that marketing automation can really increase generation of income exponentially. Moreover, it is not only the large companies that are reaping the benefits of marketing automation because even small and mid-sized business across all industries is utilizing it.
The success of marketing automation merchants in the late 1990s inspired other companies to enter the market. In addition, the rising popularity of internet in the new millennium had given birth to cloud-based tools such as Hubspot and Act-On. Now, there is quite a lot of marketing automation software out there joining the bandwagon and competing for survival. In order to thrive, it is a must that they introduce and apply out-of-the-box strategies to get ahead of the game. Here are the game-changing trends used in marketing automation tools.
Personalization
It can be quite irritating to receive emails that are not related to your topic of interest. For that reason, a lot of emails from company websites are automatically deleted by the customer without even reading the whole article. Non-personalized emails can drive potential clients away and general topic blasts can destroy the relationship with existing clients. If clients are receiving numerous messages that do not concern them, the possibility that they will block or unsubscribe to your account is high.
This is why more personalization has become a trend in marketing automation. It allows tailoring automated campaigns that address the specific needs and wants of customers. The key here is a collection of correct data which can be utilized in establishing a relationship with the client. Knowing, recognizing and understanding the client matters in marketing.
According to Econsultancy report, 74% of marketers stated that personalization improves customer engagement. In 2014, it was found that human element is missing in marketing automation and the solution is real-time personalization. Because marketers are now aware of the benefits of personal touch, personalization goes hand-in-hand with marketing automation. Today, adding a recipient’s name in the subject line, including the company’s name in the email and delivering images and messages related to the customer’s field of interest is now possible.
Aside from customer engagement, personalization also increases sales. For instance, BMW’s implementation of personalized MMS messages had resulted in 30% conversion rate and an estimated $500,000 in profits. However, it is no secret that marketing does not end with boosting the company’s website traffic or selling a product. It is about engaging paying customers who will sustain the company for a long period of time.
Doesn’t it feel good to be greeted on your birthday? It definitely does feel great! It is vital to read reviews on marketing automation tools to know which among the top marketing automation platforms have this feature.
Mobile Marketing Automation
It is a known fact that the number of smartphone users is increasing every year since 2014. By 2019, Statista predicted that there will be 2.5 billion mobile phone users all over the world. With this, Google encourages website owners to make their sites mobile friendly. Those which are not mobile-friendly will affect their ranking in Google search results.
For this reason, marketing automation companies are continuously developing their software to become more accessible to mobile users. It is undeniable that the profit gained from mobile marketing is rising and will continue to skyrocket in the next years to come. Today, mobile marketing automation apps and mobile automation marketing tools are now available in the market for customer convenience. It does not only allow companies to engage with their customers, it also improves the number of retained clients.
With mobile marketing automation, managing and automating tasks or procedures is now possible through the use of a mobile phone. It is used by various companies including online games, health, and e-commerce enterprises to name a few. Since more and more people are becoming active smartphone users, better experience and customer engagement happens. This, in return, leads to more profit gains.
Some features included by mobile marketing automation companies are the automation of push notifications, in-app messages, emails, easy to use Content Management System, apple wallet and android pay. Also, with mobile marketing automation platforms, multichannel campaigns can be utilized in mobile marketing to reach target customers.
Social Media Invasion
Statistica states that the social media is the love child of the World Wide Web. It is a known fact that the use of social media had become a habit to a multitude of internet users. In fact, as of April 2016, it was revealed that Facebook dominates all social networking sites with over 1.59 million active users. On average, Facebook is being accessed 15 days per month too. Therefore, it is undeniable that social media rules when it comes to engaging customers.
Marketing automation is now existing in social media. There are social marketing tools existing which has the ability to attract targeted audiences who are interested in the product promoted by the company. In fact, marketers are utilizing Twitter and Facebook as essential tools in advertising their products or services.
Social marketing automation does not only allow marketers to manage but also to measure engagement in social media which will be used in lead nurturing. If they know what post or pages are the most popular then they can plan automated procedures from each social media platforms. However, not everything in social media should be automated by marketers. For this reason, a review of marketing automation tools should be examined first. With the best social marketing automation software, scheduling, tagging and sharing your content on social media would be of full benefit to the company.
Marketing Automation for Smaller Businesses
Gone were those days when marketing automation software was considered only by large companies because it’s pricey. Since marketing automation industry is one of the fastest growing sectors, there has also been an exponential increase in the number of competitors. Because of that, service providers are constantly looking for ways to attract business owners including small and mid-sized companies. One of the changes included is affordability. Today, there are affordable solutions for small business owners available. And although investment is crucial in marketing automation, when done right, the revenue really justifies the expenses.
Not only that marketing automation is getting more affordable for small businesses, marketing automation companies are in the process of making their software easier to manipulate. Although technical knowledge is a must, there are marketing automation tools existing which make the marketing process as easy and as simple as possible.
According to an article written by Jim Clifton published by the business journal Gallup, around 400,000 new businesses are launched every year but approximately 470,000 of small businesses are dying annually. A possible solution to this is a highly effective and excellent marketing strategy for customer engagement and retention. And one effective tool which is proven to make it possible is the use of marketing automation software.
A benchmark study by Gleanster Research revealed that small businesses benefit from marketing automation with 79% saying that they will continue to use it. Enterprises that have been utilizing marketing automation for over two years believe that the software is crucial to the success of the business in the future. Moreover, top-performing small companies validate that the investment, effort and budget dedicated to marketing automation is worth it.
Conclusion
In order for businesses to succeed, they need to be up-to-date especially when it comes to attracting and retaining customers. These trends stated above are part of the constant reshaping of marketing automation software which is found to benefit both the users and the company.
In a nutshell, marketing automation, just like any other, continues to evolve in relation to the innovation of computer technology. When executed properly, it could lead to a dramatical increase in revenue and return on investment. Moreover, the utilization of the top marketing automation tools can be a vital piece of the puzzle.
Know what clients are saying about marketing automation for businesses of all sizes. Visit CrowdReviews.com for impartial marketing automation software reviews and find out which among the service providers ranked number 1.
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