Marketing Automation is defined as a process that allows companies to automate, streamline and measure their ongoing marketing processes so that they can increase operational efficiencies and generate revenue faster. The process is not just for the large enterprises. Companies across all category are using the automation software to enhance their customer relationships experience.
In recent years, marketing automation has expanded to include lead generation, lead nurturing, customer lifecycle marketing, ROI measurement, qualifying opportunities and building a comprehensive content strategy to close sales.
Businesses use customer relationship management (CRM) to keep track of their sales activities and marketing automation software to keep track of their marketing activities. Marketing generates qualified prospects through targeted campaigns. These prospects are nurtured and kept updated until they are ready to spend their hard-earned money on your products. Once they are ready, they are passed on to the sales team to further qualify and close these prospects.
I personally use Hubspot, which combines the two software into one and allows marketers to communicate with prospects and customers through email marketing campaigns. This helps me streamline the marketing and sales processes and ensure that I continuously nurture prospects and customers through various channels. Let’s get into some of the features of marketing automation that include:
Features:
- Email marketing
- Landing pages
- Marketing analytics
- Lead management
- Social marketing
- CRM integration
- Prediction
Marketing automation software will have most of the features listed above. The idea is to create a central marketing database where you can manage data related to prospects, behavior, and interactions. It enables you to segment and target the right message to the right customer. Once you have it all set-up, as a marketer, your job is to analyze all incoming data and continue to refine your approach. I would recommend that every marketer should be familiar with the marketing automation and its effectiveness.
