Inbound marketing is more prevalent than ever.
Customers are over traditional marketing efforts such as television advertisements, spam-like email blasts, and direct mail. Hounding people with useless information is almost a sure-fire way to send potential leads out the door. Marketing automation can help.
Inbound marketing has proven to be a helpful and adaptable solution.
What gets tricky is trying to micromanage and collaborate all of these channels and platforms as one campaign.
This is where marketing automation can be a real time and money saver. Marketing automation, in a nutshell, is a ‘one-stop’ location for all of your inbound marketing materials. These services allows companies to combine newsletters, social media posts, blog posts, and more into one central program where marketers can prioritize and execute their efforts in a much more efficient manner.
As noted above, the buying process can be very delicate. With inbound marketing, marketers are encouraged to nurture their leads by providing worthwhile information that is tailored to individuals- not a mass audience.
There are countless ways this can be carried out. For example, say you place a call-to-action on your web page, such as downloading an informative whitepage. In order to download the free whitepage, website visitors must provide their contact information, such as an email address and first and last name. After they provide this information through an online form, marketers can reach out to these prospects and further determine if these people are real leads or not. After downloading, a ‘Thank You’ email can be sent out or perhaps, an invite to download a case study containing information that is related to the whitepage.
A person who simply opened the ‘Thank You’ email should not receive the same information as the person who opened the email and then took further action, such as downloading the case study. Not downloading the second link does not necessarily disqualify someone as a potential lead; it suggests they are at a different stage of their buying process. Both parties should be contacted- in a timely, appropriate manner.
With marketing automation, these prospects can be easily managed and condensed into smaller groups allowing your sales and marketing team to reach out at appropriate times for the buyer. Both groups appreciate the more personalization from your company.
With hundreds of marketing automation services, it can be difficult to pinpoint which best matches your company’s needs. Determine what your company is looking for, but also keep in mind what you may be open to. Not all services are exactly alike- some offer the basics while others are much more elaborate. Also, be certain that a knowledgeable support team is offered. These programs can be a little overwhelming so having the right personnel to guide you through this transition is key.
While marketing automation may seem challenging, these services are proven to be highly successful. Mango Bay Internet can help design and automate an inbound marketing campaign that will work for you. To receive more information, visit our contact page or call (216) 335-9255.
Download our free e-book “25 Website Must Haves” for more tips on how to increase traffic, leads, and sales from your website.