Big or small, marketing automation software is one of the most effective means to market a product or brand for any businesses worldwide. Multiple scopes are there for digital marketing on innumerable channels since repetitive tasks can be delegated to the software designed for automating marketing strategies.
Automation can make a task easy but it is no superpower. It is to be noted that automated marketing platforms can help and assist in multiple marketing tasks, but the role of digital marketers to nurture leads and convert them to customers still remain significant. It can streamline and nurture marketing but cannot enforce sales like CRM (Customer Relationship Management).
Tips to Choose a Marketing Automation Platform
Marketing is no small task and selecting the right kind of automated technology is difficult in a landscape where top marketing automation software providing companies are rolling out professional automation platforms. So be wise to select the right technology for your business.
Right effort and investments can bring huge business dividends. So, why not spend some bucks to get the best marketing automation software available? But before that consider some of the significant aspects related to marketing automation platform (MAP) best suited for your business. They include:
The strength of MAP – whether the platform shortlisted have the broad spectrum of tools and features supporting automation in email, social media, digital ads, SMS, content development, blogging, e-commerce, webinars, and affiliates/ referrals. The checklist also includes features of independent landing pages, lead capture forms, drag and drop for coding/ programming, SEO, and demography based marketing segmentation. The platform should ideally help you in tracking user interaction on websites, tracking leads, report analytics and provide the option of A/ B testing so that you can simultaneously test two options, compare and find out the best-suited option.
Easy-to-use, Customizable and Scalable – you need to check out how user-friendly the platform is for the entire office and what kind (and how much) of training is required for the business team to handle the platform.
Next in line is customizability – whether the chosen platform can develop templates on own accord and customize to the needs of varied business tasks.
Scalability is another important feature –so checking out whether the platform can expand and upgrade its features to handle increasing users’ communication and business growth is required. Generally speaking, the majority of automation software is scalable because they run on SaaS model.
Integration with CRM – MAP can work best if integrated with CRM. Both marketing and sales team needs to work in unison to close a prospective business deal. You should choose a platform that aligns with the existing CRM system to ensure sales nurtured by the right marketing tactic(s), clever tracking and reporting.
Marketing is a sum total of different measures with the sole intent to drive in customer interest. But the marketing components can work better and effectively as an integrated whole. Before choosing you must keep an eye whether the automation platforms go beyond CRM integration and provide additional automation opportunities like aligning MAP with social media management platform and likewise.
Having API access – Choose a platform which offers API (Application Programming Interface) access because, in future, it will assist you in linking up your system with another app.
Cost of MAP –Marketing automation software comes at a price – includes set up fee, on-site team training charges, usage fees (more users mean more monthly cost) and in few cases marketing automation service providers charge more when the number of leads achieved is higher.
So, it depends on what and from whom you choose the service. But at varied budgets that gel with the need of small-to-medium-to-big business organizations or companies, MAP can be availed by all businesses.
Plan out what you require for automation, pitch a budget and then single out the automation marketing platform that best suits your purpose and price.
Customer Support – For marketing automation this is significant because companies need to provide optimum support to customers for answering queries, troubles shooting problems, and likewise. So, it would be ideal to choose the platform which provides the highest number of hours for an email response, direct phone support and chat support.
Identifying Features you Need – Company requirements vary from one business to the other. Usually, the business biggies need almost all kind of automation support for their robust business operations. But small-scale business might have fewer needs in automation.
You can choose from the three different categories of marketing automation platforms, such as – Channel-Specific, Middle/ Bottom Funnel and Full Funnel. The first supports automation in specific areas like creating and sending marketing emails. The second category of the platform is good from the angle of capturing leads and henceforth sending marketing messages. The third type includes content creation, search engine optimization measures and other kinds of customer engagement with the aim to drive interest and generate demand – therefore paving the path for sales.
Bank on Company and Customer Feedback – When confused about how to evaluate options available for marketing automation software, you can consider customer feedback and review the online testimonials on the web pages of the MAP service providers. You can find out what kind of automation technology is used by other businesses in the same league. This will give you a direction in choosing the best option in MAP.
Beware of Risks before Opting for Marketing Automation Software
Marketing automation has pitfalls if a marketer is not aware of them. For instance, it can send automated marketing emails to unsolicited customers. But do you know, sending such emails can be treated spammy and are low on customer engagement? It can be as dangerous as spoiling your IP address reputation, dip down the stats of email deliverability and bring low ROI.
Would you risk these? So, choose the best-automated marketing software from the frontrunners in SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) automation platform providers.
Get automation and give a boost to your marketing campaigns right now.
Read More: How Does Marketing Automation Work For Small Businesses?
