The adoption of marketing automation tools has undergone a rapid increase in the last decade.
Owing to growing competition, rising business standards, and changing demands, the use of marketing automation is only set to increase.
In fact, by the start of 2021, 51% of businesses had upgraded to automation and by 2022, 80% of all advertising processes are expected to be automated. Growing at an unprecedented rate, global spending on marketing automation tools is predicted to surpass $25 billion by 2023.
In this environment, switching to marketing automation alone isn’t enough to gain a competitive edge and meet the high standards needed to navigate the market successfully. The trick to smoothening the path to automation is to merge the best marketing automation software with the best implementation hacks.
Define your marketing and automation goals
Before you launch your automation system, you need to define your marketing goals and determine the role automation software will hold in your operations.
The initial step in this process is to review your business needs and operations and identify the areas you can automate and cut out manual labour. You can also define your automation goals by separating operations that are tedious and time-intensive—processes that you can entrust to martech or AI and machine learning—from operations that require human intelligence.
In most cases, automation can replace manual operations such as email marketing, social media management, market insight retrieval, and surveys.
As you define these goals, it’s important to communicate with each department of your organisation and determine how automation will affect each.
Defining and categorising your goals can ensure optimal use of automation tools and employee skills and help you divide labour and resources more effectively.
When you know exactly what you want your automation systems to help you achieve, the process of choosing, integrating, and training the right teams becomes smoother.
Choose the best marketing automation software for you
The contemporary market is saturated with innumerable automation software options, with companies leveraging platforms like Keap and HubSpot with their attractive in-built features for automation.
While some of these platforms have the exact tools that can help you nail your business goals, some may not be compatible with your operations.
Here are a few things to check when choosing your automation software.
- Features
Most automation softwares have a set of features that can launch several marketing campaigns and automate programs like lead scoring, website visitor tracking, and automated emails. It’s important that you opt for a solution with the tools to execute the operations that you have prioritised.
- Convenience
Ease of use is another one of the leading features of automation software. Your solution should be able to simplify work for your teams, must be easy to navigate, and must require the least amount of learning and training.
- Integration
An efficient automation solution is one that can be integrated with your existing software. For example, if you’re already using a CRM, integrating it with the best marketing automation software makes it easier to manage your customer data, improve customer relationships, and send personalised emails with ease.
Bring in an automation consultant
In this year alone, 48.6% of businesses have not used marketing automation due to a lack of expertise.
While many marketing automation companies have made software implementation easier, an automation consultant can give you personalised guidance to set you in the right direction.
A qualified consultant can guide you through the entire process of automation implementation, from reviewing existing automation systems, suggesting new strategies, and choosing new solutions to launching your new system and training your team to make the most of your solutions.
Beyond this, an automation consultant can even support you with strategy development and facilitate the launch of future-proof campaigns that meet changing market demands.
Excel in marketing automation with the right implementation hacks
Automation isn’t just about using the latest tools or software solutions.
To ensure you’re reaping the complete benefits of your automation system, you need a strategy backed by implementation hacks alongside the best marketing automation software.
If you wish to know more about implementation best practices, schedule a free consultation with us today.