Isn't the concept of set it and forget it marketing wonderful? Creating marketing promotions once, entering them into an automation tool and kicking back while you wait for the money to come in is quite appealing. Marketing automation tools are available for almost every type of customer contact. They are frequently grouped under the customer relationship management umbrella with the misguided view that automated responses are a viable substitute for genuinely caring about your customers.
Finding the right balance between automation and personal connection is a huge challenge. Each company has an individual corporate culture that determines what is acceptable or not. Copying the competition is an exercise in futility because they have different relationships with their customers. The people who frequent your business have expectations that must be met for continued success.
Individual customer preferences add to the challenges of finding the perfect balance. There are so many marketing and communication channels available it is economically impossible to participate in all of them. It gets to be so overwhelming that automating everything and moving to a cave becomes tempting. Before you go that far, think about what drives your revenue and how you could increase it if you had the time. Now, think about how you are actually spending your time. Are you dancing close to the revenue stream or flittering about in routine activities that don't move you forward?
Marketing automation can move the revenue stream away from your daily activities.
Out of sight is out of mind. Before you know it, weeks have passed, your marketing is losing steam and you are clueless. When you automate without extensive oversight you lose visibility of the out-of-whack factor. There are always anomalies that appear when people go data diving. Some are early warnings of pending catastrophes. Others are inspiration for new product lines, services, or promotions. All are hidden from view in set it and forget it marketing.
The best approach to creating an effective automated marketing strategy is to identify the items that can be effectively and economically automated, invest the necessary resources into setting them up correctly, and schedule regular reviews of the content and process. Marketing is always best when it is fresh. Here are some do's and don'ts to help you along the way:
- Do use marketing automation to save time and money. Email, social, and mobile marketing have tools that allow you to schedule activity.
- Don't schedule activity during times no one will be available to respond. The idea is to motivate the customer or prospect to do something. Poor scheduling reduces opportunity and revenue.
- Do plan complete campaigns including dates and delivery times. Once a few are scheduled there will be less stress and knee-jerk marketing.
- Don't fail to monitor the process. Include yourself as a recipient in every marketing campaign so you'll see and hear everything your customers and prospects do.
- Do use transactional emails to keep customers informed about their order process. It improves relationships and reduces calls.
- Don't forget that transactional emails are a customer touchpoint. Using them simply to relay information is a lost opportunity.
- Do include social media updates on your blog or website. Include an invitation for your visitors to connect with you.
- Don't keep outdated information on your website or blog. If you aren't active in on a social media platform, remove the app.
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