This season we talk about what marketing automation is and what it means for your business.
The term is used by many different software companies in many different ways, so it’s natural that it causes confusion and overwhelm for many business owners who would like to implement this solution for their business.
What does marketing automation mean?
Here’s our internal definition at Bumper Leads (you’re welcome to share!)
“the process of using digital technology to help us execute your sales and marketing strategy”
You can tune into our episode on our Podcast here, where we start the show by framing what marketing automation actually is and this is where we share lots of examples of what worked (and what hasn’t worked!) for our clients.
Another simple way to describe what marketing automation is, is that it is not email marketing.
In today’s digital world, many of our clients are overwhelmed with apps and software. There are hundreds of software businesses to choose from when it comes to marketing automation. Many of our clients are new to marketing automation. Whether you’re brand new to digital marketing or an established business, we find that you will face the same challenges when it comes to marketing automation.
In our episode titled: What is marketing automation? HINT: It’s not email marketing, our two automation mavericks, Jovana and Milena, break down some challenges by starting with a simple question – what does marketing automation mean?
We like to think of it as having another resource in your business that doesn’t attract additional overhead and can save you time and money, while also generating additional revenue without you having to lift a finger!
To achieve this, you would need to have a marketing automation plan that will help you implement smart, seamless customer experience based on your ideal customer journey.
What is the difference between marketing automation and email marketing?
The difference is huge! We covered this in our previous article in more depth here.
In short, marketing automation doesn’t just happen by itself. Even after you select the right software, you still need to figure out how your sales process looks and what your overall marketing strategy is.
It is difficult to look at automation in isolation of the whole business, so it’s very important to begin with your overall business strategy and how this fits in with what your marketing and sales strategy is trying to achieve. We’d like to get an overview of the whole business, before we start to offer recommendations on what apps and tools would play nice with your strategy.
Whereas when it comes to “email marketing”, the definition is more simple and easy to understand. It means that we are using email to market to our external leads and customers. It’s another channel just like your social media channels or SEO.
So if you’re still asking yourself, but what does marketing automation mean and how will it work for my business. We’ve listed a few quick points below to help you see the difference:
- Robust reporting
- Robust segmentation
- A CRM or a Customer Relationship Management Software
- Task management to help you stay on top of your leads
- Automation between internal interactions that customers don’t get to see – i.e. if a VIP customer buys a product, then notify your packing team to add something special to the order
- Payment processing
- A complete automated nurturing system to help you attract, nurture and retain subscribers and customers.
And this is what email marketing offers:
- ease of use because the logic is simple – ie. send a newsletter to your customer list
- cheaper ongoing monthly costs because you don’t need all that automation
- part of your ongoing content marketing strategy which is the same as your other channels
So now that this is a bit clearer, in order to know if you’re business is ready for an automated marketing system, you can answer these 3 questions:
How can I get a steady flow of new AND qualified leads?
How can I get more time in my day?
How can I scale and grow my business effortlessly?
And yes, you have to be prepared before you begin to implement a marketing growth system. Luckily, we specialise in all of this and can help you – we offer a 30-min free discovery call. You can reach out to us here
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To keep in touch with us, you can follow us on
***INSTAGRAM, follow us on @bumperleads
***FACEBOOK Page called Bumper Leads
*** Follow me on Twitter @JovanaTheGreat
***Follow us on LinkedIn
***Checklist: 30 Marketing Automation tasks that save 10+ hours per week – Download here
*** You can find all episodes here: https://bumperleads.com/podcast
***SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW my podcast so I can continue delivering awesome shows
(I do a happy dance around the house every time I see a 5-star review 😉 Muchas Gracias!)
Milena and Jovana
Marketing Automation Experts | The Crazy Twin and The Evil Twin
Milena and Jovana are the hosts of our show called Marketing Automation Made Simple where they like to geek out on technology, business and marketing.
The answer is YES, you are seeing double! But before you get your eyesight checked, it’s natural for people to get confused when they meet us. We sound the same and look the same, but we are not the same.
We help our clients alleviate unnecessary stress when it comes to dealing with both marketing and technology in their business. Simplifying sales and marketing systems is what we enjoy doing!
As twin sisters, we rely on our telepathic ‘wireless’ powers to sort through complex problems while responding to high vibrations from excitement as we create marketing growth systems for our clients that save them time and money.