This is going to be an obvious statement, but running a business is hard. There are what seem to be a million moving parts. There’s anything from managing inventory and keeping employees satisfied—if hiring others for help—to staying relevant in an ever-changing market. To sum up, there is a lot that goes into running a business. And, as a result, it can feel easy to get caught under the currents. Success is important, but with success comes a larger company and a greater amount of tasks to deal with.
One of the biggest aspects that a business will have to manage is marketing. Without marketing, potential customers will never know what the product is and how it can help them. A brand might as well not exist without solid marketing. Luckily, there is such a magical thing as marketing automation. Marketing automation can take much of the hard work off of a business owner’s plate. Automated marketing might sound like the Holy Grail of marketing aids. In many ways, it could be a business’s best friend—or their greatest enemy.
What Is Marketing Automation?
Marketing automation utilizes software to automate much of the tedious aspects that go into effective marketing. For example, it helps us to manage email marking and make social media posts. It also assists us with enabling a more consistent workflow, and even to run large-scale ad campaigns. Assigning these tasks to automated marketing software can be a great relief. It can allow a team to put all of their efforts into the product itself. It would sound pretty amazing for any company to take the weight of marketing off their plate. Keep in mind that with every great thing is a catch. Just as much bad can happen as good. Marketing automation has much to offer. Here are a few mistakes to avoid so you can get the most out of automated marketing.
#1 “I Don’t Like Spam!”
Apologies if you’re now thinking of Eric Idle and Graham Chapman. We can all agree that nobody likes spam. No, we’re not talking about the stuff from the can or a British comedy sketch. We’re talking about the repetitive and often relentless exposure to the same message or image. This can come as a means to either sell a product—or, in many cases, to annoy someone online. Furthermore, spam can often become a major issue with marketing automation. If the software is left unmanaged for long enough, it will simply repeat the same ads over and over again. Automated marketing only goes so far, as it still requires a level of management to keep things under control.
#2 Being Human
A company’s customers are human. While this might seem obvious to point out, marketing automation can very easily make a business drift away from the most important aspect of running a business. That’s the human aspect. Automated marketing is designed to replace manual tasks like sending out adverts or running campaigns. Remember that the customer should never be lost in this process. Social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or even the more professional LinkedIn are a bridge to the world, not a wall.
#3 Data Is Key
Marketing automation can also make it easy to lose track of consumer data. Also, remember: a market is constantly changing. Proper data management is key to understanding who you’re selling to and whether or not to change tactics depending on that data. While promising KPIs (success indicators over time) are appealing, don’t forget the people that are behind those numbers.
Recap
Again, what is marketing automation? And where do you start? Web Content Development can help any business get the ropes of automated marketing, but it’s up to the company to decide how well it serves them. Let Web Content Development help you get the most out of marketing automation before it gets the most out of you.