Many of us have heard the word ‘automating’ but often we don’t really know or understand how this would apply to our businesses. Especially in a service based business we tend to still hold the reins and do everything ourselves. It’s time to let go a little and use technology to do the work for us, and often technology is much better at certain tasks than we are.
1: Be more efficient
One of the benefits of automating certain parts of your online marketing is that it improves efficiency. It frees up (or should) your time to work on tasks that are income generating, or more important, than some of the smaller tasks you’re doing that are repetitive.
2: Consistency
Automating your online marketing allows for more consistency, it means that you are creating a process that you follow and have your marketing content go out on set days and times. Consistency is key to online marketing success. The aim is to get your readers ‘hooked’ and waiting for your next piece of content.
3: Allows nurturing
The previous point leads perfectly into this point. By consistently posting content your audience will come to expect your posts and will be looking forward to them. This way you can nurture them and build a relationship. People tend to buy from people they know, like and trust so building relationships is very important.
4: Offers A/B testing
Marketing automation systems, in particular email marketing, often offers the option to test different components like subject lines which is a great option to find out what is working with your ideal client and what isn’t. Sometimes we think we know what works but the only way to find out if it actually is, is to test two variables against each other to see what works better.
For example, is it a short subject line or a longer one.
5: Utilise up-sell and cross-sell opportunities
How many opportunities have been lost because there was no follow up on cross-sell or up-sell opportunities in your business? If you don’t know, then you’ve just identified another reason for marketing automation tools.
Marketing automation tools can be used to remind existing clients to purchase your products again once the products they’ve already purchased need replacing (if applicable). The tools can also identify people who’ve purchased a specific service in the past and send out an email three months later highlighting the benefits of an upgrade. There are so many possibilities.
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