What Is Marketing Automation?

More Specific. Less Effort.

Marketing Automation is a new spin on a classic concept: timely communication. 

As more and more is required of your business, basic things like following up with someone can slip through the cracks. A customer that you’ve already spoken to is much more likely to buy from you. It’s important that you don’t let those relationships wither away.

“Marketing automation was designed to prevent that,” says Billie Selichnow, Senior Marketing Automation Specialist at LeadsNearby. “It streamlines repetitive tasks like sending emails or text messages and tracking customer interactions.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by LeadsNearby (@leadsnearby)

Here are 3 Key Benefits of Marketing Automation:

1.) Save Time

“Marketing automation saves time because it’s very hands-off for the business owner,” says Billie.

Once you design a campaign, those messages get sent, in order, to every person who fits within the criteria.

“You only design each customer experience once. After that,” Billie says, “customers get the specific content you want them to have at the moment you want them to have it.” 

This can be based on previous interactions, promotions, or other data points that you set.

“Let’s say you want to welcome a new customer,” offers Katy Kohut, Marketing Automation Specialist at LeadsNearby. “After the tech completes the first job, the automation triggers the email to go out. There’s no reason to write a new email or even remember to copy and paste the one you sent to the last new customer. This is what the automation is for.”

The best part,” Billie adds, “is once it’s activated, the business owner gets to sit back and watch the calls roll in.”

2.) Personalize Your Customer Experience

Marketing automation gives you ways to organize your customers. 

When you set up a campaign, you can separate customers into different groups. Maybe you want to group the customers in your maintenance club, and another group of customers that have an older HVAC in their home that might be ready to upgrade. 

Now, instead of sending one email trying to cover all of those topics, you can schedule multiple emails, each one tailored to the specific buyer you want to reach. 

Whether that’s an email educating them on the savings that come with upgrading or a text selling specific services to repeat customers, marketing automation helps you build a relationship with your customer. 

“You get in front of the customer at the most ideal time,” Billie says. “The targeting and timing you get with marketing automation drives up your ROI.”

3.) Get It Together!

Marketing automation offers tremendous opportunities to coordinate your messaging. 

You can be consistent in multi-channel marketing – from content to timing. “For example, you can schedule a text message to hit the day your mailer arrives,” Katy says. 

“This way, you are shaping the customer’s journey in real-time,” adds Billie. “Each of these impressions, when applied at the right time, makes it easier to sell a service or a product to your customers.”

Marketing automation also streamlines your messaging. This way, you aren’t bombarding people with too much contact.

“If you already have an automation happening in one place,” Billie says, “it’s not necessary to add it in another.” For example, if a tech sent a review request via Nearby Now, you would not also need to send one from ServiceTitan. 

“Contacting a customer too many times can feel like spam,” Katy says. “Which can drive the customer away.”

Automatic Improvements

Marketing automation not only supercharges your efficiency but also personalizes customer experiences. According to Billie, “This combination of relevant communication leads to stronger connections with your customers.” 

With marketing automation, there’s no confusion about what messages people are getting and when. 

When combined with social media, a newsletter, and other broad-reaching marketing techniques, your business will be covering all bases in a way that frees your time up to do what you do best: serve your customers!

Call 919-758-8420 today and find out how a marketing automation plan would improve your marketing strategy. That’s just one part of a free 25-minute marketing consultation from LeadsNearby!