Excellence in marketing automation means using tools that help you achieve your goals. If you want to create a marketing tech stack in 2019, it’s crucial to do it in a systematic way that ensures you don’t waste money on apps that are feature-rich and flashy, but don’t align with your broader marketing strategy.
First, we’ll look at tips you can use to set up your marketing automation stack, then go over some types of apps you should consider using.
1. Look for apps that integrate with others
Many marketing automation apps have platforms that allow users to link several tools to them and use them all simultaneously, depending on their needs. If you don’t have any tools for automated marketing yet, prioritize looking for ones that complement those you might use soon.
Then, it should be easier than you expect to stick to a budget, plus you’ll likely find the setup processes are more straightforward than they might be if you buy apps you can’t use together. Zapier allows you to connect tools and create automated workflows to save time and trigger actions.
2. Think about which tasks are the most time-intensive
Some digital marketers decide to buy marketing automation tools mainly because they look impressive. But, the best thing to do is conclude which marketing tasks take the most time to do without help. Or, are there responsibilities that require an extremely detail-oriented approach to avoid making small but noticeable errors, like typos or copy/paste mistakes?
If so, those are the kinds of duties that could be the best fit for marketing automation. When figuring out your budget, pay close attention to the tasks that require the most time from you or your staff. Then, look for tools that help you do those things more efficiently and with better accuracy.
If you have a strong social media presence that takes substantial time to manage, Hootsuite could help you cut out repetitive steps.
3. Investigate ways to build your brand
Consistency helps digital marketers build their brands, and automation tools can work together to help set and meet the expectations of the audience. For example, some tools distribute social media content on a schedule, providing a steady stream of material to keep people interested and engaged. Other options distribute automatic emails after people take actions like signing up for an email list.
Staying in a top-of-mind position allows marketers to focus on providing content that strengthens their brands and caters to what consumers want. As you ponder how marketing automation fits with your brand-building aims, examine current shortcomings automation could address.
As a start, perhaps you get emails from frustrated customers who ask questions outside of business hours and hope to get immediate responses.
In that case, a chatbot could enhance your brand by providing specific messaging for the most common queries and making customers feel cared for any time of day or night. Intercom is a company that helps customers custom-build chatbots, and it’s just the tip of the iceberg in this emerging market.
Now that you have these tips to jump-start your thinking about how marketing automation apps can and should work together to achieve your goals this year, here are some types of tools worth exploring.
4. Send more effective, timely messaging with email automation apps
Professionals who sell things are starting to recognize the worthiness of sales automation tools. Those offerings typically work best in predictable sales environments where people follow consistent buying patterns. They’re similar to apps that automate marketing emails. Tools exist that allow you to segment your market and send different emails based on people’s known behaviors.
For example, individuals who often interact with brands on Friday evenings might get marketing emails that urge them to “Get set for the weekend” or “Reward yourself after a week of hard work.”
MailChimp and ActiveCampaign are a couple of the platforms available for people who need apps that allow them to stop manually sending marketing emails. Many of the options integrate with other platforms like Gmail and Facebook, so you can continue to use what’s familiar and reach out to customers where they are.
5. Get familiar with details when using marketing analytics apps
Adding marketing analytics apps to your automation stack lets you determine what’s working and what isn’t. As mentioned earlier, it’s ideal to invest in marketing automation solutions that integrate with the things you’re already using or want to use soon. While you browse the apps that provide marketing analytics, keep your needs in mind.
For example, do you want an app with an excellent mobile version that lets you keep tabs on active campaigns wherever you go? Or, maybe you’re new to analytics in general, and want an app with an interface that’s as user-friendly as possible.
No marketing automation platform exists on its own. Purchasing a tool for marketing analytics and adding it to your stack allows you to get information from various sources and analyze how each one works together to help your marketing plan succeed.
Most analytics apps have other functions, too. Datorama and Nielsen Marketing Cloud are analytics-focused possibilities that allow you to create reports or drill down into statistics to understand how they impact your results.
6. Potentially save money with full-stack automation apps
If you want an all-in-one system for marketing automation, full-stack automation apps are well worth a look. They could help you accomplish multiple marketing goals for less than $300 per month because you get a suite of marketing tools in a single platform. Consider checking out HubSpot and Marketo to get an idea of how you might save money with these full-stack options.
See where marketing automation takes you
2019 could be the year you achieve marketing goals that previously seemed out of reach. Automation is often the missing marketing link that helps you get more done in less time and with higher levels of consistency.
