Machine learning, Automation, and AI. Modern technologies are taking away the mundane tasks that companies have been doing since the beginning. In different departments, these technologies can mean quite different things as far as how they can help. From HR leaders using this type of technology to help find the right candidates for a job – to Finance executives leveraging it to significantly reduce repetitive tasks. However, what do these recent technologies mean for Marketing? Let’s dive right in.

As Marketeers race to match, meet, and beat their competition to grab consumers’ attention in the most crowded of environments, it is no wonder technology has entered this space. The challenge comes down to using automation successfully. The stats do not lie when used correctly, the ROI can be tempting. However, used at speed or without intent, automation can be damaging for your brand and not be given across the kind of brand message you are looking or hoping for.

Let’s Break This Down

When it comes to Marketing, automation can help assist with tasks or efforts that can be scheduled or with a direct platform. According to a Forbes ‘A Guide to Leveraging Market Automation,’ “rather than implementing all marketing efforts manually, businesses can set schedules and deploy multiple tools to manage and monitor all marketing efforts.”

According to Salesforce, those who use automation can see conversion rates increase by 30% or more. Marketing automation can also help employees save time, increase productivity in sales by more than 14% and reduce marketing overhead by more than 12%.’

So, what are some good examples of how automation can be used for marketing?

· Automating team collaborations

· Setting up automated nurturing

· Email sequencing for follow-ups

· List segmentation and automating analytics.

You can not talk about automation without bringing personalization into the mix. The race for creating more personal content for consumers has been happening now for a while. But with consumers saying according to the Twilio Segment report, “60% of consumers say they are likely to become repeat buyers after a personalized shopping experience, and almost half say they are less likely to purchase a brand after an un-personalized experience.” So how do you make your content personalized through automation?

Automation that Misses the Mark

Automation can go wrong! Take LinkedIn for example. Ever get multiple automated messages because of something listed on your profile? Some of these messages attempt to be personalized but miss the mark stating for example, “as an executive that works at [company] you should try our software! Call us today!”

While trying to come across as a personalized message, automation can fail and instead the messaging comes across as insincere and not at all linked to you individually.

Automation the Right Way

Getting automation right can free up time for your marketing teams to address the personalization card. ‘’When automation nurtures site visitors into leads, it segments them based on different characteristics and criteria. These details of your audience, such as past purchases and buying behavior, give your insight into how to market to them effectively. As a result, they get a personalized experience from your brand while you move a prospect further down the sales funnel.’’ As shared by YEC, Young entrepreneur council in a Forbes article on automation at scale.

Automation is great for businesses from start-ups to global, but you want something that grows with you. It’s best to work with a partner that can answer some core questions for you. Including those around cost and how to best leverage automation for your strategy. But before you sign the dotted line, ensure your internal processes have been looked at and that you ready for adding automation to help enhance your team, not hinder it.

The bare bones of automation are used for the repetitive, scheduled tasks so your teams can focus on the more creative, personalized, and innovative marketing campaigns and strategies.

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