Innovation starts with an idea
We all have big ideas for our businesses. Some never materialize, others start strong then fizzle out, and the fortunate few gain enough traction to become a hit (looking at you Popeyes Crispy Chicken Sandwich). But on rare occasion, there are a few business ideas that end up growing beyond expectations, and revolutionize the world as we know it. Take for example ENIAC, the first ever computer system which was designed in the 1940’s to serve as a glorified calculator. That same computing system served as the foundation for the laptops, tablets, and smart phones we all rely on so heavily today. A more cliche example would be Henry Ford’s assembly line. At the turn of the 20th century, Ford decided to create an assembly line that would streamline the assembly process for his cars. Not only did this increase the speed of production and lower manufacturing costs, but Ford’s groundbreaking innovation also served as one of the earliest and most successful examples on how automation can be used to boost business.
At this point you’re probably thinking “why is my marketing agency giving me a history lesson on antiquated computers and 20th century cars”, but we promise these examples are not completely random. Turning through these pages of history can actually give us a glimpse at the future of marketing. Over time, the convergence of these two pivotal innovations— computer processing and automation in the workplace— indirectly gave rise to a new form of marketing known as Digital Marketing Automation.
What is Digital Marketing Automation?
Digital Marketing Automation involves the use of software and specialized technological tools to automate repetitive tasks normally associated with marketing campaigns. Some of these tasks would include social media posts, email marketing blasts, and Ad campaigns. This eliminates the need to draft up one-off emails or manually update a page every time you want to promote a relevant product or service to your customers. By setting up an automated digital contact strategy, you can execute customized outreach plans for each of your clients without wasting precious time or resources. Once set up, these automation strategies and tools all run continuously in the background of your business, freeing up more time and energy for employees to focus on high level tasks as opposed to the repetitive “busy work” that has traditionally been a bottleneck for the workflow of marketing teams.
Ingredients of a good Digital Marketing Strategy
Looking at a timeline of digital marketing, it is clear that the practice of automated customer contact started out primarily as an email-oriented contact strategy. But, as the technological landscape continues to shift, so too must digital automation strategy adapt with the times. In order to maximize the scope and impact of campaign, modern contact strategies must now reach beyond the boundaries of email. As it stands today, a good automation strategy may rely on automated emails, retargeting ads, outreach timelines, A/B testing, CRM data, and other tools to ensure you’re connecting with customers at every stage of their journey with your business. Not only do these practices increase brand engagement, but they also allow businesses to ensure that the information being sent out aligns with each recipient’s interests, behaviors, and spending patterns.
Not only is “what” your customers see important, digital marketing automation also allows you to control “when” they see it. According to MailChimp, “Being strategic with your marketing communications isn’t just about reaching out to your contacts repeatedly—it’s about considering and mapping out when interacting with potential shoppers or customers will be most meaningful. Reaching people at relevant moments also helps you organize, clean, and manage your audience based on engagement.”
How does it work for my business?
There are a wide array of tangible benefits your business can take away from implementing an automated digital marketing strategy. As was touched on before, automation practices are a great way to improve workflow, freeing up time for employees to spend on more critical tasks and subsequently boosting overall team productivity. Digital Marketing Automation also directly increases the effectiveness of your customer outreach. Using these tools allows business to aggregate and track data on their audience’s behaviors, preferences, purchase activity, and more in order to identify what content will be the most relevant and have the greatest impact on each individual. When used correctly, Digital Marketing Automation has been shown to increase customer engagement by providing each customer with content that is thoughtful, personalized, and timely— being delivered on a schedule that is predetermined to maximize the messages’ impact and relevancy.
Although we have focused primarily on how Digital Marketing Automation can help to engage an existing customer base, it can also bolster new lead generation as well. Marketing automation is proven to increase leads, and improve lead to conversion ratios, ultimately increasing revenue and profitability. Recent data suggests that it can can boost sales productivity by 14.5% and reduce marketing overheads by 12.2%. Whether your goals are to increase brand loyalty, customer engagement, or new business generation, Digital Marketing Automation can provide a low maintenance path to reach your business objectives.
Setting up your Automated Digital Marketing Approach
In retrospect, it truly is fascinating how seemingly small innovations in the past can lead to world changing breakthroughs. Just like the Henry Fords of the past, your business ideas could grow to become revolutionary— and there is no better way to share those ideas than through the use of an automated digital marketing strategy. Need help with planning or executing your digital marketing approach? Here at sasse, we specialize in crafting these exact kinds of high impact, strategic automation campaigns. Schedule a 30 minute consultation to speak with an expert and learn more about how sasse can help your business.
