Why Does Your Small Business Need Marketing Automation?

Branding is one of the most important aspects of any successful business, and marketing is how you get your name out there. There are a ton of different ways to bring attention to your company, from social media to advertising to contests. Either way, keeping your workflow organized and on schedule is crucial for the success of any marketing campaign.

Marketing automation is an easy way to streamline sales and marketing efforts by simplifying or eliminating repetitive tasks. Automation software allows you to seamlessly:

  • Schedule posts, email campaigns, and other content
  • Set alerts and reminders
  • See upcoming projects in full calendar view
  • Post to multiple digital channels simultaneously
  • Sync inboxes
  • Send auto responses
  • Build customizable workflow templates
  • Adapt to user behaviors and actions with Artificial Intelligence
  • Gain access to files, documents, and marketing materials with cloud-based storage and sharing

What are marketing automation systems?

If you aren’t using a marketing automation system to organize your content and media plan, your business is definitely missing out. Marketing automation can single-handedly turn your entire operation around if you’re used to managing processes manually

By relying on manual methods, you’re opening yourself up to a much wider margin of error. Deadlines, corrections, and approvals all run the risk of falling through the cracks if you aren’t using automation software as a safety net. 

In addition to organizing your documents and files, marketing automation systems can also help your team improve:

  • Email marketing
  • Segmentation
  • ROI measurement 
  • Landing page creation
  • Virtual collaboration
  • Cross-departmental communication
  • Content and design personalization

Customizable workflows are one of the best ways that marketing automation software will help you stay organized and on top of your projects. Allowing you to create the exact workflow to fit your team will help you stay focused by trimming the fat and only providing you with the functions you need to succeed. 

What is the difference between marketing automation and CRM?

While marketing automation software is often a part of a larger customer relationship management (CRM) component, it provides a specific function. 

The purpose of establishing marketing initiatives in business is to increase brand awareness and lead to conversions. Whereas a CRM system is used to track and manage the entire customer lifecycle, and is heavily sales focused when it comes to data and analysis. 

Marketing automation systems are put into place to make marketing initiatives easier and more effective. They also help you to gather important data through testing and dynamic reports. 

If you’re unsure which system you need to implement, consider where you are in your sales strategy. Marketing automation can drastically improve the initial phases of the customer acquisition process, particularly lead generation. On the other hand, CRM functions are ideal for the tipping point of the sales funnel where conversions are most likely to be made.

Why Does Your Small Business Need Marketing Automation?

How do you start using marketing automation?

The first step to adopting any new marketing automation system is to identify your business’ specific goals and needs. Once you know what you want to accomplish, it’s much easier to form a plan of execution

To get started, make an outline of all of the marketing tasks you need to complete on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Then, determine which ones can be automated by running each project through this checklist:

  • Does the task require critical thinking or emotional intelligence? If so, you might not be able to automate it.
  • Is the project repetitive or reliant on predictable patterns, such as content scheduling notifications? Then, it can probably be automated.
  • Can you set up the task in advance? You could shave hours from your workload each week by planning with automation software.
  • Is the task necessary, but time consuming and not central to the innovation or growth of your brand? Automation could save you a significant amount in operational costs.

Launching your marketing automation plan is as easy as determining what you need it for, and how you plan to grow or improve your business using the product. If you’re looking to save time, money, and stress by reducing your workload and simplifying existing processes, marketing automation could completely turn your business around.

What is the best marketing automation software?

When you’re shopping for a marketing automation system to make your day go by easier, it’s important to consider all of the features that are being offered. Gryffin automation software includes a comprehensive suite of features, like:

Choose a system that includes everything you need to revamp your company’s marketing plan, and try Gryffin marketing automation for free today.