13 Best Practices & Tips for Successful Marketing Automation

1. What is Marketing Automation?
2. Applications and examples of Marketing Automation
3. Why Marketing Automation is important for companies
4. 13 Marketing Automation Best Practices & Tips
5. The most popular marketing automation tools at a glance
6. Marketing Automation: The advantages outweigh

So many tasks, so little time: working simultaneously on a thousand construction sites in marketing and has at least as many interfaces to other departments. Often, after the “work” of everyday tasks, there is hardly any time left to devote oneself to new projects. Here, marketing automation software can be a real game changer. As their name suggests, they ensure that workflows and tasks are initiated or completed through defined triggers. Email marketing, social media, lead scoring, tracking: for every marketing area there is the suitable tool or a cloud software that contains it.

The beautiful thing about it: when using marketing automation, you never completely hand over the reins - instead you can lean back a little and let some tasks be done on autopilot.

In this article, our guest author Tobias Asam explains what marketing automation is and shows with the help of 13 best practices & tips how to successfully implement it.

What is Marketing Automation?

Marketing Automation (or Marketing Automation) is understood as the automated execution of marketing tasks with the help of a corresponding software. The aim of these automations is to make and improve individual aspects of everyday marketing more efficient (in terms of time). Other important areas of application are the central collection and categorization of customer data, performance tracking and especially the personalization of content based on this.

The starting point of all best practices in Marketing Automation is a corresponding software. Here one can choose between tools that primarily cover one area, such as Mailchimp for email marketing automation, or so-called cloud software that includes several native tools, such as HubSpot Marketing Hub.

For the users* themselves, the automated processes are not recognizable. Rather, they also benefit from them: thanks to the analysis of their data and (buying) interests, marketing teams can create individualized and helpful content and play it out (automated) to them at the right time.

Applications and examples of Marketing Automation

To get a concrete insight into the many applications and examples of marketing automation you will find some frequently used application examples:

Lead generation & segmentation

Already in this early phase of the sales funnel, automated processes can simplify the generation and conversion of leads. A simple example would look like this: A person reads a blog post, at the end of which they are redirected to a landing page via a CTA button, where they can sign up for thematically similar content. The activation and later playing out of the corresponding content takes place automated and without the involvement of the marketing team. In addition, the stored customer data are automatically played into the respective CRM database of the software. Here, leads are automatically segmented according to different criteria, such as demographics, interactions or willingness to buy. The created lists help to take further marketing measures quickly and targetedly.

Email Marketing

The central collection and categorization of all relevant customer data within a database is one of the most important best practices in email marketing automation. Based on the stored information, personalized mails can be sent automatically. For example, leads that have downloaded a specific whitepaper according to the database receive personalized follow-up mails at a later date.

Depending on the information stored and how the respective company communicates, the recipients can be addressed by first or last name or their emails are always signed by the same team member. Through the personalization, the customers feel perceived as people and gain trust in the respective brand. In a later step, with the help of the appropriate tools, it can also be seen which emails have performed particularly well. In this way, previously defined and automated processes are not simply repeated stiffly and without questioning, but are continuously adapted and improved.

Social Media Marketing

Also in Social Media Marketing work can be done more efficiently with the help of the suitable automation software. In addition to the planning and automated publication of content, interactions and insights play a particularly important role here. Depending on the community and content, responses to messages and comments have to be made on a daily basis. Frequently received (in) quests - be it via PM or in the comment column - can be answered quickly, for example, with the help of easily accessible text modules without appearing impersonal.

In addition to the more efficient design of content and best practices in community management, social media automation tools are also interesting with regard to their insights. These provide revealing insights into the performance of individual posts, ads and their commitments. Future content can thus be adapted to achieve better results.

Why Marketing Automation is important for companies

The advantages of marketing automation software are numerous. However, using them primarily helps to perform regularly occurring marketing tasks faster, more structured and partially automated. In the long run, this not only reduces costs, but also improves the ROI (Return of Investment):

Potential customers can be recognized early on as such with the help of the appropriate software, after which the appropriate marketing measures are set in motion - automatically and without losing valuable time. This way, not only conversion rates, but also sales can improve.

Since every type of marketing automation requires a certain amount of strategic preparation, they contribute to ensuring that customers only see relevant and well thought-out content from your company. In the daily flood of newsletters, posts and ads that focus more on quantity than quality, qualitatively and quantitatively well thought-out content scores sympathy points.

Last but not least, automatically created insights provide reliable information about whether the respective marketing measures are achieving the desired success. In a time when audience interests, trends and demand are constantly changing, rigid and inflexible marketing strategies are increasingly proving to be ineffective. The reliable and automated reporting of campaigns, content & Co. enables marketing teams to stay on the ball and adapt their strategies. In this way, untapped potentials can be recognized before competitors and can be used promptly.

13 Marketing Automation Best Practices & Tips

#1 Personalization is the key

Use the data collected and evaluated in the context of marketing automation to personalize your measures as comprehensively as possible. For this, consciously address the interests and challenges of your target groups with thoughtful content and play it out at the right time of their buyers journey. By intensively personalizing your campaigns, your customers feel perceived and understood, which has a positive effect on their engagement.

#2 Content that is really helpful 

In addition to data-based personalization of content, e.g. by personal address, you should pay particular attention to the extent to which it is useful to your users. A good starting point is the inbound method 'They ask, you answer'. To find out which questions visitors really have, it is worth regularly exchanging information with sales or customer management and viewing insights. Based on the collected answers, you can now create interesting content like whitepapers, webinars or live streams and play it out automated to interested users. In this way you stand out from the wide crowd and deliver - depending on the campaign goal - not only entertaining, but relevant content.

#3 Labels and tags from the beginning

Due to the numerous data and components that should be played into marketing automation software, consistent labeling and tagging of all content is enormously important. For this, consult with all other software users in advance and jointly define which labels or tags you want to use. Keep everything in a document accessible to all and agree on a uniform workflow. Even though the definition and application of labels and tags initially involves additional effort, in the long run it lays the foundation for order and smooth processes.

#4 You better track your… performance

So that the common best practices of marketing automation can have lasting success, it is inevitable to track the performances of your measures. For this, use the integrated tools of the software you have chosen and check how your campaigns perform with regard to open rate, click-through rate or conversions. By regularly evaluating the data that is relevant for you, you can take optimization measures for ongoing and future campaigns. If you are unsure why the performance does not meet your expectations, an A/B test can provide insights about the interests of your audience.

#5 Everything's easy with automated meetings

Tools like Calendly or HubSpot Meetings help you plan automated meetings. With the help of the applications, customers and interested parties can directly arrange a appointment via your website or via email. You can make information about your availability in advance and synchronize your calendars (or other tools). And internal meetings can quickly and effectively be planned and held using the appropriate applications. In this way, you save yourself the cumbersome and time-consuming search for appointments with one or more people and can move potential leads to a meeting more quickly to convince them of your company.

#6 Buyer persona also goes automatically

In addition to the classic creation of a buyer persona based on demographics, needs, and interests, leads can also be automated to a predefined persona. The definition is made by specifying specific criteria, such as filling out a specific form or consuming special content. As soon as leads meet one or more of these criteria, they are automatically assigned to the corresponding persona, for which appropriate marketing measures can then be taken.

#7 Dynamic forms for happy leads

With the help of dynamic forms, you spare users frustration and time when filling out forms and at the same time increase the amount of stored data. By pre-filling fields, for example, verifying addresses automatically, or supplementing the city based on the zip code, you increase the willingness of customers to complete and submit the form. It is also important here that already entered information is stored and the completion can be continued on another device. Through dynamic forms, the error rate decreases and users are more likely to make qualitative and quantitative relevant information, which you can in turn use for further marketing measures.

#8 Rigid nurturing program is old-school

With the help of a dynamic lead nurturing program, your customers can decide for themselves where their buyer journey goes. For this, rely again on already collected data such as the interests and interactions of your leads and consider which further measures they would find helpful. Then offer these in the form of suitable content: for example, a lead who has downloaded a whitepaper on the topic of personnel marketing, would automatically receive content for executives (à la “Executive Summary including checklist for executives”). By not seeing the customer journey of your leads as set in stone, but approaching it flexibly, you increase the likelihood of a conversion.

#9 In terms of leads, thinking in drawers is allowed

In order to address those leads first with your marketing measures that are particularly relevant for you and your company, it is worth classifying them within your marketing automation software. For this, you can use an integrated scoring tool or work with the labels that make sense for you. The goal is to classify your leads in “drawers” that say something about their probability of purchase, such as “Marketing Qualified Lead”, “Engaged” or “Lost”. By grouping and evaluating leads (lead scoring), measures adapted to the respective group can be taken.

#10 Follow-up content with sense & reason

One of the most effective best practices in email automation is to send individualized follow-up emails to maintain contact with hot leads or to transform cold leads into warm ones. Define the criteria and triggers for this that activate the automatic dispatch: e.g. previously filled out forms, downloaded whitepapers, clicked links etc. Pay particular attention to personalization possibilities for the follow-up mails, e.g. personal addressing of the recipients, interesting subject lines and meaningful CTAs. 

#11 Automatically improve data quality

The CRM (Customer Relationship Management) forms the basis for most marketing automation best practices. So that everything runs smoothly when working with the precious lead data, you should keep an eye on the data quality and improve it regularly. Depending on which tool you want to use, customer data should be synchronized, cleaned, (re)formatted, exported or evaluated in terms of quality across all platforms. 

#12 Messages that come (really) well

Email marketing is one of the most important best practices in marketing automation. In order for your measures to be successful, the deliverability of the emails is the be-all and end-all. For this, check with the help of suitable tools whether your domain is on a blacklist. Also create DKIM, DMARC and SPF entries to protect and authenticate your mail domains from misuse. In terms of WhatsApp Marketing, it is important to note that the recipient must first save your number and then confirm the opt-in with the help of a start message. As with all other marketing messages, you can only send messages if the GDPR has been confirmed. 

#13 Sharing is caring: Tools want to be shared

A marketing automation software has the aim to make workflows more effective and thus save time. For this reason, it is important to provide the right interfaces. As marketing and sales usually work closely together and need insight into the same contact data, all relevant departments should have access to the software and be briefed on the defined workflows. In this way, you not only facilitate communication and the flow of information between the respective teams, but at the same time define the affiliations.

The most popular marketing automation tools at a glance

As numerous as the possible uses of marketing automation software are also their providers. To find the software that is suitable for you and your strategy, you should first think about which functions or areas you want to automate, for example CRM, social media, email. Furthermore, your budget of course plays a role in choosing the right program. An overview of the most popular software programs as well as their functions, prices and ratings can be found in the OMR Reviews on Marketing Automation.

• HubSpot Marketing Hub

• Brevo (ehemals Sendinblue)

• Emarsys

• ActiveCampaign

• Klaviyo

• Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (aka Pardot)

• Mailingwork

• socialPALS

• Apteco

Marketing Automation: The advantages outweigh

Marketing automation software can represent a valuable asset for companies of all sizes and industries. Thanks to individually defined workflows and triggers, tasks and processes are done or triggered automatically. In this way, time resources are saved and ensured that no tasks are lost in the hectic workday. Depending on the scope and purpose for which marketing automation is carried out, improvements in engagement, conversion rate, ROI and ultimately sales are to be expected.

Of course, the integration of new software initially goes hand in hand with costs and time expenditure. Whole teams have to familiarize themselves, define new workflows and deal strategically with their marketing goals in advance. All in all, however, the advantages clearly outweigh. And as soon as some time has passed and your automation software reliably and automatically handles previously accruing routine tasks, you will not want to miss it anymore.