Marketing Automation & Inbound Marketing: Why a Combination Makes Sense!
In this article, you will learn what the difference between marketing automation & inbound marketing is and why a combination makes sense.
- What is marketing automation, and how does it work?
- What is inbound marketing, and how does it work?
- What are the differences between marketing automation and inbound marketing?
- What advantages do marketing automation and inbound marketing each have?
- How can marketing automation and inbound marketing be combined to achieve even better results?
- What are the best practices for combining marketing automation and inbound marketing?
- How can companies measure and optimize the effectiveness of their marketing automation and inbound marketing campaigns?
- Marketing Automation Tools for Lead Management:
- Conclusion
The use of marketing automation software in combination with inbound marketing is essential in B2B marketing. But what exactly is behind these terms and how can the two disciplines be combined? Our guest author Isabella Seggert gives you an insight!
What is marketing automation, and how does it work?
Marketing automation describes the digitization and automation of various tasks and processes in marketing departments. Marketing automation is used from the first customer contact to the care during and after the sales process. This is implemented with the help of appropriate software.
How does marketing automation work?
By using Marketing Automation Software routine tasks are automated, thus increasing efficiency in marketing teams.
Typical areas of application for marketing automation:
- E-Mail Marketing
- Lead Management (Lead Generation and Lead Nurturing)
- Social Media Marketing
- Campaign Management
- Landing Pages
- segmentations
- Marketing Controlling
Marketing Automation in Lead Management
Especially in the area of Lead Generation and Lead Nurturing marketing automation can significantly increase efficiency. Using appropriate software, all marketing-relevant interactions between individual individuals and your own company are recorded. These can be website visits, clicks on CTA buttons in newsletters or on landing pages, and event registrations or white paper downloads.
For lead generation, in addition to placing ads on external platforms, forms from the marketing automation software are used. These are integrated into your own website. If prospective clients fill out the respective form (for example with a white paper download) the data is transferred to the tool within seconds. What information should be queried and which fields are mandatory can individually be stored in each form.
Marketing automation tools also automatically and regularly exchange data with the respective CRM system, so that it is consistent in terms of quality and the sales department can take into account the respective information in the sales process.
As part of lead nurturing, marketing automation software also supports companies in providing prospective customers with relevant information at the right time. This approach is often supported by so-called lead scoring. The leads stored in the tool are evaluated based on certain criteria such as industry, position and the respective conversion such as an event registration. These factors are scored differently depending on their importance in order to obtain a comprehensive picture of the quality of leads.
Marketing automation in email marketing
The use of marketing automation in email marketing allows personalized emails to be automatically sent to potential clients and existing customers. The sending of emails is triggered and controlled by predefined triggers and rules. These rules are usually based on the behavior of the contacts, such as clicking on emails or content download. The use of marketing automation can lead to specific and individualized email campaigns, which can lead to better customer retention.
Marketing automation in social media marketing
In social media marketing, marketing automation enables predefined posts to be automatically published on the various platforms. The content and timing of the publication are controlled via the tool. Automation maintains a continuous presence on the various channels.
Marketing automation in controlling
Marketing automation in controlling enables data to be collected and evaluated automatically. Marketing automation tools enable automated reports and dashboards to be created, visually presenting the results, thereby enabling quicker decision-making.
What is inbound marketing, and how does it work?
Inbound Marketing refers to a strategy in online marketing aimed at making potential customers aware of the company or the products through high-quality content. Unlike outbound marketing, where prospective customers are often approached unsolicited and information is forced upon them, inbound marketing assumes that prospective customers already know their problem and are independently searching for solutions online. The two main goals of inbound marketing are thus, to offer prospective clients added value and thereby generate relevant leads.
How does inbound marketing work?
Inbound marketing is based on the creation and use of high-quality content. This must offer the target group real added value. Measures in the area of inbound marketing are, for example, optimizing search engine presence, posting blog posts or the use of free download options. The latter directly targets lead generation and thus corporate success. The added value of the content provided is intended to build trust with prospective clients and relevance in the purchase decision process.
What are the differences between marketing automation and inbound marketing?
Marketing automation and inbound marketing are two different approaches to online marketing that are often combined in practice.
As already described, marketing automation refers to the automation of tasks and processes such as sending newsletters or the automated targeting of leads. Predefined rules and triggers are used to create personalized campaigns and then automatically send them to contacts. The aim is thus to automate the entire marketing process, from lead generation to subsequent customer care and optimization.
Inbound marketing, on the other hand, is a method of online marketing in which prospective clients are pulled onto the own website by relevant content. The needs and interests of the prospective clients are in focus to build long-term customer loyalty. The aim of inbound marketing is therefore to increase the visibility of the own products and the company on the net, draw new prospective clients onto the website and subsequently convert them into customers.
What advantages do marketing automation and inbound marketing each have?
Marketing automation and inbound marketing each offer various advantages.
Marketing Automation
- Time and cost savings: Automated processes in marketing create more space for creative work and save routine tasks.
- Personalized communication: Marketing automation enables the creation of personalized campaigns that are tailored to the needs and interests of customers.
- High-quality leads: Through the scoring and evaluation of leads qualified prospective clients are identified and given to sales.
- Effective lead management: Automated Lead Nurturing Campaigns support the development of prospective clients into paying customers.
- Improved customer support in sales: Marketing automation opens up the possibility of gaining a comprehensive 360-degree perspective on customers.
- Measurability: Relevant key figures can be viewed at any time in order to make data-driven decisions for optimizing marketing campaigns.
Inbound Marketing
- Greater visibility and reach: By spreading relevant content, potential customers are drawn to your own website.
- Higher conversion rate: Attractive and high-quality content leads to an increased conversion rate and thus more leads.
- Better understanding of the target group: Through analyzing the interaction with the content provided, a deeper understanding of the target group can be gained.
- Increased customer satisfaction: Good inbound marketing leads long-term to more trust from customers and supports the company's expert status.
How can marketing automation and inbound marketing be combined to achieve even better results?
The combination of marketing automation and inbound marketing can represent a very effective marketing strategy for companies and help to win high-quality leads.
Lead Generation and Qualification
The connection of marketing automation and inbound marketing makes it possible to optimize the process of lead acquisition. By recording the activities of leads, targeted sending of emails, and automation of tasks, the lead acquisition process is made more efficient. Inbound marketing, on the other hand, helps to get to know, understand, and build a relationship with prospective clients and customers. By providing target group-relevant content on the various channels, not only prospective clients are directed to the own website and leads are generated, but also the expert status is strengthened.
Personalized Communication
With marketing automation tools, personalized email campaigns can be created that are tailored to the needs and interests of customers. By using inbound marketing, the necessary relevant information can be gathered or updated regularly. The personalized communication made possible by the combination of the two strategies helps companies build deeper connections with their prospective clients and customers. By providing relevant and individually tailored content, the likelihood increases that prospective customers will continue to interact with the company and eventually choose its products or services.
Detailed Controlling
By using marketing automation tools, companies gain detailed insights into the effectiveness of the marketing measures used. These data enable optimization of the own marketing strategies and make more informed decisions for future activities. Inbound marketing, on the other hand, makes it possible to better understand the behavior of prospective clients and customers and gain valuable insights that help create more effective marketing campaigns.
What are the best practices for combining marketing automation and inbound marketing?
Set Goals and Strategy
Before implementing a marketing automation tool, it should be decided what exactly should be achieved with it. Companies that develop a strategy in advance have a clear advantage. When marketing departments start with marketing automation, it is advisable to first carry out an overall planning and only later work out details.
Targeted Recording of Data
In order to ensure that relevant information is sent to the right people, it is important to have the right information.
Even during lead generation, a detailed profile can be created for each contact by using personalized questions in forms. Exactly which data should be captured here depends on the respective requirements of the company or the maarketing campaigns.
This information also supports segmentation, where contacts are grouped based on common characteristics. This enables different automated campaigns to be created which are specifically tailored to the respective target groups.
Lead Qualification and Scoring
The use of lead scoring enables relevant leads to be handed over to sales at the right time. The scoring points awarded make particularly interesting ("hot") and less interesting ("cold") leads clearly visible and enable communication to be adapted accordingly.
Establishing a Multi-level Email Campaign
A multi-level email campaign represents a classic measure in the area of marketing automation and is at the same time the top discipline. After leads have been evaluated and divided into certain target groups through scoring, these can be played and developed efficiently and automated through multi-level email campaigns. These campaigns can consist of 6 emails, which are sent at regular intervals.
The structure could look as follows: The first two emails consist of general content, the next from so-called "problem-solver content", so that after that product-related content with a focus on "solutions" can be sent. These emails can be sent at intervals of 2 to 4 weeks. It is important to not target the recipients at too short intervals and avoid a "spam character".
Salesforce Marketing Cloud Journey Builder
Setting Relevant Key Figures
With the help of marketing automation tools, a variety of key figures can be read out. In order to keep track and to gain valuable insights from the tool, it is important for companies to define the most relevant figures for them. By limiting the most important figures, marketing departments can more easily monitor their success, identify strengths and weaknesses of campaigns and won't get lost in the mass of daata.
How can companies measure and optimize the effectiveness of their marketing automation and inbound marketing campaigns?
To measure and optimize the effectiveness of their marketing automation and inbound marketing campaigns, companies can follow these approaches: Companies should set clear goals for their marketing automation and inbound marketing campaigns. Based on these, the success of the respective campaign can then be measured. If the goal is, for example, to gain as many new prospective clients as possible through an e-book, the number of leads and their quality is an important indicator of success.
- By analyzing the interaction of contacts with the campaigns, important insights are gained. These help to understand which content prospective clients and customers prefer and how the personalized approach should be optimized.
- The conversion rate of leads to paying customers and the average time to completion show the success of lead nurturing campaigns. By analyzing these data, companies can optimize their campaigns in a targeted manner.
- Companies should also continuously test new approaches and strategies and analyze the results. Through the iterative process of optimization, marketing automation and inbound marketing campaigns can be continuously improved.
- What tools are necessary for marketing automation and inbound marketing?
Marketing Automation Tools for Lead Management:
Marketing Automation Tools for E-Mail Marketing:
HubSpot Marketing Hub
Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (aka Pardot)
Brevo (ehemals Sendinblue)Marketing Automation Tools for Social Media Marketing:
Mailchimp
Klaviyo
ActiveCampaignConclusion
HootsuiteThe combination of marketing automation and inbound marketing offering a particularly powerful solution for digital lead generation in companies. The use of marketing automation tools allows detailed analysis of marketing campaigns and provides insight into the effectiveness of respective measures. This data can be used to optimize marketing strategies and make informed decisions for the future.
At the same time, inbound marketing provides important information about the behavior and interests of the target group. This allows to develop more effective marketing campaigns that are tailored to the needs of the potential customers.
By using both strategies, an effective marketing system is created that helps to advance your company. It enables effective lead generation, precise analysis, and targeted communication with prospective clients and customers. By combining the advantages of marketing automation and inbound marketing, you can build a strong digital presence, generate relevant leads, and build long-term relationships with your customers.
Isabella Seggert arbeitet als Online-Marketing-Managerin bei der collaboration Factory und verantwortet dort unter anderem den Bereich „Marketing-Automation“. Sie hat eine große Leidenschaft für das Thema B2B-Marketing, Marketing-Automation sowie Lead-Generierung. Außerdem ist sie eines von 50 Talenten im Batch 3 des Programms „BayFiD – Bayerns Frauen in Digitalberufen“, welches von Judith Gerlach, der Bayerische Staatsministerin für Digitales initiiert wurde.
