{"id":27077,"date":"2021-11-10T08:54:42","date_gmt":"2021-11-10T08:54:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precisebusinesssolutions.net\/?p=27077"},"modified":"2021-11-10T08:54:42","modified_gmt":"2021-11-10T08:54:42","slug":"what-is-marketing-automation-the-definitive-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reactlocal.com\/blog\/what-is-marketing-automation-the-definitive-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Marketing Automation? \u2013 The Definitive Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

What Is Marketing Automation?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a marketer, you\u2019ve probably heard of marketing automation. We\u2019re going to bet though, that 90 percent of you have no clue what the term means. We don\u2019t blame you \u2014 \u2018marketing automation\u2019 is a mouthful to say, and there probably should be a better way to describe the concept.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start by investigating the problem.<\/p>\n

Marketing is the lifeblood of every brand-to-customer (or prospect) relationship. The field is also heavily integrated with sales. When companies first launch, they\u2019re typically run by builders and sellers. Builders create the product, while sellers are out in the field forging 1:1 connections with potential customers.<\/p>\n

The sales process is marketing in its most nascent stages.<\/p>\n

As a company starts to grow, it\u2019s impossible to maintain 1:1 relationships with everybody. At this point, it\u2019s time to hire a marketing director who can build performance-driven, conversion-centric programs at scale.<\/p>\n

Eventually, your company\u2019s marketing program will get so big that you can\u2019t \u2014 possibly \u2014 manage everything via Outlook, Word, and Excel spreadsheets. You could always hire a team of marketing specialists, but eventually, you\u2019re going to start wasting cash on redundant tasks like emailing new customers, setting up social media-to-email programs, and emailing your users every time you post blog content.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where marketing automation comes in.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Definitions of Marketing Automation<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Marketing automation is a tough concept to capture in just a few words. The best way to understand the concept is to survey the landscape. Here are the most descriptive and comprehensive definitions that we\u2019ve found:<\/p>\n

Marketing automation is a category of software that streamlines, automates, and measures marketing tasks and workflows so that companies like yours can increase operational efficiency and grow revenue faster. \u2013 Marketo<\/em><\/p>\n

Marketing automation is the use of software to automate marketing processes such as customer segmentation, customer data integration, and campaign management. The use of marketing automation makes processes that would have otherwise been performed manually much more efficient, and makes new processes possible. Marketing automation is an integral component of customer relationship management. \u2013 SearchCRM<\/em><\/p>\n

Marketing automation is the use of software and Web-based services to execute, manage and automate marketing tasks and processes. It replaces manual and repetitive marketing processes with purpose-built software and applications geared toward performance. \u2013 Techopedia<\/em><\/p>\n

Marketing Automation a subset of customer relationship management (CRM) that focuses on the definition, scheduling, segmentation and tracking of marketing campaigns. The use of marketing automation makes processes that would otherwise have been performed manually much more efficient and makes new processes possible.- Marketing Automation Times<\/em><\/p>\n

At its best, marketing automation is software and tactics that allow companies to buy and sell like Amazon \u2013 that is, to nurture prospects with highly personalized, useful content that helps convert prospects to customers and turn customers into delighted customers. This type of marketing automation typically generates significant new revenue for companies, and provides an excellent return on the investment required. \u2013 Hubspot<\/em><\/p>\n

Separating Fact from Myth<\/strong><\/p>\n

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It\u2019s common for marketers to talk about marketing automation and email marketing interchangeably. The fact is that email marketing is a component of marketing automation, but the two are far from the same thing.<\/p>\n

Marketing automation combines disparate customer acquisition and retention channels to conform to conform to your company\u2019s conversion funnel.<\/p>\n

Yeah, that was kind of a mouthful.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here is what we mean<\/strong><\/p>\n

Any company\u2019s buy cycle will span multiple touch points. For instance, a customer may find your company through search. He may decide to \u2018like\u2019 your company\u2019s Facebook page and then come back to your site to read a recently shared blog article. Your awesome blog content may convince him to become an email subscriber.<\/p>\n

Conversion paths are unique. Imagine trying to chase down hundreds of them \u2013 it\u2019s impossible. That\u2019s where marketing automation comes in.<\/p>\n