How small businesses can benefit from marketing automation

I’ll admit that the term ‘marketing automation’ sounds like total business jargon, right up there with ‘synergize’ and ‘blue sky thinking’.

But when you break it down, marketing automation software isn’t fluffy corporate-speak at all. And it’s not a robot taking over your job.

In fact, it’s practically utilitarian: marketing automation software performs a necessary function for businesses that want to improve the effectiveness of their marketing.

OK, so what the hell does marketing automation actually do?

Simply put, marketing automation is about using software to automate marketing activities.

Well, duh.

Sure, it automates repetitive tasks such as email marketing, social media posting, and ad campaigns. But its real impact comes from enabling marketers to provide a more personalized experience for their customers. Marketing automation allows you to gather data about your customers and leads for more effective marketing communications.

And personalization is an integral part of successful marketing.

In a survey of businesses using this software, almost 70% of marketers said improved targeting of messages was the most important benefit of marketing automation.

Your business probably has different customer segments - does it make sense to send all of them the same marketing communications? Wouldn’t it be more effective if they received messaging that was tailored to their specific needs and challenges?

Is marketing automation software worth it?

Here’s a fun fact to throw around at your next dinner party (whenever that is): The marketing automation software market is expected to hit CAD$24.5 billion by 2026, making it one of the fastest-growing software markets today.

So we know adoption rates are increasing - especially in North America. And while I would never recommend small businesses jump on every marketing bandwagon, if you’re a business owner looking to improve your marketing performance, I would strongly suggest that you hitch your wagon to this star.

Marketers surveyed about marketing automation named the below as the main benefits of using the software:

• Saving time (30%)
• Lead generation (22%)
• Increase in revenue (17%)
• Customer retention (11%)

What business owner doesn’t need a little help in those areas?

OK, so how do I get started with marketing automation?

*Full disclosure - I am a certified HubSpot Provider, which means I work with clients to use HubSpot’s marketing automation platform to run their marketing campaigns.*

While there are other marketing automation software providers out there, HubSpot basically wrote the book on marketing automation. They launched 15 years ago and are the oldest and most well-known player in the game. Now, that doesn’t necessarily make them the best, but I do believe their commitment to education sets them apart from their competition.

While HubSpot now has over 100,000 customers and $1B in annual recurring revenue, they still continue to offer a lot of their knowledge for free through their HubSpot Academy. This includes free training, free templates, free eBooks, a free CRM (for life) and more.

They are really are committed to keeping both prospective and existing customers as informed and educated as possible, which is great news if you’re in the consideration stage of the journey and want to learn more about marketing automation and their software.

OK, I’m in. How do I learn more?

If you want to get schooled in all things marketing automation, book a call with me to find out more about scheduling a free HubSpot software demo for your business.