Focus on your business because, for everything else, there’s automation!

Marketers don’t need to be told that time is money; a majority of them constantly make changes and optimize their businesses so they can save time and  manual efforts. Automation is a boon for marketers. Communication platforms and schedules can be optimized and automated for generating leads.

A good sales program or ecosystem is one where every step is automated. With a good marketing automation system/platform, you can schedule mails, get your social network postings automated, and manage marketing funnels efficiently. Here are some market automation trends that are taking 2016 by storm!

• User-friendly platforms

 Using marketing automation is surely going to be game-changing this year. Because marketing automation as a trend is only catching on now, although it made its presence felt last year too, it is only natural that user-friendly and basic systems will become hugely popular. Companies are only now warming up to the idea of setting up automated communication systems for customers, so naturally they will pick up easy to use automation systems.

• Segmentation, tailor-made messages

 Any automated system can work only when marketers also understand the importance of personalization and segmentation. Tailor-made and customized messages focused at specific customers will be the way to go rather than generic mails.

• Automation to nurture, build bonds

 One more among key trends will involve automation moving beyond follow-up emails.  Nurturing relationships will be the key to ensure that contacts will be moved from just the cold lead stage to a solid bond. This nurturing can take time, but automated nurturing systems can achieve better results than any other method. Such automated programs that nurture relationships will become a big thing in 2016. 

• Don’t forget sales

 One of the crucial aspects that drive marketing automation returns is a harmony between sales and marketing. Brands this year will use automation not just for marketing but also for effectively charting out a strategy for sales. Automation software can provide leads when it comes to a prospective customer’s activity online, such as downloading of a form or a request for certain information from your company website. This lead can be closed with the help of marketing. 

• Automation in the here and now

 Automation will become location-based and will occur in real, quick-time in 2016. This means a real-time response to a customer’s action. Your marketing campaign will be in implementation in seconds, and not take hours or days. Location-based marketing will become all the more prevalent this year, so a marketer can automate a campaign and also localize the same. For example, if you have identified a set of frequent/loyal shoppers and send them a link for shades/sunscreen because the forecast for the next few weeks could be a series of blisteringly warm days.

• Market automation and omni-channel experience

 You can also integrate omni-channel marketing into automated campaigns. Essentially, omni-channel marketing is all about giving your customers a seamless buying experience. So, a consumer can engage with you via your app and then go to the website on the laptop, visit the physical store or even call to complete a transaction. You can use marketing automation to segment your target audience. You can mine data to build profiles of your customers and their mode/journeys so you can provide a seamless experience. You can also use the data obtained via automation to get an idea of who engages with you the most and then re-engage with them in newer, smarter ways.

• More power to content marketing

 Content marketing will remain important, in fact, it will gain greater importance this year. Personalized, targeted and engaging content should be automated and sent to people who are just right to consume the same. Automation can play an important role when it comes to curating content. Manual curation takes a lot of time, so automation can save on effort and the time taken, without taking anything away from your social media engagement.

• Mobile marketing automation to gain momentum

 This was already a trend in 2015, and this year, we will see more of marketing automation campaigns trying to optimize their products/software for mobile. Mobile marketing can help marketers to enhance consumer experience. It helps segment audiences, sequence push notifications etc with a set of tools.

In effect, market automation is a boon for your company. You save resources and time and focus more on your core business! Finally, it is indeed about your service or product, isn’t it? For everything else, there’s automation.