While marketing automation tools offer numerous capabilities, many businesses still struggle with the challenge of converting these efforts into tangible sales results. This highlights the need for a deeper understanding of how to effectively leverage marketing automation to enhance performance.
In this guide, we will explore the best tools and strategies to fully harness the potential of marketing automation and turn your digital marketing efforts into a sales powerhouse.
Hands-on marketing automation tools and use cases
Email Marketing
Email remains one of the most effective channels for businesses to reach out to potential customers. However, managing email campaigns is a fiercely competitive landscape, where businesses “fight” for consumer attention amidst a sea of daily digital correspondence.
With email marketing automation tools, multiple tasks such as scheduling emails, segmenting target audiences, and tracking performance can be performed simultaneously. Automation also allows businesses to personalize emails based on customer preferences, behavior, and buying patterns, leading to an increase in open rates and conversions.
Use case: a financial institution implements email marketing automation
A global banking institution realized they needed to improve their customer engagement strategies to compete in the rapidly evolving digital landscape. They turned to marketing automation to implement a tool that would allow them to segment their wide customer base into distinct groups. Increasing sales with marketing automation was possible thanks to email marketing
- They classified a group under “financial needs” composed of individuals with diverse requirements, such as those seeking savings plans, mortgage advice, or investment opportunities. Instead of generic emails, customers started receiving messages that resonated with their specific financial goals. For instance, potential home buyers received materials on mortgage rates and tips on how to prepare for a home purchase. Those interested in investment opportunities were provided with information about the latest market trends and the bank’s varied investment options.
- Another segment called “Spending behaviors” represented customers with varying spending patterns, such as frequent travelers, online shoppers, or those who regularly dine out. With marketing automation, the bank can track and analyze these behaviors, enabling them to personalize offers and promotions based on these patterns.
- “Frequent travelers” may be targeted with special travel insurance packages or credit card points that can be redeemed for airline miles. Online shoppers, on the other hand, could benefit from exclusive discounts with partnering e-commerce platforms or enhanced security features for online transactions. Those who regularly dine out may be interested in credit cards that offer cash back on restaurant bills, or exclusive deals with popular dining establishments.
Lead Management
With marketing automation, businesses can revolutionize their lead management process, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of converting prospects into customers. Automation tools streamline lead nurturing, lead capture, qualification, and scoring. This translates to more sales-ready leads and faster turnaround times for the sales team, ultimately driving revenue growth.
Use case: a retail company improves sales opportunities with lead management
An international retailer dealing in home and lifestyle products found that their vast and diverse customer base was not being effectively managed. This led to issues such as lost sales opportunities and poor customer engagement. To address this, they leveraged marketing automation for lead management:
- They created a lead qualification and scoring system to prioritize prospects based on their likelihood of converting , allocating more resources and attention to the most valuable leads: frequent buyers, seasonal shoppers, and potential buyers. The lead scoring model assigned points to each lead based on their engagement levels, purchase history, and browsing habits, allowing the sales team to focus their efforts on the most promising prospects and improve conversion rates.
- To capture leads more effectively, the company designed and implemented a series of landing pages tailored to different customer segments. These landing pages featured unique offers and information appealing to the specific interests of each segment, compelling visitors to sign up or make a purchase. Through this method, they were able to capture a higher volume of quality leads.
- Customers who had engaged with the brand through social media ads were automatically added to targeted email campaigns, keeping them in the loop after they showed interest in a product or abandoned their shopping cart, recommending similar products, or offering discounts to entice them to complete the purchase.
Landing Page Builder
The creation of a landing page is a critical component in the digital marketing process, providing a potent tool for lead capture, customer engagement, and conversion. An effective landing page acts as the gateway to your business, enticing visitors with compelling content, and prompting them to take a specific action—be it subscribing to a newsletter, downloading a guide, or making a purchase.
Use case: an insurance company optimizes customer acquisition with a landing page builder
A leading insurance company utilized a landing page builder, part of their marketing automation tool set, to create niche-specific landing pages for their various insurance offerings such as health, motor, travel, and life insurance.
- Landing pages were designed with a distinct audience in mind, providing relevant information and resources for individuals interested in that particular insurance product. For example, the health insurance landing page offered a comprehensive guide on various health plans, their benefits and features, cost comparisons, and an easy-to-use quote calculator.
- The landing page builder’s intuitive drag-and-drop feature greatly expedited the creation process, enabling the marketing team to quickly assemble pages without the need for extensive coding knowledge. This feature not only saved time but also allowed for rapid customization and testing of various design elements to optimize engagement and conversions.
- Each landing page was also equipped with dynamic lead capture forms to gather visitor details. With each interaction, the company asked visitors for a little more information about themselves, gradually building a more comprehensive profile of their interests and needs. This was achieved through the use of dynamic forms on their landing pages that changed and adapted over time. For example, a first-time visitor might be asked for just their email and type of insurance interest. In subsequent visits or interactions, the form might ask about their age, occupation, or specific insurance needs. By progressively collecting data, the company was able to better personalize its follow-up campaigns and offer products that were more closely aligned with the prospects’ needs.
Custom Audiences for Ads
The ability to curate and target custom audiences for advertising campaigns is key to success. By leveraging marketing automation tools, businesses can integrate with major advertising platforms such as Google Ads, Bing Ads, and Meta Ads to create custom audiences. This strategy allows for a more nuanced approach to add targeting, enhancing the relevance of the ad content for each viewer, improving engagement, and increasing the probability of conversion.
Use case: a university optimizes ad campaigns with custom audiences
A renowned university decided to apply a more targeted approach to its enrollment advertising campaigns. They aimed to attract a diverse range of students. To achieve this, the university started to speak directly to the interests and needs of various prospective student groups. The result was a significant improvement in click-through rates, and engagement, and ultimately, increasing sales with marketing automation by optimizing their ad spend and targeting their campaigns more effectively and efficiently.
- The university integrated its marketing automation tool with platforms like Google Ads, Bing Ads, and Meta Ads. In the process, they developed distinct audience segments based on an array of data, including geographical location, age range, search history, and previous interaction with the university’s website or social media profiles.
- International students were targeted with ads showcasing the university’s strong support for international students, with information about scholarships, language support, and tailored orientation programs. Domestic students, on the other hand, were shown ads highlighting the range of potential scholarships, the vibrant campus life, and the university’s strong connections with local industries for internships and job placements.
- Mature students were targeted with ads that emphasized flexible study options, support for career changers, and testimonials from other mature students who had successfully completed their studies. Meanwhile, prospective students showing an interest in specific fields of study (e.g., engineering, business, social careers) were served with ads showcasing the university’s success stories, faculty profiles, and alumni achievements in those areas.
In today’s digital landscape, marketing automation tools have become an essential component for businesses seeking to streamline their processes, enhance customer engagement, and boost revenue growth. inConcert’s marketing automation tool has already helped organizations in various industries to successfully optimize their digital marketing efforts. Do not hesitate to reach out and discover how we can assist you in developing a customized automation solution to meet your unique business needs.
