Sales and marketing teams know there is a lot of busy work that comes with the job. Whether it’s updating the CRM, taking meeting notes, emailing to follow-up on a proposal, or pinging coworkers about a new project, there are plenty of repetitive tasks that we don’t love to do, but recognize the importance of completing.
In recent years, automation thanks to AI, webhooks, and the growth of integrated platforms has made it easier to spin the customer flywheel automatically, freeing up marketing and sales professionals' time to focus on larger projects, strategy sessions, and speaking directly with customers.
What do we mean by spinning the flywheel automatically? Tasks like sales follow-up, sending a promotional email campaign, booking a meeting and sending out a calendar invite, and more can be done without human input once they are setup to function. Chances are you use some type of automation in your day-to-day already. There is also mostly likely room for improvement, with new software solutions launching virtually everyday.
In this article, we’ll cover…
- What is marketing automation?
- Examples and Benefits of marketing automation
- What is sales automation?
- Examples and benefits of sales automation
- Choosing a place to start with automation
What is Marketing Automation?
Marketing automation is the application of technology to marketing tasks, processes and workflows with the goal of automating repetitive marketing activities. Various marketing automation software platforms allow you to automate tasks such as lead capture and scoring, email marketing, social media campaigns, and more.
The goal of marketing in most organizations is to increase brand awareness, and as a result, send new leads to sales. In essence, marketing seeks to create demand for a product or service through various channels and tactics. As mentioned above, many of these marketing tactics can be automated to some extent, either fully (ie, no human input needed) or partially (Ie, some human input needed).
What Is Marketing Automation Used For?
One example of marketing automation that is fairly widespread is email campaign automation. Brands typically use an email platform such as MailChimp, ActiveCampaign, or HubSpot’s Marketing Hub to create and send emails to their customer list. By automating this process, marketers can save a lot of time on tedious but necessary tasks such as designing the template, creating the list and segmenting it, scheduling the email sends, and reporting on campaign performance.
Another example of marketing automation is lead scoring. Lead scoring is a practice that assigns numerical values to leads based on their “score” as they progress through the sales funnel. This helps marketing and sales teams prioritize leads so they can focus on those that are most likely to convert.
A newer automation strategy used in marketing, specifically content marketing, is automatic copywriting, based on AI and natural language processing. Software platforms such as Jasper.ai, ContentBot, and Phrasee use these technologies to write copy for social media posts, blog articles, product descriptions, and more.
What Are the Benefits of Marketing Automation?
Perhaps the primary benefit of marketing automation is that it can save you and your team a lot of time. Automating your marketing process frees up more time to focus on strategy, customer service, product development, planning campaigns, and any other tasks that require the eye of an expert in marketing.
Additionally, marketing automation allows brands to save money and increase productivity from individual contributors, leading to more output with lower headcount. This can be especially important during uncertain economic times, when companies aim to maintain production and reduce costs.
Here are our suggestions for email and SMS automation tools for marketing teams.
As the adage goes, unless it saves time or money, there’s no motivation to buy it. Marketing automation can do both, which is a big reason why it is rising in popularity and adoption across companies.
What Is Sales Automation?
Sales automation and marketing automation are two distinct concepts, but many businesses combine the two to achieve success. When sales and marketing teams work together, there’s an increased likelihood of overall business success. Sales automation is the process of using technology-based sales tools to streamline processes like sales outreach, data tracking, sending proposals, and sales performance evaluation.
Sales automation focuses on increasing sales efficiency, aiming to drive sales growth through targeted outreach and lead generation activities. Sales and call center automation can be used to improve sales team performance by providing better sales tracking insights, automating sales processes like follow-ups, and using predictive analytics to uncover sales trends.
What Is Sales Automation Used For?
One example use case for sales automation is sending follow-up SMS messages based on customer input in real time. Say a new lead fills out and submits a form on your website for more information. Using sales automation software, you can send a follow-up text immediately after the form is submitted, or choose to add the contact to a follow-up drip campaign for a steady, automated flow of sales outreach.
Another use case for sales automation is proposal generation. Sales proposal automation software is a tool that helps sales teams create, manage, and deliver sales proposals. Additionally, proposal automation software can help sales reps track customer interactions and proposal statuses, so they can better understand what stages a proposal is in and what needs to be done to close the sale.
What Are the Benefits of Sales Automation?
The primary benefit of sales automation is that it increases sales efficiency, allowing sales teams to be more productive and close more deals. By automating sales activities like outreach, follow-ups, sales tracking, and resource allocation, sales teams can save time on manual tasks and dedicate more time to closing more deals.
Estimates suggest that up to 30% of sales tasks can be automated, from cold outreach to booking meetings to sending quotes and engaging in post-sale activities. Software like Kixie can help you fully automate your sales outreach process, with tools like voicemail drop, power dialing, IVRs, call routing, and more for outbound and inbound sales teams. What’s more, most sales automation technology can be fully integrated with your CRM, opening up even more possibilities for workflow automation and streamlined processes.
Where Should I Start With Automation?
Taking your sales and marketing operations to the next level with automation can be daunting, but an easy place to start is by evaluating which tasks are sucking the most time (and energy) from your everyday. Repetitive tasks are generally a good place to start for leveraging automation.
Consider asking your sales and marketing teams what tasks are major roadblocks for getting work done, and using their feedback for prioritizing new automation. You can also look for software solutions that have both sales and marketing automation capabilities to make sure you’re getting the most out of your investment.
No matter which automation solution you choose, keep in mind that sales and marketing teams work best when they work together. Automation is a powerful tool when both sales and marketing operations are fully integrated, so make sure to consider the advantages of sales and marketing automation working in tandem when making your decision.
With the right sales and marketing automation tools, you can streamline sales processes, increase sales efficiency, and grow your business faster than ever before. All it takes is a bit of research and careful planning for automation success. Good luck!
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