4 Steps to implementing marketing automation for the maximum output
Marketing automation is widely practiced in large enterprises where multiple marketing campaigns are run simultaneously to boost sales in the set duration. A huge marketing budget, large team size, and automated marketing software collectively generate a maximum outcome. The marketing automation framework will help you in designing your marketing campaign, executing, and monitoring the results every day with high precision.
We at The Automationist have developed a Marketing Automation framework based on our past 4 years and 140+ projects experience. This came from our intense experience and from the learning we got after making mistakes.
We started working with small and mid-sized businesses (with 20 to 500 employee strength) implementing Marketing Automation for them and ended up working with Enterprise level (more than 1000 employees). Though we started with Marketing Automation implementation but moved towards implementing Business Automation processes like Sales, Service Automation, and also CRM setup.
This led us to create our own framework which we used internally and found quite successful in answering business automation questions and solving business automation problems. The same framework we have explained in our Marketing Automation book The Automationist.
Marketing Automation Framework
1) Strategy Stage
Before you jump to execution, you have to be clear about why you are running the marketing campaign and how you will execute it. Unless you have a firm plan for your marketing, the efforts you will be putting in the marketing would be futile.
Marketing Why and How’s revolve around the following strategies.
Marketing Strategy
Plan your marketing strategy to prepare the resources and complete the training of the team.
Audience Strategy
Conduct audience research to find the target users. Filter down the large community to a specific group of people to gain instant recognition through your marketing activities.
Desired Business Goal
Get more clarity on the desired business goal before you plan your marketing. It will keep you on track while saving your resources.
Marketing to Sales
Every marketing activity should funnel down to get the desired outcome and help in increasing sales.
Communication Strategy
Build a sound communication policy to ensure the effective management of the marketing campaign during the execution.
Channels Preference
Choose the channels for the marketing wisely. Every marketing platform is unique and offers specific features that help businesses to grow. Based on the desired outcome and needs, choose the right platform to market your product.
Resource Planning
Once you are prepared with sufficient information, the next step is to allocate the required resource to execute the plan.
2) Implementation Stage
You have to be prepared with all the necessary resources. The initial hard work would help you track the results during and after the marketing campaign.
The implementation process includes:
CRM Structure Mapping
CRM would enable you to map your activities with multiple services and track the data in the centralized system. The mapping will help the different teams to evaluate the result generated from the marketing activities in real-time.
Basic Tracking Setup
Tracking plays an essential role in the execution of the marketing campaign. Monitor the data every day once the marketing activities are in full swing. Ensure that everything is moving as per the set goals.
DKIM Setup
DomainKeys Identified Mail setup is the standard practice to protect the email senders and recipients from spam, phishing, spoofing. It is a way to authenticate the organization responsible for the sent message. Validating your information puts you in the white label organization. The recipient will receive your email without failing. Different systems might require different type of setup. It all depends on the tool that you have gone ahead and subscribed to. For example, in HubSpot this is quite easy, they just want to you stay logged on to your service providers, and when you are following setup
Data Model
Data Model is critical and the architect should spend a good amount of time with the Business Analyst here. The understanding of the relationship between different business entities requires a lot of patience and skill to develop and implement into the system.
Business Units
Depending on the business units you plan to promote through the marketing campaign, segregate the data and the investment to avoid ambiguity. Set the separate budget for individual business units.
3) Integration Stage
Every marketing campaign is designed around the business goals. You might want to collect the user’s contact information, run the webinar through software, get subscription payment, visitors to the website, free product distribution, etc. Whatever is the desired result, you need the resources designated to the final objectives.
The integration of a business-specific setup would help you to get the right outcome with accurate data. The integration ensures that you receive the output as per the plan, and the data flows smoothly in the system.
Integration process includes:
Financial Integrations like payment
Choose the application to control the online payment using the automated system. Managing the finance during the marketing campaign should not become a painful situation.
The use of an integrated payment gateway system would give you control over all the financial activities. Data will flow smoothly in the system, and the comprehensive report is generated at the end of the day for evaluation purposes.
Quotes Generation
Prepare for the custom orders. Customers looking for bulk orders or long-term business ventures would appreciate the details in the customized quotes. Get the framework ready and integrate it into the system. Your sales team member should get instant access to the standard quotes.
It will reduce the time in the discussion, and the customer will have their quote in a few hours to decide on buying your services. Speed is everything when you are behind your goals.
Webinar Software Integration
Test different webinar software to find the suitable one that fulfills your marketing need. The 360-degree approach would ensure the maximum return on your investment. Webinars are a highly efficient and great way to connect with your end-users.
WebForms Integration
Prepare the different forms according to the marketing objectives. The lead generation forms would help you capture the leads separately without needing to ask for the email or chat support details. People will have 24×7 accessibility to the contact form.
The users who land on this page will provide their contact details and share the information, which automatically feeds into the CRM software. Test all the forms precisely before you start the marketing campaign. Technical errors in the forms would lead to big trouble for your organization.
4) Execution Stage
Once you are ready with the basic setup, the next step is the execution. Execution is the critical part of marketing automation. It is where all the action starts. Once you begin the campaign, things may become smooth, or you will be on a roller coaster ride. You should be prepared for unforeseen events. If you have a great plan, the execution will be on track, and you will have no trouble executing your marketing campaign.
Execution process includes
Testing
Run the demo to test the program to ensure everything is working as per the plan. Testing is a crucial part of the execution process. Do not go live until you have tested every operation element and confirm that the data is flowing smoothly without any error.
Even the slow system or broken landing pages may have a wrong impression on the users. You have got the smallest window to get the leads. If the form takes more than 5 seconds for rendering, the page will have a high bounce rate. People will not wait to load the page and provide the details. Everything on the system should work freely and quickly.
Team Training
Double-check if any of the team members still have doubts about the task they are assigned during the campaign. Any confusion should be addressed before the campaign. Conduct the team training thoroughly to make your team give their best during the campaign.
Landing Pages
Landing pages are going to be the final step in the marketing funnel. Everything should be up to the mark.
Make these pages more engaging and easy to comprehend, so people who visit the landing page after watching your marketing content would stay motivated and encouraged to take action to share the contact details or buy your product.
Email Templates
Prepare email templates design and configure them into the email marketing software. Run the test Emailer to selected people in your team to ensure everyone receives the emails as planned.
Multiple email templates are required for different business units. Do not combine the two templates to save time. That will have a wrong impression on the users. Create a dedicated email template for each campaign.
Reporting Setup
Set the common goals in the reporting section. Take the advice from the top management, who are decision-makers in the organization. Get complete clarity to the end goals. Use the customized dashboard system to set the Key Metrics according to the plans.
The data received during the campaign will get filtered. Choose vital information is in the graph, bars or specialized metrics format that provides you with an overview of the marketing campaign. Simply looking at the dashboard report, you will know how you are performing and where your marketing campaign is heading.
Understanding and Setting up Initial Triggers
All activity is done by your users, such as clicks to the ads, visiting the website, filling out contact us form or the phone calls are part of your action plan. Use the different triggers to keep them engaged until the visitor gets converted to the customers. Do not allow these hot leads to get dry out into the process and becomes cold leads.
People who have shown interest are potential customers. Using the different triggers such as sending the welcome email, Text message about the joining, or offering the discount coupon when they try to exit the page. These kinds of triggers keep your visitors interested in your product, and eventually, they will end up buying your product.
Automation and Workflow Setup
Emphasize automation over manual tasks. Do not depend on the team for running your campaign. Whenever you find any operation that can be automated, use the software or any third-party application to make those tasks linked to the automated marketing campaign. Automation gives you the power to run the marketing campaign throughout the day without needing human assistance.
Predefine workflow gives your team the utmost clarity about their role during the campaign. Make the standard plan and assign the task to each individual who is working on the project. Everyone should know what they will be doing, so there will be no confusion during the campaign.
Create Segments
Break down the whole marketing plan into separate segments. Every department will have set goals that they have to achieve once the campaign is live. Segmentation helps you identify the flows in operation and fix them immediately before it becomes too late.
Personalization
Give a personalized experience to your customers. They should not feel that they are in the queue waiting for their number. The customized experience keeps them encouraged during the interaction with your team. It improves the chances of converting the user into customers with the relationship-building strategy.
Benefits of the Marketing Automation Framework
The marketing automation framework answers some of the crucial questions that arise during the executions. The process reduces the stress over the marketing team and gives you a clear path to execute the plan without any struggle.
Integrating the automated software and process gives you the ability to run specific tasks through the system. It improves productivity and generates quick output. Also, the members working in the marketing team would have clear set goals and know how to achieve them without losing focus.
Top benefits you will enjoy with Marketing Automation.
- Data management.
- Scalable processes.
- Lead nurturing.
- Accurate reporting.
- Marketing and sales alignment.
- Increase conversion rate.
- Personalized marketing strategy.
- Lead scoring.
A Marketing Automation framework is employed in a large organization to manage various marketing campaigns with high efficiency. It helps the organization to generate definite outcomes without failing.
