Tackling The Whole “Automation” Thing Posted on October 21, 2015July 27, 2016 by Lindsay Randazzo Everyone’s talking about marketing automation software and how life changing it can be for a business. I agree completely. Automation can make your workplace life a lot easier. For some though, marketing automation is a bit daunting. Trying to come up with your process and set up the steps correctly can take some time at the beginning, but automation will ultimately become your favorite coworker. Start small Jumping right into an elaborate automation strategy is 1) time-consuming and 2) overwhelming. Instead, add automation here and there as you learn more about the system and your strategy. For example, webpage tracking will help you gauge customer interest. Once someone has visited your pricing page, create an automated task for a sales rep to follow up with them. Small step, HUGE result. Instead of someone manually remembering to check and see who visited a webpage for calls (or not knowing at all), automation systems know to tag website visits and link automated actions based on that visit. Automation helps reduce clients slipping through the cracks. Now your sales team will have a list of tasks to call prospects and offer more information faster than your competition. Add pieces along the way Once you have small one-step automation in place, you can start to link multiple actions to accomplish what you want. Let’s say you have a tried and true sales process that works for your business; why not create a campaign with your sales steps? My own sales process looks something like this: Day 1: Send email Day 3: Call client Day 8: Send testimonial. I can automatically start prospects on this sales campaign when they fill out an online form or click a link in my email. This exemplifies marketing automation managing your workflow. Now you don’t have to rely on post-its and reminders cluttering your desk! Find the hidden gems Ask your consultant or the support desk, “What is your favorite feature? What will save me time but be relatively simple to get going?” Hatchbuckers all have their favorite feature, but mine is tag rules. It’s simple in theory, but oh so powerful. For example, if someone gets a tag two times, Hatchbuck triggers an automated action. This can be anything: creating a deal, starting a campaign, sending an automated email. When your prospect hits that magic number that you deem to show significant interest, it triggers the appropriate content. Instead of going through my thousands of contacts and figuring out who should get my drip campaign, or who my top prospects are to call, tag rules do everything for me. My prospects that have the tag rule triggered will get that campaign, or I’ll come into the office with tasks to call anyone with that interest. Super simple, super life-changing. Stop thinking about you It’s not about you… Really. Automation is about customer experience. Take a step back and think about the content they will be receiving and what actions should trigger campaigns or follow up tasks. When a customer visits your services page and have read testimonials twice in one week but have yet to fill out a form, continue to educate them slowly until they are ready to buy. Maybe they have questions but are afraid to ask. Maybe they need a more personal touch. Start building a relationship with these prospects using the knowledge you have about their interests and their behavior. Think about how your clients journey from the start to finish of a campaign and what comes next. When you are providing excellent customer service along the entire sales funnel, loyalty and trust will build as your relationship blossoms. Happy customers turn into your advocates and repeat sales. Get automating! Take it in steps, it’s always easier to add steps to your automation process. Think about your client and imagine if the steps you have make sense for your ideal buyer. Utilize the tools and resources that your marketing automation software provides for you. Those help videos and articles can really help set the stage and give you great ideas for your own process based off system-specific best practices. If you prefer a real person to see what you are missing, reach out! If you feel that you’ve mastered automation and want to really step it up, ask for advanced level suggestions. Let your system do the work for you!