The power of Marketing automation

In a world of abundance, it is more than ever important to place a high priority on everything that can ensure effective interaction with each customer. This is the case in B2C but certainly also in B2B where the buying process is often longer and more complex. A good seller is able to provide the right information and incentives to his / her (potential) customers at the right time. Due to the increasing importance of online sales, marketers are under pressure to realize the same in a digital way.

What is marketing automation?

By showing the right information to your target group at the right time, you take the buyer through the sales funnel towards conversion. Translating this into the online world requires you to find ways to identify exactly where visitors are in the process and subsequently show them the appropriate information.

Marketing automation allows you to do just that in an automatic and sophisticated way. This is done by setting up automation workflows:

• Every workflow starts with determining a trigger. A simple example of this is a visitor downloading a white paper. In general, triggers allow you to determine where someone is in the sales funnel and what they are looking for

• The workflow will then trigger 1 or more pre-programmed actions. Typically, it concerns the automated sending of emails. However, marketing automation can also automate matters such as personalizing emails and content on the website, updating CRM data, ...

The big advantage of this digital process is that you can keep very precise data about its success. This makes it possible to adjust existing flows or to replace them where necessary and to design new flows with in-depth knowledge.

Marketing automation in practice

Every organization must determine the most relevant workflows for itself. Below a few common examples to get inspired:

• Lead nurturing

When a visitor downloads a certain document on the site or visits a number of specific pages, this can be a trigger to automatically send additional information by email or adjust the content on the site to match his specific interests.

For example: A visitor reads an article about the construction of ponds and downloads the catalog at the bottom of the article. This automatically triggers an email with tips & tricks about the construction of ponds and at the next site visit, a discount on pond articles is shown at the top of the site.

• Re-activate inactive leads

You can identify visitors who used to be active on your site but haven't been around for a while. Once identified, you can automatically initiate a process whereby an email is sent with an exclusive offer or discount to get the visitor back onto your website and webshop for example.

• Abandoned shopping cart

This is a very well-known example in the e-shop context. Visitors who place items in their shopping cart but do not complete their purchase will automatically receive an email to remind them of these items, to give them a discount or to capture feedback about why they are not completing the purchase.

• Cross-sell after sales

When someone purchases a specific product, a flow can be initiated through marketing automation that highlights related products.

For example: A visitor purchases a printer. An email will automatically be sent in which matching ink cartridges are recommended. Moreover, if the customer buys these ink cartridges, he will automatically receive a message on a regular basis to replace his cartridge.

• Service after sales

Thanks to marketing automation, the after-sales service can also be optimized. For example, after purchase you can immediately and automatically send an email with useful links to user videos, relevant documentation, contact details, ...

• Automatic mailings for trainings or events

When visitors register for an event, workshop or training, emails can be sent automatically at the right time for confirmation, as a reminder or to provide or request practical information. After the event, a thank you email can also be sent automatically with relevant documentation and the request for feedback.

Marketing automation in Kentico

There are a lot of systems on the market with which you can apply marketing automation. At Blastic, we often build websites in Kentico, an all-in-one system that, in addition to content management, also contains a whole range of Marketing and E-commerce functionalities. The marketing automation module is easy to use and allows both simple and complex automation processes.

You determine the trigger:

Kentico already contains a large number of pre-defined and easy to set up triggers.

You set the workflow:

This is possible with the help of a simple drag & drop module with a wide selection of actions and steps. Again, Kentico has a wide range of steps available, if additional ones are needed, they can be developed on the side.

You follow how successful a marketing flow is thanks to the available reporting

Moreover, marketing automation becomes even more powerful when it is used together with content personalization, personas, contact management, lead scoring, ... All these functionalities also exist in Kentico, making it a very powerful content ánd marketing tool. However, it can also be overwhelming to get started with all of these options on the table. We always advise to start small and evolve as you go. If necessary, partner up with an expert to get you on the right track.