I love technology. Some may be wondering if I am alluding to the current fascination with Pokémon Go. No, I’m not. You won’t find me running into the street chasing down a virtual lure. I love technology because it lets me do more than I could, in less time than it should.
The phrase, work smarter not harder, is the rally cry for letting go of inefficient processes and embracing process improvements. In general people are quick to adapt to new technologies that lighten their work load. Let me clarify that statement a bit. Within their personal life, people are quick to adapt to new technologies that lighten their workload. Just take a moment to think about the possessions in your home. Our homes are filled with gadgets and machines that make cooking, cleaning and yard work a snap compared to the time investment of prior generations. We are driven toward finding better and faster ways to accomplish our tasks.
Marketing is no different. We should always be looking for better ways to market to our audience and that is where marketing automation comes in. Marketing automation is a valuable tool set that allows you to understand your audience better through personas. You can follow their interests via Web Tracking and even customize the follow up email they receive through automated campaigns. This technology can be set up and run in the background, automatically measuring performance and adjusting messages as needed. However, unlike the Ronco Showtime Rotisserie, marketing automation is not simply “set it and forget it.”
Behind every great marketing plan there is a strategy, a data driven strategy. If you don’t have the proper data on your members, then your efforts could be limited. Savvy marketers know that data is key to better understanding your audience and creating personalized communications. Because data can shift, your campaigns, personas, and scoring models all change as well. You need to stay engaged with your marketing plans. Be sure that messages remain relevant and continue to be delivered to the right people, at the right time.
Marketing automation gives you the capability to respond to subscriber activity taken through your website, email program and database. While marketing automation does help you run more intelligent, relevant campaigns, it can also help you understand your audience better. By adding context to the data you are collecting, each person that engages with your brand leaves digital footprints. These footprints give you insight into their interests and what they may need from your organization.
Knowing that a member is a Pediatric Nurse is helpful, however there is more to their story. Where do they work, in a hospital or a private practice? What content to they engage with on your site? Are they just starting their career or have they been in the workforce for 20 years? Suddenly, that Pediatric Nurse becomes a 28-year-old female working in a large hospital, struggling with time management yet wanting to advance her career with continued education. The more pieces of the puzzle that you have, the more complete the picture becomes and the more effective your content will be.
Making the connection between marketing automation and the data you collect will empower you to create robust, effective marketing campaigns that will strengthen your member relationships. This is exactly what we aim to help you with in the “Marketing Automation Bootcamp: Do More with your Data,” pre-conference workshop at this year’s Superfan Summit. Join us on November 15th as we dive further into such topics as:
- Strategies behind effective marketing automation planning.
- Build engaging nurture campaigns designed to enhance the member experience.
- Understand how to take advantage of the digital clues constituents leave behind to strengthen your data and deliver more relevant messages.
Marketing automation is a powerful suite of tools that can enhance every level of your marketing plan. Be sure to put your messages in the best position possible by understanding your data and tracking performance to keep your efforts as effective as possible.
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