Become a champion at lead generation and foster customer loyalty
Introduced over 10 years ago, marketing automation is the backbone and main lever for all your digital marketing activities and can significantly help your international prospection strategy. The software enables companies to automate their marketing to improve efficiency and increase sales. Today there are a wide range of software packages for businesses and budgets of all sizes. You can adopt software that has all the features included or use the best providers for each service and integrate them. Let’s first take a look at how it all fits together and the advantages to be gained from automating your marketing tools and processes.
of companies that implement marketing automation see a return on investment within the first year
74%
time savings
68%
increased customer engagement
14.5%
increase in sales productivity
76%
of companies that implement marketing automation see a return on investment within the first year
What does marketing automation software consist of?
Even more important, how does it fit together in an ideal business environment?
Website, social media and other lead channels are captured in the marketing automation software which in turn is synchronised with the CRM system. Email campaigns to prospects and customers are generated.
Closed loop reporting is enabled via dashboards and easy to build reports for ongoing measurement and improvement. Below is an example of a typical dashboard.
10 top benefits of marketing automation:
Save time and money and improve overall marketing efficiency, ROI and scalability
Acquire more leads and clients and increase average deal size
Increase the quality of leads and optimise their follow-up
Shorten the sales cycle
Improve customer retention and satisfaction levels
Increase efficiency by aligning internal teams and marketing
Improved database quality helping lead generation and customer support
Use of A/B testing for ongoing improvement and increase in conversion rate
Increase lifetime value of your customers
Take rational decisions based on numbers
Measure performance with dashboards and reports
Database and CRM
20%
of your data will be out of date within one year
100%
Accept that your data will never be 100% up to date but optimise nevertheless
20%
of your data will be out of date within one year
100%
Accept that your data will never be 100% up to date but optimise nevertheless
Let data work for you
An up-to-date database and CRM is absolute key to the marketing and sales efforts of any company. As the saying goes, rubbish in, rubbish out. Data has long been recognised as a key asset for any organisation. It drives customer engagement, increases customer retention, generates additional revenue (first time sales as well as up and cross selling), and enhances marketing efforts. When undertaking foreign prospection and to extend your reach, you can purchase prospect lists from third party providers based on various selection criteria and which are already GDPR compliant. The lists are normally provided in excel format for easy upload to your database.
Quick tips for success:
Database Set up
Centralise your data in one company database and ensure you have it securely backed up
Build the fields to allow you to effectively drive and manage your business. (Market and customer segmentation, source, geography etc.)
Include a language field to enable you to communicate with prospects and customers abroad in their own language
Automatically synchronise your CRM to your marketing database with a bi-directional interface for data integrity. (Many marketing automation software packages include this feature)
Ensure GDPR compliance and appoint a data protection officer who will normally be involved in the database management aspects to ensure conformity
Database usage
Appoint a database administrator to keep your data clean (deduplication, changes to customer data, email campaign opt-outs). Use data integrity software
Standardise data entry guidelines throughout the company and train staff
Encourage customers and prospects to update you with any change to their company and contact records via simple online forms or via live chat and automate updates to your CRM where possible
Automate where possible data enhancements from events and webinar registrations (many marketing automation software packages do this for you)
Automate updates to account contact history and interaction with your company
Enhance your database with the upload of new prospect lists and sources to drive lead generation campaigns
Harvest data to develop a better understanding of your customer needs and shape their behaviour
Build reports or dashboards to monitor the number of active customers and prospects per segment, country and have a clear overview of the suspects and prospects in the different stages of the sales funnel
Email
4.3
billion active email users forecasted in 2023
293.6
billion emails are sent and received each day
81%
of small businesses rely on email as their primary customer acquisition channel, and 80% for retention
50%
higher open rates for emails with personalised subject lines
300%
increase in click rates when videos are added to your email
93%
of B2B marketers use email to distribute content
16%
of all emails never make it into the inbox
174%
more conversions by email marketing than on social media
Email – a very popular marketing channel
Email marketing is one of the most popular, cost-effective and conversion-rich of all digital marketing channels. Combining email with marketing automation allowing for segmentation and personalised content i.e. delivering the right message to the right audience at the right time, can increase email effectiveness considerably.
Marketing email (newsletter, special offers, product updates and promotion polls etc)
Marketing automation software:
Includes email functionality and enables you to send time and action triggered emails in an attractive and personalised format
Lets you add dynamic content (unique for each profile or person)
Enables you to build landing pages quickly and easily. You can then link your email to a customised landing page for increased effectiveness
Allows you to do lead nurturing, part of a successful inbound marketing strategy, automating emails to accounts in every stage of the sales funnel and buyer journey based on the behaviour of the prospect or lead. This positively impacts, even accelerates the sales decision.
Lead nurturing is a great way to increase lead generation efficiency:
Companies that excel at lead nurturing generate 50% more sales-ready leads at a 33% lower cost. Source: Marketo
Nurtured leads make 47% larger purchases than non-nurtured leads. Source: The Annuitas Group
Lead nurturing can also be used for post engagement to foster loyalty and customer feedback
Allows you to set up drip campaigns sending an automated series of emails over an extended period of time e.g. educational, re-engagement, on-boarding, thereby differentiating yourself from the competition
According to GetResponse and its Email Marketing Benchmarks 2019 here is some interesting data about average open and click-through rates and metrics to measure after each campaign. Open and click rates may vary by sector.
The overall average open rate for email marketing is 22.86%
The average CTR is 3.71% (CTR = click-through rate i.e. the number of clicks on a hyperlink or CTA (call to action) divided by the total number of delivered messages
The average click to open rate is 16.23% (CTOR compares the number of onetime clicks versus the total number of people opening the email)
Unsubscribe rates, on average, are 0.21%
Best practices to maximise your email results
1 – Content:
Create valuable, relevant and reader friendly content
Personalise the email greeting
Insert an attractive and catchy subject line
Insert an attractive and relevant header
Include a clear call to action with a link to a landing page to collect data
A/B test to see what works best and optimise (subject line, header, images, text length)
Set up multiple touch and triggered campaigns
Include an email signature with a link to your website and social media pages
For nurturing emails, offer a value proposition rather than a sales pitch
Favour quality over frequency
Send welcome emails to new customers and subscribers
On-board new customers with a series of emails explaining your products and services
Create pop-ups on your website and blog to increase opt-ins
Link emails to a customised landing pages
Follow up incoming emails in a timely manner
Send/schedule your email to go out at the best time for the reader (mid-morning, mid-afternoon, mid-week are popular) and take into account geographical time differences
Where possible, do not use a no-reply email sender address and make it easy for accounts to get in touch
Send a test first to yourself (desktop and mobile) to check links are working and content is well displayed
Measure each campaign and do more of what works best
Segment your send lists and tailor content to each group
Update your email lists regularly using transmission reports
When collecting email opt-ins, allow people to subscribe to different categories e.g. newsletter, updates on a specific topic
Create a good thank you page for opt-ins with tips e.g. to mark you as a safe sender, share a link to your website or blog
Avoid landing in people’s junk folder by using a professional email tool
Blogs
70
million blog posts are being published each month by WordPress users
97%
more links to the websites for companies who blog
77%
of internet users read blogs
96%
of bloggers are using social media to drive traffic to their blog posts
70
million blog posts are being published each month by WordPress users
97%
more links to the websites for companies who blog
77%
of internet users read blogs
96%
of bloggers are using social media to drive traffic to their blog posts
An incremental online channel
Blogging allows companies to show case their brand online and can differentiate them from the competition and allow them to engage with prospects and customers in a less formal way. Blogs can also enable companies to gain a deeper insight into customer needs and expectations. To start with, you should ensure that setting up a blog makes sense in your overall international digital marketing strategy.
Companies set up blogs to achieve a number of things.
Showcase the reasons to purchase from you
Add weight to their social media presence
Portray you as an expert and opinion leader in your field
Allow you to engage in conversation with prospects and customers
Help you achieve higher ranking with Google and help with SEO
Develop a community and encourage advocacy
Setting up and maintaining a blog can be time-consuming so you need to look at the potential ROI. Some marketing automation software packages include blog functionality, otherwise you can set up a blog easily and cost-effectively using third-party software.
Quick tips for a successful business blog
Create compelling content for your target audience with professional hints and tips and step-by-step guides. An ideal blog post should be between 300 and 1700 words long
Include keywords for SEO
Include back links
Include relevant internal links to your website and other articles you wrote
Team up with other blogs which will refer to your blog or article
Talk to customers to find out which subjects really interest them (mostly it is about problem solving and not selling)
Post video content which can substantially increase traffic
Make an attractive design and combine images with text
Write a clever headline for each post
Determine if English will be sufficient for your international audience
Check out competitor blogs and see what works well
Post frequently
Answer questions trending with your post
Encourage feedback and engagement
Promote your blog in social media posts
Optimise for mobile
Include a clear subscribe field
Include a human narrative linked to your product and service
Encourage guest bloggers who will also extend their post to their own social networks
Outsource content writing to a subject matter expert if budget allows and promote on social media channels to drive more traffic to your blog
Campaign management
760%
increase in revenue for marketers who drive segmented email campaigns
87%
of video marketers say that video has increased traffic to their website
760%
increase in revenue for marketers who drive segmented email campaigns
87%
of video marketers say that video has increased traffic to their website
Managing efficiently existing leads is as important as generating new leads
The goal of campaign management is to help you prioritise your different campaigns (emails, social media, ads, etc.) based on similar KPIs in order to reach your ultimate goal (more leads, more sales, more customer retention). Campaign management involves developing a pricing, marketing and sales strategy to optimise turnover and profits. This feature included in most marketing automation software packages is also used to automate and streamline the processes across different digital marketing channels as well as tracking, reporting and carrying out analysis of marketing campaigns.
Lead management is a key pillar of campaign management. It is the way to attract and nurture the prospect through the different stages of the sales funnel to generate more business.
With the software, you can also set up lead scoring for each prospect record determining when is the ideal moment to automatically transfer the account from Marketing to Sales as a qualified lead for further follow-up and eventual closure.
Best Practices
83%
of B2B companies use e-newsletters as part of their content marketing programme
40%
of B2B marketers say email newsletters are most critical to their content marketing success
83%
of B2B companies use e-newsletters as part of their content marketing programme
40%
of B2B marketers say email newsletters are most critical to their content marketing success
If marketing automation is king, content is queen
Content management and marketing automation really do complement one another. Use of marketing automation will enable you to improve the effectiveness and consistency of your overall content marketing strategy. Scheduling posts 2 weeks in advance for example makes it easier to stay consistent and publish frequently across different channels which will also help strengthen your brand.
Content can be more easily shared across other digital channels such as website, social media, online advertising, e-newsletter, blog etc.
Triggered responses can be generated if a user clicks on or downloads a piece of content and the software can generate the appropriate email and update the account history accordingly.
Based on the user profile, relevant content such as whitepapers or promotions can be shared with the user at the appropriate time.
Content views can be monitored by marketing automation across different channels to avoid duplication of content and to ensure that each touchpoint moves the relationship to the next stage.
Marketing automation can also measure how content influences the buyer journey and decision making process.
Best practices marketing automation
Build buyer personas (your ideal customer profile). Free templates can be found online
Map out the different lead stages for your business / the optimal lead flow
Base your workflow on the buyer or customer journey
Capture relevant lead information along the way to perform quality lead nurturing and analysis
Plan quality and timely content to generate and nurture leads
Use smart segmentation to target and personalise content
Run multichannel campaigns to maximise touchpoints
Build engaging landing pages and forms with clear call to action and ongoing collection of profile data
If tools allow, use social listening and monitoring and adapt your approach accordingly
Implement lead scoring
Manage exit intent by using pop-ups
Measure constantly, in line with your goals, adjust and make ongoing improvements
Cybersecurity
43%
of cyber attacks target small business
95%
of cybersecurity breaches are due to human error
43%
of cyber attacks target small business
95%
of cybersecurity breaches are due to human error
Protect your business
No company with an online presence is immune to a cyberattack. However, there are several precautions you can and should take to protect yourself and your business.
Marketing automation platforms and the CRM require a large amount of data to perform and need to be totally secure. Special care should be taken
to access control (with strong passwords and two factor authentication);
to limit access to the platform only to the employees who really need it;
to train employees well in correct use of the platform and to avoid accidental data leaks;
configure settings to avoid data leaks or misuse;
limit the lifetime of the personal data to the required duration.
In addition, you should also monitor the platform in order to detect unauthorised access attempts or misuse.
Legal aspects
As marketing automation is based on personal data collection and handling, you need to make sure that:
The platform is compliant with GDPR and other applicable regulations
The data collection is processed with the consent of the concerned persons
Advice available from SECURITYMADEIN.LU. Visit our website www.securitymadein.lu for more information and to contact us.
Measurement
“If you don’t collect any metrics, you’re flying blind. If you collect and focus on too many, they may be obstructing your field of view.”
Make data-driven decisions
Regular tracking of key marketing metrics will allow you to make continuous improvements including how to increase traffic, potential sales and user retention. Most marketing automation packages include built-in metrics and dashboard functionality. It is always good to compare monthly, quarterly and even yearly statistics to identify trends.
Begin by setting up SMART goals aligned to what you want your marketing automation to deliver then off you go.
Popular marketing automation metrics to track include:
Marketing automation usage metrics
Campaign response metrics including number of emails sent with open, click, click through and unsubscribe rates
Website traffic and link back to source e.g. emails, social media campaigns, events etc
How many workflows were created and for which stage of the buyer journey
Activity by segment (email, social media, website)
Number of leads transferred from Marketing to Sales
Close or conversion rate and value of marketing sourced leads
Deal closure rates yearly or quarterly with a comparison to previous years and before marketing automation
Increase in marketing productivity (emails sent and resulting conversions compared to previous periods and before marketing automation)
Cost per lead and per closed deal
Length of the average sales cycle
Revenue generated per year and average deal size
Customer retention level evolution
Customer’s lifetime value
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Financial Support Packages
Government backed subsidies to support marketing activities for Luxembourg companies expanding internationally
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Marketing Automation 
