6 Tips to Select the Best Marketing Automation Software

Updated: April 22, 2024
by Jack Stan

For a small business or marketer, the world of automation software is a confusing one. You need something that meets your marketing needs while not breaking the bank. How do you navigate this situation to find the best marketing software? Don't fret; this article will help you make the right choice.

6 Tips to Select the Best Marketing Automation Software

Did You Know?

  • 75% of marketers use at least one type of marketing automation tool.
  • Marketing automation technology is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.1% from 2020 to 2027.
  • 63% of companies outperforming their competitors use marketing automation.
  • The average return on investment (ROI) for marketing automation systems is 451%.
  • 80% of marketing automation users saw an increase in the number of leads.
  • 77% of users saw an increase in conversions from marketing automation.
  • 85% of marketers have a marketing automation platform as part of their tech stack.

Tip #1: Look for Progressive Profiling

Web users have very low attention spans, which makes them lose interest in filling up lengthy forms. Reducing the length of forms increases conversion rates. To put this in action, use progressive profiling. 

Progressive profiling captures tiny bits of information from customers every time they access an asset. This makes sure that they return to use your site, and you can continue to collect more details over time.

While selecting the best marketing automation software for your business, look for progressive profiling. Also, check how many details the automation software captures along each pass. Moreover, you must consider the availability of other inbuilt capabilities like multi-stage and conditional opt-in forms. 

Tip #2: Think About How Smartly the Tool Uses Social Data

Email personalization improves visits to your site by improving the flow of the purchasing pipeline. This is achieved through segmenting email lists based on standard variables. These include demography, geography and behaviour, among others. 

How do you get access to this information? It might seem challenging at first, but a great source is social logins. There is a high volume of user data linked to social logins such as Twitter, Gmail and Facebook. A good marketing automation software must be able to capture this information, helping you get closer to your customers.

Did You Know?

  • Automated emails get click rates 119% higher than broadcast emails.
  • 57% of businesses believe that marketing automation is a very effective tool in personalizing content and ads.
  • 48% of marketers use marketing automation for email marketing.
  • 47% of marketers use marketing automation for customer relationship management.
  • Only 28% of businesses use marketing automation to its full capacity.
  • Lead nurturing emails using marketing automation generate an 8% CTR compared to general emails at 3%.
  • 21% of marketing leaders plan to implement a new marketing automation platform in the next year.

Tip #3: Ask About the Integration of CRM, Website and Marketing Automation

Especially if you have already been using CRM, you will want to have an integrated system for marketing. You may have noticed the pitfalls of CRM but might still appreciate its pros. 

By integrating CRM and marketing automation, you are completing the development ecosystem. This helps you save time and money, and helps avoid chaos from multiple systems while easing employee training.

Ultimately, this helps you generate and nurture leads for your business efficiently. This integration lets you extract robust insights about customers and enables you to harness analytical power.

Tip #4: Track Visitor Activity From the Beginning to the End

Social logins alone are not enough to segment your visitors. Combine this with visitor activity tracking, and you have a recipe for success. By following the visitor across your website, you are finding out their specific interests.

Did You Know?

  • Segmented campaigns, driven by marketing automation, can lead to a 760% increase in revenue.
  • Companies that automate lead management see a 10% or more bump in revenue in 6-9 months.
  • 53% of top-performing companies invest in marketing automation for customer retention.
  • Mobile marketing automation has led to a 300% increase in completion rates for key user activities.
  • 58% of marketers state that the ability to segment email lists is the most effective feature of marketing automation.
  • Automated social media posts see 22% more engagement compared to non-automated posts.
  • 59% of marketers see marketing automation as critical in creating personalized customer engagement at scale.

This helps segment your email list efficiently and guarantees a high conversion rate. The best marketing automation software for your business must tell you about the visitors' journey from the moment they arrive at your site until they leave. 

With every added stat, you will improve your segmentation even more.

Tip #5: Look for Customizable Sales Alerts

Sales and Marketing

Your sales team needs to know the interest of each customer. They must be able to convert fresh leads into paying customers consistently.

Marketing automation software must enable this. By setting up email alerts and cold calls, the observation time can be cut short. Automated sales alerts tell your sales team that a customer is close to making a purchase. An excellent automation tool also automatically assigns leads to sales reps.

Of course, these criteria should be customizable by you, and not just the tool.  This puts your sales team in power.

Tip #6: Ensure the Inclusion of Drip Email Campaign Templates

Making your customers spend money is a challenge, and your sales team will suffer if leads don't convert. Typically, pursuing the customer via email campaigns helps boost conversion rates.

This is done through a series of emails sent to the lead. The emails educate and persuade them, encouraging them to click and interact with your email and site. This potentially brings the customer closer to a purchase.

This drip email campaign saves time and allows your sales team to focus on promising leads and convert them.

The Different Types of Marketing Automation Software

There are a variety of different types of marketing automation software available on the market. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, so it's important to choose the right tool for your business.

Here are four types of marketing automation software:

  1. Email Marketing Automation Software: Email marketing is one of the most common forms of marketing, and email marketing automation software makes it easy to send automated emails to your customers. These programs can send custom emails based on customer data or patterns, track how many emails are sent and opened, and generate reports detailing how well your email campaigns are performing.
  2. Social Media Automation Software: Social media automation software lets you manage all your social media accounts from one place. You can set up automated posts and tweets, track social media reactions, and analyze your performance to see which posts work best.
  3. Lead Management Automation Software: Lead management automation software helps you track leads, convert them into sales, and keep detailed records of all your interactions with customers. This software can automatically fill out forms on behalf of customers, contact them based on their preferences, and more.
  4. CRM (Customer Relationship Management) Software.
Automation

What are the Benefits of Marketing Automation Software?

There are many benefits to using marketing automation software, including:

  1. Increased Efficiency – Marketing automation software can help you automate your marketing activities, cutting down on the time it takes to manage your campaigns. This can help you increase your ROI and reach your target audience more quickly.
  2. More Flexible Campaigns – With marketing automation software, you can create more flexible and customised campaigns that are aligned with your business’s goals. This means you can reach a wider range of potential customers, and track results more effectively.
  3. Greater Control Over Your Data – Marketing automation software can help you access and analyse your data in order to improve your campaigns. This allows you to identify which campaigns are working well, and which ones need adjustments.
  4. Enhanced Customer Retention – Marketing automation software can help you retain customers by automating customer outreach processes, such as sending automated emails or SMS messages. This can save you time and money in the long run, as you won’t have to spend as much on marketing efforts.
  5. Reduced Time Spent Worrying About Marketing Automation – Marketing automation software can take care of a lot of the tedious tasks involved in running a business.

How to Choose the Right Marketing Automation Software for Your Business

When it comes to choosing the best marketing automation software for your business, there are a few things you should consider.

First, you need to decide what type of marketing automation you want. There are three main types: email marketing, social media marketing, and lead nurturing. Then you can decide which features are important to you. Some features that are common to all three types of marketing automation are autoresponse management, campaign tracking, and messaging capabilities. Finally, you can decide how much money you want to spend on the software. There are free and paid options available.

What Next?

Now that you know the six tips to select the best marketing automation software put them to use! Make sure you know what you want from any software and get the most out of it. 

As business owners, we are always looking for ways to automate our tasks so that we can free up valuable time and focus on more important things. One of the most popular marketing automation software options is HubSpot, and for good reason. They offer a comprehensive suite of tools that make it easy to track your leads, contact information, and online Presence. Additionally, they have a powerful reporting system that makes it easy to see where you are making progress and where you might want to adjust your strategy. If you're interested in trying out marketing automation software, I recommend checking out HubSpot's free trial.

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About the Author

Online Marketing Career Consultant. Network marketing and web developing since 2009, helping people quit daytime job and earn enough money and freedom. Keen swimmer, horse-rider, cake-baker, a little bit of OCD.

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