(And how can you protect yourself against flim-flam “inbound marketing specialists?”)
We bet you’ve heard the term dozens of times by now, but maybe it’s always left you scratching your head.
“‘Marketing automation?!?’ What the heck is that?!?”
Fear not. Stern is here to help you understand this critical step toward your company’s success.
DEFINING THE TERM MARKETING AUTOMATION
Put simply, marketing automation refers to a business’s use of specialty software products to roboticize a large portion of its email, social media, and overall Internet marketing actions.
If the word “roboticize” seems cold and unfeeling — don’t worry.
When properly practiced, marketing automation helps you build your company’s brand while getting to know your customers and potential customers on a more personal basis. Meanwhile you save money and time on resources that weren’t doing the job half as well as your chosen automation solution.
THAT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE!
But it’s not. Consider a company that almost everyone knows: Amazon.com. At this point, Amazon has all but perfected the art of marketing automation. Meaning:
- the company has actively grown its capacity to nurture highly personalized relationship with its existing and potential customer base.
- it provides useful content that helps convert prospects into customers and turn customers into ecstatically loyal customers.
- its automated marketing campaigns generate significant revenue for the both itself and its partner companies while slashing the resources spent on marketing personnel and the time required to mount an effective campaign.
If any of this resonates with you . . . if it sounds like the kind of marketing oomph! you want your business to have . . . it’s time to consider marketing automation for your company.
BUT BE CAREFUL!
These days, everyone and their grandmother claims to be an Internet marketing specialist. We wish we had a nickel for every “inbound marketing company” that boasts how it can boost your company’s revenue streams by 400 to 500%. Make no mistake: “marketing automation” has become a 21st century buzz word. People bandy the term all over the place, quite often out of context or with no real grounding in fact whatsoever.
SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU, THE CONSUMER?
At bottom, you should know what you’re getting yourself into before you hire an inbound marketing specialist. Here are some key points we urge your business to follow:
- DO NOT spend a truckload of money on sophisticated tools that automate the middle of your pipeline without creating new leads on the front office side.
- DO NOT purchase email lists hoping that this will “kick start” your inbound leads. (It won’t, or at least it won’t do it effectively.)
- DO integrate marketing automation with a base of healthy, resilient clients and prospects your business has actively, honestly built.
- DO continue to cultivate new leads using the marketing automation system you’ve chosen.
- DO work hard and honestly to ensure your business’s long term success.
And perhaps the most important item:
- DO consider the cost, time, and resource efficiencies your company will gain by outsourcing your marketing automation to a proven leader in the inbound marketing field.
As far as this goes, the leading company we tend to recommend is *AHEM!* ourselves: STERN INBOUND MARKETING.
Contact us today. Our job is helping your business grow. We will use Hubspot or Infusionsoft Marketing Automation to drive new qualified leads to your business.
I would love to help you launch a new Inbound Marketing, Content Marketing, and Social Media Marketing strategy that will deliver qualified leads for your B2B or B2C business.
It all starts with a Stern Storming Session.
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