Have you ever used any automatic mail system, either for straight-up advertising or even for confirmation of purchase? If you’re an internet entrepreneur working on your e-commerce project, chances are you are already using marketing automation – even if you’re not really aware of it. To fully use its potential, you have to have the knowledge. Let us learn a bit about the thing!
Let’s start with the basics – what is marketing automation?
According to Hubspot, marketing automation is all about using software to automate marketing activities. Many marketing departments automate repetitive tasks such as email marketing, social media posting, and even ad campaigns — not just for the sake of efficiency, but so they can provide a more personalized experience for their customers. The technology of marketing automation makes these tasks easier.
A good short definition also comes from Salesforce: Marketing automation is technology that manages marketing processes and multifunctional campaigns, across multiple channels, automatically.
To put it simply, it’s the process of using dedicated software to simplify all kinds of marketing and sales activities. The main goal of marketing automation is to make your life easier, make your sales higher and for your products to reach more of a broad audience and generate leads (means of contact or a way to make the purchase for a determined buyer).
With careful selection of tools and a good know how, it will not only make all of your e-commerce activities less of a hustle, but also let them look professional and tidy, all while letting you know exactly how your efforts work in terms of effectiveness. It will also greatly help in building a strong image of a trustworthy seller, by giving the exact content and the right amount of information and help in the process.
According to Moosend, 75% of email revenue is generated from personalized campaigns and marketing automation users experience a 451% increase in qualified leads.
Which marketing activities can be automated?
Marketing automation consists of many types of functions and activities, here are some of them:
- Monitoring and deep analyze of user and client behavior on our site/shop – what they click, what groups of product they explore in what time of day/year etc.
- Client segmentation using demographics and all other available data – depending on country and many other variables.
- Automatic client and lead database building – you need all of your clients that bought x type of product for a promotional mailing? That’s just two clicks away!
- Auto offers, reminders, promotions using all available data.
- Confirmation of purchase (learn how to send email after order in WooCommerce).
- Auto mailing lists and mailing type recommendations – with enough preparation, your newsletters will literally write and send themselfs!
- Response monitoring – open / bounce rates, clickthrough rate.
- Auto remarketing using social media and Adwords – the user/potential client that didn’t ultimately buy your product but saw it and expressed some kind of interest can see a specially tailored ad to help him finalize the buy.
What tools can you use to automate them?
You can achieve them also by multiple means and services:
- Active and personalized messages, pop ups – if you can make the pop up actually helpful, the client won’t be annoyed. On the contrary – it will help him make a good and informed decision.
- Dynamically made custom mails – the client was interested in a product, got it in the cart, but never bought? Plan a discount and let him know – all automatically
- Chatbots, both on-site and on social media – with most basic needs. You don’t need a real person behind the chat. These needs include shipping tracking, shipping info, all kind of FAQs, and many more.
- Automatic call-backs with a connection to a real person or a bot
- Abandoned cart messages and actions.
How to choose the right tool?
What is really important to know about the process is that marketing automation is neither foolproof nor maintenance-free. The tools you choose and the way they are set up are critical for your success. It is really easy to pump a lot of money into a mail marketing campaign. Sometimes, we do it only to see it make no good results or even no results at all.
That’s why when choosing your solutions, it is generally a good idea not only to read up on all the reviews. It is also important to take into consideration your level of marketing and automation knowledge to handle the tool you choose. Pay attention to not only what software lets you do, but also how easy it is to do it.
ShopMagic
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Download for free or Go to WordPress.orgMarketing automation case study
Jenny wants to buy a new radiator for her car. There are multiple websites that let you order a radiator. It is not an easy part to buy as you not only need the make and model of the car, but also the exact engine used. Jenny chooses your shop, as it is known for being professional and user-friendly.
Ease of use
Once on your website, Jenny is greeted by all the standard car parts shop elements. She can find the search bar, the parts picker, a way to limit the search results. The extra parts are the Messenger chat bar and a call me button. After typing a phone number, a representative can call her within 60 seconds during work hours.
Jenny goes through with the registration, which requires all of the necessary personal data and also an email, but as a much easier way she uses her Facebook account for the registration. Jenny syncs with her PayPal account for the address and payment option.
Added value
At the end of the registration, Jenny marks the option to get the newsletter with extra price cuts. Using marketing automation, the site will generate the mail containing price drops for her choice. She will also find additional products, such as engine oil and wiper fluid. The mail won’t be too often and will be focused on her data. That way it is beneficial for her and helps her save money, so the bounce rate shouldn’t be too high.
Right place at the right time
Jenny uses the active search bar on the site to get her radiator into the cart. As she does it, a pop-up appears informing her that a very good quality replacement part is cheaper. The same pop-up also informs her that she will need exactly 5 liters of coolant to fill up her system. She also gets info that there is this product, that is currently on sale. She buys both of these products.
Purchase under control
Immediately Jenny gets a confirmation email with tracking data and estimated arrival time. At any given moment, she can also write to your shop on Messenger. She can get a simple tracking message giving her the automatic status of her package. In the end, Jenny has a way to inform you if she is pleased with the purchase.
Power of marketing automation
10 days after purchase, Jenny receives an automatic after order email sent to customers asking her for a product review. When she leaves the review, she instantly gets a personalized coupon for her next purchase. Magic?
It’s not all about money – marketing automation also improves user experience
Thanks to good marketing automation in your business, the client could make it through the process in pleasant way. She was able to save money. You were able to make an incredibly professional first impression. Also, you could sell additional products, that the client could have forgotten about. All of that, using a lot less of your precious time in the process.
Win – win!