The automobile industry was one of the early industries that incorporated automation into manufacturing. This allowed for increased efficiency and speed. Automation replaced humans in areas where tasks could be handled by machines. The next level of automation inception was about 2017 named intelligent automation. This is a combination of (AI) artificial intelligence and (RPA) robotic process automation.
With automation being offered now on various platforms, entrepreneurs and small businesses are challenged with implementing it and configuring it effectively. “The Paradox of Automation” says that the more efficient the automated system, the more crucial the human contribution of the operators.” So, don’t think of automation as just getting a process done; but moreover, how is the automation going to factor in to my end result, goals, and strategies. Here are 3 necessary keys to automation success.
The first key to successful automation is developing and building the right foundation before construction. Builders tell me that the most important part of the building construction is the foundation. Well, it is the same with automation. Understanding the purpose of your automation is essential to building a foundation that will yield results. When I work with clients, I like to make sure they have a good understanding of their ideal customer. Knowing this will help to build better automation with the purpose of creating better dynamic opportunities with greater personalization. Building automation just to capture names and emails to place in a list, is not enough. The automation has to go deeper to capture and distinguish customer behavior. This begins with understanding who the ideal customer is for your brand so that you can build your marketing to attract them.
The second key to automation success is establishing a viable way to capture leads when they connect with your brand. Moreover, segmenting your audience into lists that automatically update when your customer meets certain criteria for advanced targeting. This is essential for creating dynamic lists and emails with content that aligns with the lead’s needs and wants. This will allow for better content, products, and services to their demand. Utilizing a marketing email service like Constant Contact will help ensure this functionality.
The third key to automation success is having a system to track lead behavior. As leads interact with your marketing touch points you need a powerful marketing and sales platform, to effectively prioritize and nurture leads to improve conversion. This will allow you to create a personalized buyer experience and maintain your leads throughout the buyer’s journey. Understanding where your lead is in the buying process, will allow more focus on leads who are sales-ready.
So begin with knowing your ideal customer, incorporating a tool to capture leads at all of your marketing touch points, and finally tracking lead behavior to increase and improve lead conversion. Once I put this into place, I’m ready to build automated visual workflows to take care of the automation for me.
Learn more and get a free copy of the ebook, The Marketing Automation Playbook.
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