Why marketing automation remains the missing piece of the optimisation jigsaw puzzle

Why marketing automation remains the missing piece of the optimisation jigsaw puzzle An experienced digital marketer who has owned and run agencies for almost 15 years, Adam is the head of cross-channel marketing automation specialist Force24. Combining his love for cutting-edge tech with a passion for lead nurturing best practice, Adam has developed a platform that is built by marketers, for marketers. An outspoken advocate of the ‘less is more’ approach, Adam is a regular commentator on industry topics including intelligent multichannel marketing, holistic eCRM strategies, optimising customer journeys, personalisation, digital marketing and retargeting.


Organisations are operating in a world where everything is optimised. Look around and think about the current journey to work for many remote-based marketers in modern-day society as an example.

It might only be a few steps to the home office, but in that same breath, commuter time has been slashed dramatically and, in turn, that’s ‘given back’ vital time to the employee to get on with their daily tasks. Optimisation has taken place and it’s not even 9am!

From a consumer’s point of view, everyone wants something quicker, slicker and more efficiently too. Take the example of keeping fit. Half-hour exercise clips are having to compete with workouts achieved in seven – or even six – minute bursts. Retailers are providing click and collect options to alleviate queues and provide safer shopping alternatives, and in one tap of an app, piping hot fast-food can arrive on a recipient’s doorstep.

When breaking down what it means to achieve true optimisation, it’s described as making the ‘best or most effective’ use of a situation or resource. Thinking about that for a moment, that has to be the ‘holy grail’ for any marketer, doesn’t it?

So, when this industry is faced with a demanding society that wants everything almost yesterday, how can marcomms professionals cope with the immense obstacles in their way? Especially when they’re constantly being challenged to not only save their own time but alleviate it for customers too.

And is that even possible when a human’s attention span lasts just eight seconds?

It’s a tough time for modern-day marketers, there’s no doubt about that – 2020 wasted no time in shining a light on that fact, and then some! And now, operating within an even more ‘always on’ culture, they’re expected to not only be a technology whizz but have the skillset that embodies data analysis, design and, in some cases, code writing capabilities – all while providing a personalised experience for their audience.

Why martech can help brands achieve true optimisation

And so, with a vast array of digital solutions at an industry professional’s fingertips, marketing automation is that missing piece of the digital comms puzzle.

That’s because savvy platforms in today’s world enable marketers to build email campaigns and landing pages in minutes – rather than hours. Automated systems are designed to take the stress out of an ever-growing ‘to do’ list because they’re capable of managing the routine, manually intensive tasks, so employees don’t have to. Think of the time that could save in a typical working day! True optimisation, right?

A brand’s marketing department should be responsible for operating in the most efficient way possible. And now teams have the opportunity to safeguard vital hours into being strategic, creating conversion-rich content campaigns and driving deeper consumer relationships – that’s why martech is an avenue that must be explored.

Delivering the analysis to transform prospects into loyal customers

Gone are the days of cold calls and delivering irrelevant marketing emails that head straight for a customer’s spam folder. Automation is the key to providing a wealth of opportunity for modern-day brands. Why? Because not only is utilising savvy technology – to operate more swiftly and efficiently – helping brands to achieve that all-important competitive edge, it’s providing data to enable forward-thinking professionals to transform bland, irrelevant emails into tailored, impactful content that recipients want to read.

Personalisation is a vital part of a marketer’s toolkit

And when delving more into the importance of providing a customised approach, a simple ‘Hello [first name],’ email simply doesn’t cut it anymore. Automated technology is empowering marketers to adapt their comms so that each piece of digital comms suits a consumer’s of-the-moment interests, no matter how much they might evolve, at pace.

All this analysis then opens the door for agencies to explore a more sophisticated way to evaluate – and that’s via a killer marketing metric called ‘lead scoring’. Capturing engagement data by measuring every individual’s interaction, savvy markters are utilising this insight to plug in their sales teams and push an opportunity forward. And from here, armed with such data at their fingertips, they’re able to prioritise the hottest leads and communicate with a personal touchpoint – such as a timely phonecall – to advance a conversion-rich opportunity.

When marketers are given the tools to optimise their tailored digital content, and feel almost liberated whilst doing so, that’s when their time is spent efficiently. And what should that result in? A lack of spreadsheets for a start! But more importantly, positive ROI, an evolved customer experience and unwavering brand loyalty.

After all, when 91% of consumers say they’re more likely to shop with brands that provide relevant comms (Accenture), can marketers really afford to miss out on this kind of lead generation?

Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash

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Author

  • Adam Oldfield

    An experienced digital marketer who has owned and run agencies for almost 15 years, Adam is the head of cross-channel marketing automation specialist Force24. Combining his love for cutting-edge tech with a passion for lead nurturing best practice, Adam has developed a platform that is built by marketers, for marketers. An outspoken advocate of the ‘less is more’ approach, Adam is a regular commentator on industry topics including intelligent multichannel marketing, holistic eCRM strategies, optimising customer journeys, personalisation, digital marketing and retargeting.

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2 comments on “Why marketing automation remains the missing piece of the optimisation jigsaw puzzle

  1. Karan Dhall on

    Thanks for sharing this wonderful article. Achieving true marketing optimization can really be frustrating, confusing and at times costly. That’s why I prefer to take help from marketing experts like you.

    Keep writing the awesome articles!

    Reply

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