It is gradually beginning to be introduced into marketing activities, but there may still be some people who only have a vague idea of what it is.
In fact, a back-end engineer I know germany telegram phone number list said, "I've heard of MA (marketing automation tool), but I don't know what it actually does."
So, for those who do not have a deep understanding of MA (marketing automation tools), we will provide a detailed introduction to the overview and advantages and disadvantages.
To put it simply, it is a tool that automates and streamlines marketing activities.
By utilizing MA tools, you can improve the productivity of your sales and marketing departments, which involves acquiring and nurturing new potential customers (leads) and identifying leads that sales should approach.
Why is there a growing demand for marketing automation tools?
With the spread of the Internet, consumer behavior is changing rapidly every year.
Why is MA necessary in an era when marketing methods are becoming more diverse?
Customers are now in a position to choose their own services and products.
Before the Internet became widespread, the main form of information dissemination was the "push type," which was TV commercials, newspaper inserts, and telemarketing.
However, with the spread of the Internet, consumers are now able to gather information of their own volition, and modern consumers' purchasing behavior has changed to "searching for what they really want."
In addition, with the widespread use of digital devices such as PCs and smartphones, it has become easy to obtain customer behavior logs and hobbies and preferences that were previously difficult to collect offline.
This has brought attention to one-to-one marketing.
The basis of one-to-one marketing is to provide information to customers at the time they want it.
MA tools can help you carry out this activity.
MA tools now make it possible to utilize multiple channels, such as email newsletters, chat, and smartphone push notifications, to deliver the most appropriate content via the channel that each individual prefers.
The time it takes to purchase a product has increased
As mentioned above, the increased demand for MA is due to changes in consumer behavior.
Some of the reasons for this include the diversification of consumers' needs as they now search for information themselves on the Internet, and the increase in online purchasing processes.
For example, before the internet became widespread, if there was something you wanted to buy, you had to go to a store and go through the process of purchasing it.
However, nowadays, if there is something I want, I first look it up online, refer to reviews, compare which one is best and will I not lose out, and then when I find the information I want, I make the purchase.
This has resulted in a lengthy purchasing process.
In order to respond to this lengthening of the purchasing process, it has become necessary to carry out marketing activities that segment the acquisition and nurturing of leads by utilizing MA, which allows for centralized management of marketing strategy planning, sales, accounting, and other tasks on the cloud.
Change from management to utilization of business cards
In the case of B2B, sales representatives and management have a large number of business cards, but I think many of them are left unused.
However, currently, there is a growing trend to "manage" business cards using business card management tools, and an increasing number of companies are progressing beyond that to the stage of "utilizing" them.
"Utilizing" means registering unused business card information into MA (marketing automation) and providing high-quality information that can help solve problems, leading to building relationships with customers and closing deals and creating new cases.
The Need for Marketing Automation Tools
It can reduce human error
Marketing professionals have a wide range of responsibilities, from gathering information to managing advertising across various channels, reaching out to targets via email, and maintaining and managing databases, and in many cases this requires hands-on work.
If there are few marketing staff in the company, the "work" of planning and improving strategies may end up being taken up by other manual "tasks," and results may not be achieved.
Therefore, by introducing MA, you can automate your marketing processes and carry out more efficient marketing activities.
Furthermore, there is an added benefit of not only improving efficiency but also preventing operational errors.
When approaching potential customers,
it eliminates the possibility of human error, such as sending the wrong email or directing them to the wrong content.
