You're trying to improve your business operations. Which marketing automation software should you choose?

Marketing Automation software is required for carrying out certain repetitive tasks in marketing such as the introduction of a newly launched product on your website to all the existing customers in your Database. An announcement email every quarter to let your users understand the new upgrades made to the website with regards to your product/Services and we could take many similar examples.

Marketing automations removes redundant tasks, automates processes and makes the user experience seamless. No mo more wait time to get to the next step. It tracks each step of the funnel too, thus providing data to help with making improvements and even spark innovation for upsells, customer education, and more.

A good metric in evaluating marketing automation software would be around the idea of cost of acquisition for customer. To get insight into your rate of return, you'll need something that gives you an idea what your returns may be. Certainly your sales representative will have some figures ready for you, but this is where the outreach to current customers of the various providers can really pay off. Once you understand acquisition costs, determining retention rates is incredibly important. Basically this means understanding how marketing works and how to measure its effectiveness and then apply that knowledge to the system. Technology shouldn't be given a pass when it comes to ROI.

Choosing marketing automation software depends on your specific business needs. Popular options include HubSpot, Marketo, and Mailchimp. Consider factors like budget, scalability, and required features before deciding

Since my experience combines IT management, business management, and process management, I bring a whole toolbox to a discussion of IT systems and effectiveness. To get to the core of the matter though, you have to make sure that what you are doing is effective BEFORE you automate it. Automating something should result in being more efficient in that task. If you automate something that is not effective, then you are essentially becoming very efficient at doing the wrong thing. So start with nailing down good processes that work and then begin the automation process. This applies to marketing as much as any other automated business operation.

There can be many challenges - the biggest one being broken code or triggers that can slow down delivery and impact profitability. Other others - buying a software that's not user friendly, not adaptable to changing business environments, not scalable, too many calls with tech support, to name a few. It's always a good idea to start with a basic features to test the waters before going all in.

I firmly believe that successful use of marketing automation requires continuous adaptation. It's an ongoing process of refining strategies, testing new approaches, and staying agile in response to evolving market dynamics. It's not a one-time setup; it's a journey of continuous improvement.