You want to improve customer retention. What marketing automation tools should you use?

Iterable and Braze, rising customer engagement and loyalty platforms, are both worth taking a look at as either standalone or complementary to Hubspot, Salesforce and other solutions. Marketing automation is a great way to efficiently organize and track customer journeys, campaigns and interactions - but we can't become complacent when using it. Customers respond best to the human element in delivery - creative, compelling and resonant with your audience. Automated tools can expand reach, but will only deepen relationships if managed thoughtfully with the customer top of mind. Quality over quantity is too often overlooked in the rush to deliver a lot of content via automation tools, leading to customer disengagement.

Before you dive into the vibrant waters of marketing automation tools, get your data in order. The tools rely on data. The messier your data is, the less success the tools can help you achieve. We always recommend a careful assessment of what data you have, how it is formatted, and what gaps exist in existing data before shopping for new tools. Once your data is in order, look for tools that will work the way your team works. Not all tools are organized and implemented int he same way. Your teams are changing, make sure the tools you review are capable of changing and scaling with you. Look for boundary conditions in how they handle data. Look at how the tools can interact with your data capture tools and your other business workflows.

Marketing automation refers to the use of software and technology to automate repetitive marketing tasks. Tasks such as lead generation, email marketing, analytics, and adding and segmenting your customers in your CRM. Segmenting helps you to personalize your engagement with your customers, this tends to improve retention. The software that I use with my clients, depends on the size and requirement of their business. For health businesses, I use HIPAA-compliant software. Gives extra privacy/security. Overall all businesses wanting to streamline their processes, and retain customers should use some type of automation software. Start with a CRM, email/SMS marketing, chatbot, and some type of marketing analysis.

No more manual madness, just streamlined efficiency! This tech wizard can handle various marketing magic tricks: Craft personalized messages, schedule campaigns, and track results on autopilot. Post stunning content, engage with followers, and analyze performance – all hands-free. Attract and capture leads like a magnet, with forms, landing pages, and lead magnets galore. Identify your hottest prospects and shower them with love (aka targeted content) until they're ready to convert. Treat your audience like individuals, not a faceless blob, with laser-focused messaging that resonates. Get insights into what's working and what's not, so you can tweak your strategy like a pro.

With the rapidly evolving digital landscape of today, marketing automation is innovative. It ensures a more thoughtful and customized approach to interacting with our audience in addition to freeing up important time. With the support of these technologies, marketers can maximize their efforts and get results, from lead nurturing and social media management to focused email campaigns and smart analytics.

I’ve deployed scaled customer success playbooks at five different companies. Here are a few takeaways on automated lifecycle marketing and it’s importance to scaling any customer success program: 1) It allows you to be multiple places at once 2) Controlled sequences and timelines allow for experimentation 3) The name of the game is great copy. Jasper AI (powered by Cohere) is a great tool. 4) No matter what stage you’re in, get a decent marketing tool. Customer.io, pardot, even hubspot will do. Don’t forget to leverage your POS’ automations as well like Stripe or Chargebee. 5) Study email copy wherever you go, especially your own experience. Ask yourself: why did that email catch my eye? Why did I open it? Why did it click through it?

Automation for retention will not just save time but will provide you with information on where you are lacking. It will tell you about what more your clients need and help you improve wherever needed.

Automated retention processes not only streamline time management but also deliver critical insights into areas for enhancement. They reveal the additional requirements of your clients, aiding in targeted improvements.

Marketing automation allows businesses to gather and analyze customer data to create detailed customer profiles. With this information, businesses can deliver personalized messages and content tailored to individual preferences. Automation tools enable businesses to set up triggered campaigns based on customer behavior or specific events. This ensures timely communication, such as sending follow-up emails after a purchase or providing relevant content. Marketing automation platforms enable the segmentation of customers based on various criteria, such as demographics, behavior, or purchase history. This segmentation allows businesses to create targeted campaigns for specific customer groups, improving the relevance of the marketing messages.

Utilizing marketing automation for customer retention is akin to having a personal assistant dedicated to nurturing relationships. Automated emails can extend a warm welcome, express gratitude, and anticipate customer needs, fostering a sense of connection. By segmenting customers based on their behaviors and preferences, businesses can tailor communications, ensuring each interaction is meaningful.

- Consider tools that offer comprehensive customer journey mapping capabilities. This allows for personalized & targeted interactions at various touchpoints - Prioritize tools that adhere to data privacy regulations & relevant compliance standards to safeguard customer data - Look for tools with real-time analytics capabilities. This enables dynamic adjustments to campaigns based on customer behavior, ensuring timely & relevant interactions. - Ability to integrate customer feedback mechanisms into your automation tool. Tools that capture & analyze feedback contribute to a holistic understanding of customer sentiment. This requires a balanced assessment of your unique needs, budget considerations, user capabilities & the tool's features.

Clearly outline your customer retention goals and objectives. Understand the specific outcomes you want to achieve with marketing automation, such as reducing churn, increasing repeat purchases, or improving customer satisfaction. Choose a platform that is user-friendly and intuitive. The easier it is to navigate and use the tool, the more efficiently your team can implement and manage customer retention campaigns. Ensure that the marketing automation tool integrates seamlessly with your existing systems, especially with your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software. This integration helps maintain a unified view of customer interactions across departments.

Here are some capabilities that others may not have mentioned: Reporting. Will you have access to comprehensive reporting and analytics WITHIN the marketing automation tool? How will the software do in providing the reports you currently give management? Look for tools to support current reporting and offer customizable dashboards and detailed, custom reports on the metrics you need. Scalability. Will you need a more robust marketing automation tool in a few years? Also, will different pricing tiers or add-on features be available as your needs change? Customer support. Will the marketing automation tool offer adequate customer support options: live chat, phone support, or a knowledge base? What will it cost you?

When selecting marketing automation tools you should first define your goals clearly. Aligning product features with your goals will be your North Star. Prioritize seamless integration with existing systems and scalability. Opt for a user-friendly interface, robust automation, and strong personalization features. Ensure comprehensive analytics, assess customer support, and consider cost structures. Utilize trial periods for hands-on evaluation. A strategic approach aligns the tool with business objectives, ensuring effective customer retention.

When selecting a marketing automation tool for customer retention, consider factors such as ease of use, scalability, integration capabilities, personalization features, analytics, and customer support. Look for a platform that aligns with your specific needs and goals, offers advanced segmentation options, allows for multi-channel communication, and provides robust reporting capabilities to measure the effectiveness of your retention efforts. Additionally, prioritize tools that offer flexibility and customization options to adapt to your evolving customer retention strategies.

Here are some examples from my picklist: 1. Intercom offers automated chatbots, targeted messages, and personalized email campaigns, enhancing customer support and engagement. 2. HubSpot is an excellent tool for email automation, personalized content, and customer journey mapping. 3. Marketo is a powerful tool for enterprise-level marketing automation. 4. Amplitude is not a marketing automation tool, but I suggest using it for product analytics and building marketing triggers. 5. Apollo.io is extremely useful for B2B lead management and segmentation.

There are few additional software that makes marketing automation effective. Drip: Focuses on e-commerce and allows for personalized customer journeys based on behavior. Klaviyo: Tailored for e-commerce businesses, providing targeted email and SMS marketing. Autopilot: Offers visual customer journey mapping to automate personalized experiences. Sendinblue: Combines email marketing, SMS, and marketing automation for customer engagement. OmniKick: A tool for website personalization and engagement through targeted messages

Let me share these 3 tools; > Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools like HubSpot CRM, Salesforce CRM, Zoho CRM that help centralize customer data, track interactions, and manage relationships. - Email Marketing Automation tools like Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, Klaviyo that let one create automated email campaigns based on customer behavior and triggers. > Marketing Automation Platforms like Marketo, Pardot, Eloqua which offer a broader range of features, including email marketing, landing page creation, lead scoring, and campaign management.

There are several marketing automation tools on the market that cater to different business sizes and industries Heres 5: - HubSpot - Mailchimp - Intercom - Customer.io - ActiveCampaign

What about understanding the needs of your users? Getting their feedback through surveys is key to being able to provide better value to them.

The best way to retain customers is through the use of adhesives - duct tape, glue, even honey. In extreme cases, setting small lures and traps can also help your customer retention.

I use Beehiiv. My favorite automation marketing tool right now: 1. Build a landing page that includes a subscribe form. 2. Provide a free email course (Beehiiv Automation) for those that sign up. 3. Using Beehiiv, the email course can be sent to specific individuals based on different criteria (from LinkedIn, from Instagram, X, etc). 4. Make sure the email course is your basic system to upsell your low-ticket offer (full system). This is how I’d utilize automation to increase customer retention. If you want my full systems that I send out each week to over 28k creators… Grab it here: alexcolhoun.com

Define Customer Retention Goals: Clearly outline your customer retention objectives. Whether it's reducing churn, increasing repeat purchases, or improving overall customer satisfaction, having well-defined goals will guide your automation strategy. Segment Your Audience: Use the segmentation features of your marketing automation tool to divide your customer base into groups based on demographics, behavior, or purchase history. This allows you to send highly targeted and relevant messages. Create Personalized Customer Journeys: Develop customer journeys that map out the interactions your customers have with your brand. Use automation workflows to send personalized messages and content at different stages of the customer lifecycle.

Ein wichtiger Aspekt für den Erfolg von Marketing Automation ist die Zusammenarbeit von Marketing und Vertrieb. Der Vertrieb muss unbedingt verstehen, das der wichtigtste Hebel der Marketing Automation in der Automatisierung von PreSales Prozessen liegt und ihm das extrem dabei helfen kann die Effizienz und den Vertriebserfolg zu steigern.

You need to have the kind of tool that helps you understand the intent of the customer in moment and enables you to provide a solution that addresses this intention. But, more importantly, it is about how to use the tool, the strategy and culture. It is about talking with the customer, not at her. Remember the proverb: A fool with a tool remains a fool!

I’m my mind, there’s some more thinking to be done along with using the tools. Besides the why, how, when and to whom we are targeting the campaigns or using marketing tools for any outreach, IS our house in order? Ok. We reach out. Do we follow through? What are we gathering? Information or opinions? Are we analysing the outcome? And what’s the final action plan ? Is this a checklist of to do and done, as a KRA or are we measuring any metrics at all and putting them to use? Who owns the process? Where does the Buck stop? Often, there’s many a slip between cup and lip. A game plan, a good marketing tool and accountability are a good cocktail.

Outreach is great, full Salesforce integration. Also a really great tool is Gong, use this to record customer calls either for sales to customer service. This give valuable insights find out what resonates with prospects and customers

I consider to use a Social Media Management Tools to Engaging with your audience across various social media channels using tools like Hootsuite, Buffer, or Sprout Social. Schedule posts, monitor mentions, and analyze performance to maintain an active presence and foster community engagement.

Start exploring how well the marketing automation tools integrate with your existing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. Seamless integration can enhance the overall customer experience by providing a unified view of customer interactions, enabling personalized communication, and improving the effectiveness of customer retention strategies. Be the first to add your personal experience.

For me it's really simple when looking to improve customer retention. 1) Add value to your client or customer above and beyond that of what they think they're buying. 2) Make them feel exclusive and care about them inside and outside of the industry or sector they or you are in. 3) Be clear, set the foundations of what they're signing up for. Don't hide the small print (if there is any)