Annoying or Engaging? Marketing Automation

Don't you hate it when you encounter a retargeting campaign or an intrusive advertisement that just won't leave you alone?

Marketing automation can be an effective tool, but it must be handled with care.

The benefits

Marketing automation software can help businesses strengthen their relationships with customers, increase sales and marketing efficiency, and provide transparency into customer behavior. These programs also allow companies to develop strategies to improve customer interactions (Murphy, 2018).

Marketers can benefit from marketing automation in several ways, including efficiency, timeliness, and customizability. Such benefits may also be perceived as advantages by customers who rely on their marketing teams to keep them up to date on products and services.

But are there any downsides?

Is the customer's perception of a benefit the same as that of the marketer? Are there any downsides to marketing automation?

As an example, a business may use promotional and discount automation to benefit customers. However, from a customer's perspective this action could be considered manipulative.

Wertenbroch (2021) found that when people were told that an algorithm could predict their choices, they tended to choose less-preferred options in order to re-establish their sense of autonomy.

Marketers must consider multiple perspectives when reflecting on the benefits of marketing automation to consumers. A consumer's situation may dictate how he views the advantages of this technology, making it difficult for marketers to know whether their efforts are successful.

This is an annoyance

Recently, I received multiple messages from an interior design store. These messages were sent via email and text message. The messages corresponded with my interests and home, but I was annoyed by the frequency. As part of this marketing automation, I was offered a discount on an item I wanted to purchase. Though this benefit did not change my opinion of the business, I left a mixed review and do not plan on doing business with them again.

Their aggressive marketing tactics inundated me with discounts and notifications, which made me feel overwhelmed. Even though I appreciate their attempts to retain me as a customer, their approach led me to believe that their prices are not competitive, and I lost trust in their pricing.

Marketing scholars have asserted that trust is essential to the development of customer loyalty (Anderson and Weitz, 1989). In order to ensure that customers understand the benefits they intend to provide, marketers should treat their customers with respect, friendliness, and politeness (Fang et al., 2011).

Let's find solutions within the problem

Although marketing automation tools are helpful in communicating with customers, sometimes it may be necessary for marketers to step in and communicate directly with the customer. This problem raises the question of whether marketing automation can be used specifically to target customers who are annoyed or overwhelmed.

Newsletter: ? 2022 Wolfram

The newsletter from Wolfram, a provider of mathematical software, might serve as an example of what such an automation could look like. It is interesting, and the intent is clear.

Annoying your customers is one of the fastest ways to alienate them. Listen carefully to your customers and respond to their complaints and suggestions.

What are your thoughts on marketing automation?

Reference:

Kretschmer, M., Pennekamp, J. and Wehrle, K. (2021) Cookie Banners and Privacy Policies: Measuring the Impact of the GDPR on the Web. ACM Trans. Web, 15(4) 1–42. Available from https://doi.org/10.1145/3466722.

Murphy, D. (2018) Silver bullet or millstone? A review of success factors for implementation of marketing automation. Cogent Business & Management, 5(1) 1546416. Available from https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2018.1546416 [accessed 19 October 2022].

Sandell, N. (2016) Marketing automation supporting sales. jyx.jyu.fi.

Wertenbroch, K. (2021) Marketing automation: Marketing utopia or marketing dystopia? NIM Marketing Intelligence Review, 13(1) 18–23. Available from https://www.nim.org/sites/default/files/medien/2327/dokumente/wertenbroch_vol_13_no_1_eng_0.pdf [accessed 19 October 2022].

Wood, C. (2015) Marketing automation: Lessons learnt so far. Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice, 16(4) 251–254. Available from https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84930981785&doi=10.1057%2fdddmp.2015.31&partnerID=40&md5=09770359a2f4e6d417a217eaf643da89 [accessed 19 October 2022].