Categories: Business

Marketing Automation as a Success Factor

Marketing automation is an integral part of a successful marketing strategy for many companies, especially those in the e-commerce space. Why this is so and what practical benefits automation of marketing processes brings were discussed with Yulia Pyankova, leading marketing automation specialist at Completo.

In this publication, we will analyze the features of automation and its impact on increasing the conversion rate of interactions with clients and sales growth; in the second part of the article, we will focus on increasing LTV and the average check. So, automation for everyone! Or not? Let’s find out together!

Automation: What is it and Why is it Needed?

Before we move on to discussing marketing automation tools and the benefits they provide, let’s review what marketing automation is in principle. So, marketing automation tools are a set of tools based on modern technologies and software solutions, the purpose of which is to simplify and optimize marketing processes.

Accordingly, marketing automation is the implementation of these tools into the company’s work processes for more efficient and effective achievement of set business goals.

Within the framework of this material, the main business goals of e-commerce companies are by default taken to be increasing target traffic, increasing the conversion rate of resources, increasing primary and repeat sales, and building long-term mutually beneficial relationships with clients.

So why is automation considered particularly useful in the e-commerce space? It’s all about the tools used and the benefits that come with them.

Essential Marketing Automation Tools

Marketing can be automated using different methods and tools. As our experience shows, the most effective of them are:

CRM systems (Customer Relationship Management)

They help manage your customer database, track their interactions with your company, and provide insights for developing personalized advertising campaigns to increase audience engagement, loyalty, and conversion at all stages of the sales funnel.

An example of using a CRM system in a project of one of our Clients: when a trigger is triggered, a relevant message is sent to the Customer’s client

Email marketing. Automated platforms (CDP) or mailing services allow you to create and send personalized letters to potential and current clients, track and analyze the results of activities, conduct research, maintain the audience’s interest in the brand, directly influencing sales growth.
Chatbots and online chats. Chatbots used on websites and in messengers provide customers with fast and effective support for emerging issues in real time, and also help companies interact with buyers both throughout the entire purchase path and after it.
In addition, chatbots collect data on customer interactions with the brand. Analysis of the information received is important for optimizing the promotion strategy.
Analytical tools. Various analytics systems help collect and analyze data about customers and the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, which also gives brands a basis for making more informed decisions, allows them to quickly respond to changes in consumer preferences and improve the promoted product, service, service and interaction with the audience as a whole.

Obviously, content management is the easiest thing to automate right now. But the key factor in the interaction chain between a brand and a consumer is still profit.

Benefits of Marketing Automation for E-Commerce

Automation tools help companies directly impact profit growth (in addition to achieving other identified business goals). From this perspective, e-commerce is one of the areas where marketing automation can bring the greatest benefit due to:

24/7 Process Management

Automatically configured processes are able to operate without interruption and without the intervention of the so-called “human factor”.

Personalization of Customer Interactions

Automated systems deliver personalized content and offers to each customer based on their preferences and history of interaction with the brand, increasing the chance of making a sale or performing another targeted action.

Thus, triggered email newsletters with personalized offers can significantly increase conversion. For example, when an online store sends customers personalized offers (collections, notifications about new collections, etc.) based on their previous purchases, this motivates customers to make repeat purchases and directly contributes to increasing the company’s profits.

Increasing Customer Loyalty and Reducing Customer Churn

Services can identify customers who are leaving the platform and provide incentives to retain them. For example, an online store gives discounts or bonuses to customers who have not been active for a long time, this affects consumer loyalty and reduces their outflow.

Efficient Redistribution of Resources

Various automation tools can perform tasks faster and more accurately than a human, such as sending emails, managing website content, analyzing data, and more. Their use allows employees to optimize the performance of routine tasks, and use the time and effort saved due to this to solve strategic tasks and perform more complex and creative functionality. Companies benefit from such distribution of resources.

Warehouse Inventory Management

With the help of automated systems, it is possible to track the level of warehouse stocks and, for example, update information about the availability of goods on the site without manual intervention, which prevents the emergence of negativity among customers and allows them to choose another product from those available, rather than leaving the site without making a purchase.

For example, an online store automatically hides products that are out of stock, and customers interested in purchasing them receive notifications when the product is back on sale.

Optimization of Advertising Campaigns

Marketing automation systems can effectively manage advertising campaigns by analyzing data and optimizing budgets to achieve the best results and avoid unnecessary spending. For example, the advertising platform automatically increases bids for the most effective keywords, resulting in lower customer acquisition costs.

More Accurate Forecasting of Consumer Behavior

With the help of automated tools, it is possible to collect and analyze data about customers and their behavior in real time, and thanks to machine learning of systems and their use of various algorithms, it is also possible to predict customer behavior.

This allows companies not only to more accurately determine customer preferences and predict their future actions, but also to more quickly adapt to changes in consumer behavior and adjust their promotion strategy. For example, a retailer uses analytics to predict which products will be popular in the near future and prepares corresponding offers in advance.

Customer Service Improvements

Chatbots and automated customer service systems provide instant customer support, which improves the quality of service provided, directly impacts customer satisfaction and conversion of inquiries into sales, as well as building long-term relationships with consumers.

For example, the company uses chatbots to provide answers to frequently asked questions and help in choosing products, due to which customers receive offers relevant to their needs, all concerns and objections are promptly processed, and conversion at each stage of the sales funnel becomes higher.

Increasing Competitiveness and Differentiating from Competitors

Marketing automation allows companies to use their full potential and remain competitive in the dynamically developing online trading environment, as well as to differentiate themselves from less progressive competitors, standing out from them.

The examples given are far from a complete list of the benefits that e-commerce companies receive when using marketing automation tools. Let’s take a closer look at how automation influences the increase in conversion of interactions with clients and the growth of sales, because, in our experience, these advantages of automation are of most interest to companies.

Increase Conversion and Sales with Automation

Let’s figure out how exactly automated systems help improve the sales funnel and optimize conversion in e-commerce.

Improving the Sales Funnel

An example of setting up automatic sending of messages to clients after various triggers are triggered Automation allows you to influence it with the help of:

preliminary customer segmentation. CRM systems can classify customers based on their behavior and characteristics, allowing you to create more relevant marketing campaigns. For example, you can divide customers into new, regular, and loyal, and then set up appropriate engagement strategies for each group.
personalized email newsletters. Automation allows you to send personalized messages with recommendations based on the customer’s previous purchases, behavior, and interests. This significantly increases the likelihood of making a purchase by increasing customer engagement;
automatic behavior-based segmentation. Marketing automation systems can track customer actions on the site and automatically switch them to the appropriate stages of the sales funnel, activating certain behavioral triggers and launching a particular interaction scenario. For example, if a customer views a product category several times, the system can automatically send them a special offer with products from the corresponding selection.

Conversion Optimization

You can increase conversion by:

AV testing and website optimization. Automated tools can run AB tests to determine which changes to your site lead to increased conversions. For example, you can test different options for headings, color schemes, and page layouts so that based on the results you can then choose the most effective ones and implement them into your work;
tracking and analyzing metrics. Continuous tracking of key metrics (including page load speed and bounce rates) and automatic report generation is also one of the most commonly used features of such systems. With its help, you can not only understand and quickly eliminate any technical problems, but also adjust the content posted on the site in favor of what is more interesting and relevant to your target audience;
using online chats and chatbots. As noted earlier, chatbots can provide assistance to customers, answer their questions, and guide them in the right direction to make a purchase, and then provide information on the order status. Using these tools reduces the likelihood of losing customers, including at the decision-making stage;
implementation of automated platforms for ordering. Simple and fast ordering with automatic cost and delivery calculations helps to significantly increase conversion: customers value convenience and speed.

All of these methods help improve your sales funnel performance at every stage, not just at the point of closing a deal, and optimize conversion, making your e-commerce business even more efficient and profitable. Therefore, marketing automation is not just a tool, but a strategic business potential that can significantly improve the efficiency of marketing activities, contribute to multiple sales growth and scaling of the company.

We will tell you soon how to use this potential to increase customer LTV and average check, but for now we remind you that you can discuss any questions about marketing automation with our specialists so that we can work together to “squeeze the maximum” out of this tool.

Velma Martinez

Velma Martinez is a seasoned marketing manager based in Brooklyn, currently leading brand strategy and digital marketing efforts at Tiny Footprint Coffee.