In Marketing Automation #1 we introduced the idea that other than just sitting looking pretty, your website could be doing more for you. Rather than just offering your phone number and e-mail address, your website can encourage prospects to engage with you and then interact with them automatically until you get the chance to have a real conversation.
This Marketing Automation requires a special tool to be connected to your website. Two examples of Marketing Automation tools that we use at The Moose are Active Campaign and Infusionsoft.
These tools add ‘reaction’ to your website. They allow your site to ‘react’.
Let’s make a scenario so that this is easier to understand…
you have a website and it has a page called contact us and on the contact us page you have a form. Someone fills in the form and you get an e-mail. You get the e-mail and you respond. You may or may not have responded to your contact. You may or may not have responded quickly enough and you may or may not have sold something.
Is that good enough for you? Did that do what you want? Marketing Automation means you can do more:
You now have a person’s name and their e-mail address. Send them another e-mail, offer them something, ask them for their address so that you can send it. Ask them for their birthday so you know they are old enough to receive it.
We do all of this. We promise to everyone that we will not ever share their information and you need to stand by that 100%. Never share anything with anyone – it is the quickest way to lose the trust of your customers. Your customer’s information is very precious to them – never break that trust by giving anything about a contact to anyone else.
Now you have an address, now you have a birthday. Use their zip code to send them information relating to where they live. Send them a gift voucher on their birthday.
That sounds like a lot of work doesn’t it? Well Marketing Automation takes care of all of that for you.
Marketing Automation #3 will tell you how to get started.