If you were to ask Mr. Google what the word marketing means you would find the following:
“ Marketing is a form of communication between you and your customers with the goal of selling your product or service to them”.
In layman’s terms that is an accurate definition, but marketing needs to be a constant outreach to your consumers with different solutions for each unique business and whoever the decision maker is.
In today’s world, businesses are operating at more complex levels and working longer hours. The amount of visibility that the public has access to and the fact that a reputation can make or break you based on the rapid word of mouth referral connections we all seem to have is remarkable. So the question is, what is the best way to stay in touch and communicate with our customers?
As a functioning business, there are two popular marketing communications, marketing automation and traditional email marketing. Both provide marketing solutions and seem to be similar, but in actuality they are very different. Many business owners may think these two marketing solutions are the same, but to ensure you are using the right solution to solve your needs, you need to understand how different they are.
Below, are the differences between marketing automation and traditional email marketing. Here are some common pain points to help you choose the best option:
- You don’t have enough leads to feed the sales funnel
- No easy way to qualify leads
- No way to effectively nurture your leads
- Big gaps in follow-up from your sales team
- Can’t see where the leaks in the pipeline are
- Don’t know which marketing tactics are driving revenue
What is Email Marketing?
It’s actually very simple…think about the last time you checked your email…remember that email from Target, Disney or any other business where you signed up to be on their list? Business’ send out communications to their consumers via email marketing to get the word out about general information to everyone, not specifically to an individual.
The best time to use Email Marketing is when you are sending “bulk” or “informative” information to your consumers that are on your list.
Pros: Your content reaches a mass audience (promotions, sales, seminars)
Cons: Your content feels generic and does not speak to the individual consumer
What is Automated Marketing?
Although this solution may sound and seem similar to Email Marketing, Marketing Automation actually is more of an individualized process. The purpose of Automated Marketing is to communicate with your targeted audience with customized information based on their needs or interests.
Have you ever been on a social media site and clicked on an ad? Then you go to another site and on that new page you see the product “magically” appear that you were just looking at? Sorry to say, that is not magic at all…businesses can obtain immediate accurate information and data to get consumers what they have expressed interest in within seconds.
How do I choose Email Marketing vs. Automated Marketing? First things first, let’s understand that both solutions are email based, however, Automated Marketing is Email Marketing on steroids.
The advantages of Marketing Automation
- Triple your leads by identifying anonymous visitors
- Enables you to see key insights about each lead
- Understand your leads to create one-on-one communication
- Prioritize your pipeline and reach out to “sales-ready” leads
- Capture more leads with website forms designed to convert
- Send emails with triggers and build persona relationships with leads
- Receive emails or texts when a lead indicates they are ready to buy
- Immediately plug your leads into your sales team’s system
- Eliminate marketing waste and identify opportunities
Depending on your budget and your business needs, will determine which solution is best for you. According to Quora, there is no need to be concerned with your ROI if you decide to go the Automated Marketing route due to the increasing percentages of online email users.
Marketing is ever changing and the way businesses communicate with their consumers is different today than it was 3 years ago. If you are the type of business that just wants to communicate with your customers and give them general information, then Email Marketing may be sufficient for you. If you are the type of business that is out there seeking customers based on their needs and wants in hope to turn a lead into a customer, Automated Marketing is the way to go.
Either way, as your business grows the right tool for you will change and grow too. As for what you need now, research and look at your options and figure out what the best marketing tool is for you at this point. We have gathered a comparison of the top 6 rated marketing automation and CRM platforms.
