Email Marketing and automation: key factors of inbound (part 2)

In the previous post, Email Marketing and automation: key factors of inbound (part 1)In the first part, we saw why email is important in inbound marketing. In this second part we will see why automation is also a fundamental pillar of inbound marketing.

Why is automation a pillar of inbound?

First of all, it is important to clarify that automation is largely dependent on email marketing, as almost all automated communication is done through email marketing.

So that is why both are inseparable pillars of attraction marketing.

While marketing automation can be done without the inbound methodology, it should be noted that automation by itself generates benefits in only a few areas while inbound can generate benefits in almost any area of marketing and sales.

So why is this technique a key factor in the attraction methodology?

Link the buyer persona to the company throughout their journey through the buying cycle.

It might seem like a small thing: linking. It doesn't mean much by itself, but it is everything when throughout the purchase process the user has been helped with information relevant and useful to their problem or need by the company itself.

That's where the emotional part comes in, "if this company has helped me, advised me, guided me and hasn't charged me anything yet, well, when I buy I'm going to want to buy from them".

Frees up marketing and sales reps' time from repetitive activities

This is one of the most difficult benefits to measure. Because companies often do not accurately measure the time in which each of the marketing or sales activities are carried out.

This is a problem: they also do not know how much money they are losing through lack of productivity and efficiency.

It is easier when it is something physical, tangible: if it takes you an hour to sew a dress but you do it in an hour and a half, you are doing something wrong, you are not efficient.

But what if a sales rep has to copy the same email and attach the same file 20 times a day and it takes 5 minutes each time? Well, no one would measure it in the first place.

But if they did, they would realise that they have one hour a day of just one repetitive activity. That's about 20 hours a month. More than two days of work.

If your sales executive's salary is $$1000 per month, your company loses $$125 per month from that repetitive activity alone. If you have 10 salespeople, you are losing $$1250. You could hire another salesperson and still have money left over.

When analysed in this way, it then makes sense to measure efficiency and replace repetitive activities that are not required to be performed directly by a person with automated actions that generate more value for your company and facilitate the generation of results by your team.

Allows automatic lead qualification, based on certain parameters, which prioritises follow-up time.

Here again we are talking about productivity. And why is productivity important? Well, let's remember that inbound works to generate better results with the same investment.

So, if each of your sales consultants has 8 hours a day available but half of those hours are spent calling and following up on prospects that are still cold leads or unqualified, you lose $$500 per month for each of your salespeople.

From this perspective, it is already a priority to address productivity, isn't it?

And what better way than through another automated process that frees up your salespeople's time for prospects who are closer to a close purchase. That's how successful business is done.

Allows further segmentation automatically

Email marketing itself allows for a certain level of segmentation, but without automation many tasks have to be carried out manually.

At this point, this technique comes in to complement and create automatic processes that allow segmenting the bases and generating automatic actions that generate new lists of users with certain characteristics.

This, in turn, can be used to generate new automated actions that nurture each user in a personalised way and help them move through the buying process.

One of the many ways to segment would be by behaviour. If a user tends to open or be interested in a certain type of content, they can be logged by the system, segmented and fed with more content specific to their interest.

You'll be giving them the information they need just when they want it. As a result, your conversion rates - and revenue - increase.

Reduce investment in additional human resources

This is a crucial point. For example, if you initially require 5 salespeople to achieve your business objectives but later need to hire two more, you may want to consider whether you really need to do this or whether you would generate savings and more revenue by implementing automated tasks.

In this way, you free up time in your current team to fill in for the activities that the two new members would do, so on the one hand: you generate savings - you reduce costs - and you increase sales.

In addition, this will allow you to provide more benefits and bonuses to motivate your current team to collaborate and integrate into the new processes.

Increases customer lifetime value

Another key aspect of automation in inbound marketing is that it allows you to increase LTV through upselling and cross-selling.

That is, through automated communications you can send valuable content that complements what your customers need, generate interest in another product line or renew interest in the same service or product that was previously purchased.

Your sales team will know exactly when to call

In inbound marketing, the concept of timing is essential to generate better results in less time and with the same resources and effort.

One of the many things that can be done with automated processes is for example to notify your sales team or a specific member that a certain prospect is ready for a follow-up call. Either because they have reached the indicated qualification as a trigger or because they have taken a specific action.

There would be no other way to do it if it weren't for marketing automation, another reason to recognise its importance in inbound.

Reduce lead conversion time

If the nutrition of a sales opportunity is adequate, it is possible to reduce the traditional buying cycle time.

This is because it allows the user to obtain the information they need to make a decision more quickly and because they received timely follow-up during the process.

Increases ROI and decreases CAC

Two of the most important benefits of inbound rely heavily on automation: improved ROI and lower cost of acquisition per customer.

Without automation it would not be possible to generate economies of scale that would allow significant savings in some processes and areas while generating better results in sales, revenue and profit.

Email marketing + automation = Better results

That's basically what it all boils down to, it's as simple as that. The entire inbound marketing methodology is based on these two elements, so - at least in the short term - it would be impossible to visualise inbound without mailing and marketing automation.

Have you implemented any of these techniques in your company? Tell us, what has been your experience?