Marketing automation software encompasses many features such as email marketing, lead scoring
, database segmentation, website lead tracking, etc. – and when those parts are used together to shape marketing campaigns, they can qualify leads on a deeper level. But rather than toss around marketing automation phrases willy-nilly, I thought I’d share a true story and how it relates to marketing automation.
Last night as I was brushing my teeth, I heard a faint chirp that seemed to originate in the vicinity of a smoke detector in the bedroom. I hopped onto the bed to further investigate the situation, but just as I was standing there, a chirp now sounded from down the hall. As I ran toward the sound, the chirp was now audible in the basement, and then the kitchen, and then back upstairs. Clearly, the smoke detectors were mocking me.
In a desperate effort stop the torture of this incessant and mysterious chirping, I began blindly ripping detectors out of the wall, yanking at wires and batteries, knowing (but not caring) in the heat of the moment that I was destroying the first line of defense from going up in flames. Once I successfully and gruesomely dismantled all of the detectors, I sat quietly, hands full of alkaline battery goo and miscellaneous smoke detector parts until…CHIRP.
How does this story relate to marketing automation? Marketing automation, when implemented strategically, can reduce false alarms and time spent pursuing leads that just aren’t very interested in your solutions or services. Simply put, it will help you stop chasing the leads that you thought were ready to buy…but were really as cold as a dead battery in the carbon monoxide detector (the actual culprit in my real life chirping mayhem).
By automating your demand generation processes, you’re categorizing your leads based on their interactions with your website and marketing pieces. Instead of following up with leads because they opened your email or visited your homepage, you are identifying hot leads by not only their email interaction, but also by their time spent on your website, time viewing specific products, navigation through the site, and any content downloaded throughout the site.
In addition to systematically tracking each move on your site, you can configure emails that are triggered based on those actions, so you can reach out to leads at the right moment in their decision-making process. This strategy of automated, behavior-based communications can improve the lead’s engagement with you and your solution without bulking up your manual follow-up processes.
Automating your lead management process does more than increase insight into your leads’ level of interest and qualification to show you who is ready to buy – it also will show you which site visitors were just giving a few “chirps” but not really interested in your solution. Now you’ll be able to focus on the most qualified leads and eliminate those false alarms (or in my case, replacement smoke detectors).
Do you have a recent smoke detector horror story (c’mon don’t be shy) or a story about how marketing automation is helping you zero in on the right leads?
