To seize the opportunities ahead, businesses must go beyond sensors. Definitely, they need all-in-one marketing automation software including Big Data, in-built reporting and analytics capabilities, artificial intelligence, and social media. This article will tell why marketing automation is important. We will reveal major benefits and possible pitfalls an automated marketing campaigns platform features.
But before we jump into today’s post, let’s hit the basics first: What is automated marketing?
Introduction To Marketing Automation
Marketing automation programs are special programs, which can automate your regular activities, such as sending emails, managing leads, social media activities, and what is very important, they allow to collect various marketing data along with the new information about your customers, in other words, to get proper analytical data. For example, you can automate not only email sending but also the whole process of email marketing . There are a number of other everyday activities, which you can automate, saving you both time and money. In fact, you can even include a live chat or an AI-driven chatbot into your software.
While marketing automation software helps to automate specific steps out of your routine, the all-in-one marketing solution usually offers a combination of marketing functionality in one holistic solution.
Marketing Automation Software Comparison
Today, there are dozens of both open source marketing automation systems and their paid versions. Typically, the open source solution comes with a defined set of basic features while the paid one includes customization and some industry-leading functionality.
Looking for the best marketing automation software for small business? HubSpot, Marketo, ConnectWise, Autotask, and Salesforce are some of the big names in the sales and marketing automation software industry.
Don’t want to use the already-made solutions? Have a need in a custom tool, which is integrated with different API integrations? Consider developing your ultimate inbound marketing product by specialists.
Why To Use All-In-One Marketing Automation: Pros And Cons
Without doubts, marketing automation software certainly opens the doors to a lot of opportunities but also to many challenges. Below, we will closer regard both of them. So, let’s get started.
Key Benefits Of A Marketing Automation System:
- Enhanced productivity – you can get more done in less time. Automate common activities, spend less efforts on performing regular tasks.
- Consolidated data – single source for all your reports, analytics, social media engagement, planning campaigns, and other valuable data. Easily compare all your data from multiple platforms and benefit from data-driven decisions.
- Solid time savings – arrange your time in a proper way, simultaneously plan and launch several campaigns, both web and mobile marketing.
- Accurate customer relationship management – the majority of modern all-in-one marketing platforms have a convenient way to keep track of a contact’s behavior through multiple marketing channels. Never lose sight of your leads again. Keep all data about your customers in a well-structured manner, analyze your customers and their needs in a snap.
- Cost efficiency for big companies save money you spend by managing your campaigns in a fast manner, optimizing your staff, and making changes.
And now once we have talked about benefits the all-in-one marketing automation software can bring, it is of vital importance to take a closer look at all possible cons it might feature.
Top Cons Against Your all-in-one Marketing Software Automation:
- Too complicated. Yes, that’s the first thing we have to mention. Indeed, even when it comes to the best marketing automation platforms, there’s always a risk of setting up too many automated campaigns.
- Time-consuming. Yes, you read this right: marketing automation takes time to set up and to manage. In other words, it’s not just send and forget.
- Too expensive. Major sales and marketing automation tools have rather high mandatory kickstart fees. And very often you have to pay for a functionality you do not need.
- Needs customization. Each solid automated marketing platform needs customization and assistance of professional developers. Needless to add, if your marketing software automation platform has been customized for your business needs or better, created from scratch in a proper way in the long run, it won’t be too expensive, too complicated or too time-consuming for you. On the contrary, you are likely to embrace your company’s potential.
The Bottom Line
Thus, these are the most widespread pros and cons of all automated marketing tools. Still, after weighing the above four criteria against using automated marketing platforms, it becomes obvious that a good, feature-packed yet elegant digital marketing automation tool still can bring you more benefits than harm, especially if you find a good IT partner that could greatly customize it according to your needs. In fact, using a well-crafted automated marketing platform has become a necessity both for a small business, and big one. That’s not hype. It’s the new business reality.
Still not convinced? Here is one more reason to get a robust, customizable all-in-one marketing platform: your competitor has probably already started using it. So, don’t stay behind, contact Artelogic and benefit from all advantages a smart automated marketing platform tailored to your business needs has to offer.
Still having doubts? Take a peek at our case studies to better comprehend how we have already helped other businesses.