The Seven Deadly Sins Of Marketing Automation

I’m tempted to start by calling marketing automation the “hot new trend,” but “trend” implies something fleeting — and believe me, marketing automation isn’t going anywhere. Rather, more companies are realizing the need for marketing automation as part of their strategy, especially as content/inbound marketing replaces traditional in-your-face marketing.

If you’re new to marketing automation, the term can be misleading — automated means less work, right? Well, yes and no. A marketing automation platform will handle much of the grunt work, streamline existing processes, and provide the kind of insight into your audience that would take hours to dig up if done manually. But it’s not meant to take over your marketing for you. It’s meant to cut down on production time and lay the foundation for better marketing. Making the most of that is up to you.

We’ve been using marketing automation at Uberflip for some time now, and like to think we’ve come a long way in terms of knowing how best to use it. These “seven deadly sins” of marketing automation would have been helpful when we were in newbie status — hopefully they’ll help you too.

1. Not Having A Strategy

If your plan is to add marketing automation to whatever you’re already doing, that’s not a plan. In order to fully take advantage of your automation platform, you’ll have to build a strategy around it and determine new goals that include it. This may feel like extra work in the beginning, but it will pay off in saved time, more leads, and a deeper knowledge of what’s working (and what’s not) when it comes to your marketing.

2. Just Sending Out Emails

Even marketing automation veterans are guilty of using it as a glorified email campaign manager. The ability to create and schedule emails with marketing automation is part of a larger focus on lead nurturing — individual contacts are tracked and segmented so you can send the right content to the right people at the right time.

For example, if a new lead signs up for an Uberflip eBook, they’re added to a HubSpot Workflow and will receive related content over the following weeks before anything product-related. We build a relationship with people by providing real value before turning the conversation to Uberflip. If you’re just sending out emails without a nurturing strategy in place, you’re missing out on a lot of potential customers.

3. Going Solo

Different departments in your company should not live in silos. Those in sales, customer service, and social media all have great insight into what prospective customers want and what existing customers want more of. The sales team in particular will be able to help you build out a lead scoring framework and identify key stages in the sales funnel so you can create and deliver content that resonates with each person. Get them involved!

4. Making It All About You

This comes back to the lead nurturing mentioned in “sin” #2, and is really a pillar of inbound marketing itself. If you’re only sending out company updates or pitching new features, any leads you collect in the beginning will quickly disappear. Build a connection with people by giving them valuable content that addresses their needs — be it an eBook, a webinar or even a simple blog post. Once you’ve established a connection, then pitch your product.

5. Creating Too Little Content

It’s tough to properly nurture those leads without the content to back it up. Content marketing is the new marketing, and not having enough of it can put the brakes on your efforts. Consult your sales and customer service teams, keep an eye on industry news and trends, and use the insights provided by your marketing automation platform or content marketing software to pinpoint what your audience wants and create content that meets it (lots of it).

6. Focusing On The Wrong Metrics

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of data we have access to, but the metrics that truly matter are the ones that directly affect your bottom line. Tracking email open rates is all well and good (and has its purpose), but what about your cost per lead, the length of your average sales cycle or your customer retention rate? Staying on top of these will help you identify holes in your strategy and fill them before they really hurt your business.

7. Thinking Automation Equals Autopilot

Just because you put your car on cruise control doesn’t mean you’ll take a nap in the back seat. While marketing automation will take much of the operational work off of your hands, you’ll still need to consistently monitor and experiment with your strategy to make the most of your marketing. Many marketing automation platforms provide granular insight into audience engagement, email campaigns, content performance, you name it — use this to iterate your strategy accordingly.

Are there more “deadly sins” of marketing automation? What advice would you have for a company that’s considering getting on the marketing automation train?

 

Hayley Mullen manages editorial and social media as the Content and Community Manager for Uberflip, a content marketing software designed to make content perform. Connect with Hayley via Twitter or LinkedIn, and follow Uberflip on Twitter for content marketing articles, tips and news.

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