Adam Marquardt
Marketing automation, when executed correctly, allows both big and small companies to market to and nurture prospects with personalized and useful content via a multitude of channels. Using marketing automation platforms and strategies, prospects are converted into customers and existing relationships with customers are solidified.
On a personal quest to turn my home into a crossover habitat between The Jetsons and Fort Knox, a series of epic fails lead me to some of the biggest marketing automation fails I have encountered as a consumer. This story begins with a passionate search for a security company with top-quality monitoring capabilities, reliable technology, and home automation options. Here are four marketing automation "don'ts" and how you can stay far away from them.
1. DON'T:
Confuse your audience with poorly defined communication channels.
The abundance of communication channels available to marketers in this day and age is almost ubiquitous, and all of us in the marketing game are using them to our advantage. The growing acceptance of receiving coupons, alerts and reminders via text message has helped increase sales significantly for B2C and B2B companies alike.
Minutes upon receipt and a good number of leads are ready to purchase. It would be a mistake not to use these channels of course, but with that being said, it’s our job as marketers to create a clear definition of ethical boundaries and legal parameters and stay within them.
Take for instance one of the security companies I have encountered in my quest. Company X (I won't beat a dead horse) reached out to me via text massage. Exhilarated as I was with this correspondence, I found this disturbing and intrusive because my permission for such correspondence was never sought by the company.
I was never given the choice to opt in, and I was never asked if I allow them to reach me via this communication channel on my personal phone number. Let's say I was being charged for incoming text messages, I would've racked up quite the bill after 16 messages with no way to opt out.
Marketing Automation Takeaway:
Communication between you and your audience should always be a welcomed gesture. Don't alienate or anger your audience by forcing the correspondence to happen, and reaching out when you are unwanted. Always ask prospects to opt in to advanced and personal forms of communication like text messaging. Not only is it the ethical thing to do, but you'll also be able to steer clear of any legal issues and reinforce a positive image around your brand to new prospects and current customers alike.
2. DON'T
Initiate communication on a channel you cannot use for the entire correspondence.
Communication is a two way street and those who don’t understand this should immediately stop all marketing efforts. Think back on all the times you have asked a question to a sales rep over the phone only to have a script regurgitated back at you. Experiences like these are not only frustrating, but they hinder what good ol' HubSpot dubbed as "delightion" of new and old customers alike.
In this case, I responded to Company X via text message only to have the even more frustrating experience of not acquiring the information I needed simply because the system is automated and would not recognize the phrases I replied with. In all fairness, I did not answer the EXACT question they asked, but did give them something even better, my needs.
This here made it clear to me that the marketing automation process they implemented is neither for my convenience as a potential customer, nor for a great user experience, but simply for their own convenience. Instead of being pleased with the marketing automation in place, I found myself with one prominent thought in my head --- THESE LAZY BASTARDS.
Not if they had only implemented a well-devised marketing automation process -- one that accounts for incoming and outgoing correspondences between their system and their customers with an ability to truly listen to the other party, they would have had a clear picture of my needs and be one step closer to closing the sale. Not having the capability to listen to responses via channels used for customer engagement sure is a failure, but it is even more so if they do but lack the ability and the process in house to follow up.
Marketing Automation Takeaway:
Align your sales with your marketing. If you ask questions or want responses via the channels you engage your audience on, be sure to have the capabilities and process in place to receive them and lead them to the next steps. Being connected to prospects and customers is the business of any marketing professional. Email alerts, 3rd party monitoring tools and the use of sophisticated software platforms like HubSpot makes this task easy.
3. DON'T
Smother your audience with irrelevant and unwanted content.
Everyone is proud of the content they create, even those who create lackluster carbon copies and utter pieces of crap (harsh, I know but very true). During the process of nurturing leads, great marketers uncover a host of intimate details that help paint the picture of who we are doing business with. Marketing automation then kicks in and utilizes this information to serve tailored and personal content that will push leads further down the funnel and hopefully into the customer bucket.
As the email indicates above, my clearly stated needs from previous communication fell on deaf ears. During my research phase, I reviewed Company X's videos and read reviews from previous and existing customers—a common practice in this era.I didn’t need further convincing, neither do I need to look at videos that have absolutely nothing to do with what I want.
What I needed was simply the specifics on what I had requested.
If they had, for instance, lead me to a video on the importance of having multiple cameras to monitor points of entry, I would have seen the value in the email marketing strategy. Unfortunately, I didn’t and the subject line of “Following Up on Your Request” is just a big slap in the face.
Marketing Automation Takeaway:
Sending content to prospects, especially if you are initiating the action is quite intrusive, so if this is a part of your workflow you must aboslutely make sure what you're sending aligns with their needs. If you don’t know their needs, take five steps back and review your process of collecting data. If you do not have an existing one, marketing automation may not be the best strategy for you to execute at the moment. Without a data collection process—using advanced content offerings or free quotes form submissions—you will have little to go on for your middle of the funnel activities and will end up alienating your audience.
4. DON'T
Send duplicate content or correspondences... Ever.
At this point in my search for the best company who could turn my home into something that would rival the Bat Cave, I was a hair away from completely losing hope in Company X. However, being a marketer myself, I gave them the benefit of the doubt since I am aware that flawless marketing automation is difficult to achieve even for the best of brands. For one, it requires a strong top-of-the-funnel base that produces a consistent flow of organic leads. Without this, you will be spending too much time and energy working the small pool of leads and miss the entire point.
The previous point included an email that I had received from a security consultant. Unfortunately, this wasn't the last time I received this email… I received the same damn email over and over again from this consultant and a few others who went by Anthony, Ann, Bridget, Cecilla, Lisa, Josh, Jennifer, Clare, and Grace. I received 14 emails that ALL SAID THE SAME THING! WTF.
These emails were generated after calls I clearly stated I didn’t want and received anytime between 9:45 am to 2:00 pm. Who doesn’t love an unnecessary call during the work day? After a while it became a bit of a joke around my household. Least to say they lost all their credibility in a prospect's eye and in turn lost that sale and all potential future sales. They also got a bit of negative press from me as I relayed this horrific experience with my friends, coworkers, and family members -- all of which I'm sure will find their way of relaying the story they heard at some point in time to some soul in search of the same service.
Marketing Automation Takeaway:
This again, comes down to poor planning and laziness. It doesn’t matter if you have to spend 100 hours or 1,000 hours carefully reviewing your workflows programmed to automatically send out correspondences. ALWAYS ensure you're not sending out duplicates on any correspondences and especially on follow-ups.
No one wants to be hounded and certainly no one wants to be hounded with the same messages from every name you can come up with thanks to the alphabet. Simply changing the signature on a workflow message does not accomplish anything other than ensuring the loss of a customer that would have been. Laziness should never be a part of your strategy.
Secure That Sale
As you have probably guessed, Company X lost my business. It wasn’t an easy decision as their reputation, services, and equipment are all up to snuff. The real issue was with how they didn’t listen to my needs and poorly handled nurturing me to become their customer. Companies that excel at lead nurturing generate 50% more sales-ready leads at 33% less cost -- one of the many great benefits to executing a well-thought out marketing automation strategy.
Before you begin marketing automation, you have to take a deep look at your resources and create a realistic setting for initiating the marketing automation program. Can you handle the software expenses to help your efforts? Are there enough organic leads coming in that make marketing automation a viable option? Can you commit to actively listening on all channels you plan to utilize for engagement? Falling short on these areas will make you no better than Company X and will put you on the same boat. You might find yourself the subject of an inbound marketing article inspired by your epic fails and written to take a piss on your marketing efforts.
