Marketing automation is a tremendous tool, but many still think it’s mostly for large companies with extensive procedures and several marketing channels in use. Is this really true? That is not necessarily the case; thanks to marketing automation platforms such as iPresso, even a small team can successfully implement and take advantage of marketing automation! Let’s see how.
The truth is that marketing automation can be implemented in many different areas, and it’s very beneficial in a large organization where there are dozens of different marketing and sales-related activities. In such a setting, marketing automation can help you save a lot of time and resources on implementing and even optimizing these activities.
But what about a small company? Is marketing automation worth it if you have just a website and maybe one or two marketing channels? Is it also doable, meaning that a small team can handle the implementation of marketing automation? The answer to both questions is yes. Let’s have a look at the specifics.
Marketing automation in a small team: Assess your needs
The first thing you need to do is assess your needs. Marketing automation makes sense mostly when you have some repetitive procedures when it comes to:
- Marketing
- Sales
- Customer service
- Communication with customers
Because these are the areas where marketing automation comes in handy the most, so, the first step for you is to analyze these areas in your company. Are there any procedures you can automate? For example, do you have a weekly/monthly newsletter? How many emails do you send when it comes to orders or deliveries? How many customers do you have in your database? How often do you communicate with your customers, and what channels do you use? These are all vital questions that need to be answered before you start implementing marketing automation.
Marketing automation for SMEs: Pick the right tool(s)
Once you assess your needs, check whether there are tools or platforms that will allow you to automate this part of your business. Most likely, you will be able to find at least one tool that can streamline your work. It’s also a good idea to consider all-in-one marketing automation platforms such as iPresso. Within our platform, you have access to over 20 marketing automation tools and features.
Even if you won’t be using all of the features, it’s a good idea to check whether using an all-in-one platform will be profitable for your business. In some cases, you can pay the same or very similar amount and get more features compared to marketing automation tools that help you with just one aspect of your sales or marketing.
What to consider when picking the marketing automation tool
Apart from your needs and your budget, you need to consider what kind of features are available within a given tool. Compare two or three offers on the market and see which is best. Also, pay attention to pricing plans. The vast majority of marketing automation tools are offered in the SaaS model, meaning you pay a monthly subscription for the access to the platform.
Analyze the offers of several providers and pick the one that makes the most sense in your situation. Many marketing automation platforms offer a free trial period or a demo access to the platform, so that you can test the platform before you decide to purchase full access to it. This is something we offer here at iPresso as well! You can start with a free 30-day trial period (no credit card required). All you need to do is send this short register form, and our team will handle the rest.
Implement marketing automation effectively
How many people do you need on your team to implement marketing automation effectively? Actually, in most cases, one person is enough! You need someone on your team who’s experienced with IT and, preferably, marketing automation. If you don’t have anyone like that in your company, you may consider working with a freelancer or external consultant who will implement everything for you and then only help you from time to time with implementing or tweaking specific elements of your marketing automation ecosystem.
Here at iPresso, we are always ready to help our clients; we’ve prepared an extensive help section for our clients and you can always reach out to our customer support team when you need help with making any changes or implementing new features.
Maintaining your marketing automation ecosystem
The next question that comes to mind is how many people you need to manage your marketing automation ecosystem. Again, the answer is just one! Many marketing automation platforms (iPresso included) are designed to be simple to use and configure. In 90% of cases, you don’t even need any coding! Once the system is integrated with your company, you may manage everything through an intuitive no-code dashboard that allows you to manage everything yourself.
Monitor everything
There is one more thing to consider – monitoring. Once the marketing automation platform is implemented in your business, you may want to monitor what benefits this implementation gives you. In many cases, it will be clearly visible in time savings – marketing automation will allow you to save hours of work every week.
In other cases, the benefits of implementing marketing automation will be visible in sales increase or customer retention. Many marketing automation tools help you sell more or encourage customers to return to your company more often. Implementing such features may have a positive effect on your company’s revenue and long-term relation with your target audience.
Wrapping up
There is no doubt that marketing automation can take your company to a whole new level. Even if you own a small company, you can still benefit from marketing automation, provided you have some repetitive procedures in your company (or are thinking about implementing them in the near future). If you’re currently looking for a marketing automation tool, assess your needs and compare available options. Whenever possible, ask for a free trial access to see a given platform in action.
We invite you to take a look at iPresso – our platform is designed to help you with numerous aspects of your sales and marketing. We’re happy to show you around for free! Just reach out to our team!
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