What Is Marketing Automation And How Can You Use It In Your Business To Convert More Leads Into Customers?

invisible-manCongratulations you have just joined my “invisible list”.

But don’t worry… I don’t know who you are.

Instead the browser you are reading this on has been tagged with a pixel.

…a pixel that has added thousands of people to my “invisible list”.

But I’m not at my computer manually adding everyone.

It’s something I setup once and now happens automatically every time someone visits my website.

If you find the information that follows useful, or if you want faster results, you might even decide to optin. For example you might want to download a marketing automation kit that includes a complete automation template you can start using in your business right away.

If you do, my system will automatically move you to a different “invisible list” (and I’ll send you some awesome free stuff).

And even though I don’t know who you are, my system knows you are reading this on a browser. I’m also guessing that since you are reading this you probably have at least some sort of interest in marketing automation (but it’s only a guess at this stage).

However none of this is probably news to you.

You have probably heard of retargeting before and seen ads “follow you” around or suddenly appear on Facebook.

But what you might not know…. is how all of this fits into a much bigger strategy.

A much bigger system.

And how you can use a system like this to automatically convert leads into sales predictably, consistently and profitably and turns customers into delighted customers.

marketing-automation-cartoon

When used correctly, marketing automation can allow you to do this by tailoring content and messaging to specific segments of your leads, creating more personalized experiences for them – all on autopilot.

Taking this highly-targeted approach will help you close more deals, generate more revenue, and delight your existing customers.

But there’s a problem…

Actually, there are lots of problems…

  • Maybe you don’t really know anything about marketing automation and don’t even know where to start?
  • Almost certainly you have very little time to set up a system like this and – lacking a clear strategy – you haven’t got started?
  • Or you might be worried about losing your personal touch in your marketing?
  • Perhaps you get paralyzed when thinking about the whole thing and putting it all together. The tech, the copywriting, what to say at each point and when to send each message?
  • Maybe you started working on your funnels but quickly became overwhelmed with it getting too complex and how you’re going to split people into different segments at different points of the funnel and how to keep it all organized?
  • You might even be using marketing automation already but are not sure how to measure and track your efforts effectively so you can see what’s working and which areas need more focus?
  • Maybe you’re not quite completely confident that no glitches will affect your customer’s experience?
  • Or maybe you get the ideas and the strategies but are just not sure how to make it work for your own business?

These are all very real problems. And ones I had to face along the way.

But each of them is a manageable problem that I can help you overcome in this article and articles that are to come.

Free Kit: Download a complete marketing automation template that reveals exactly how to convert 2, 3 or even 10X more leads into customers.

But first let me answer an important question…

What is marketing automation anyway?

At its core, marketing automation is a system for keeping leads and customers engaged throughout every stage of their life cycle with your business.

This includes:

  • welcoming new leads
  • nurturing existing leads
  • converting leads into customers
  • onboarding new customers
  • delivering your product/service
  • continuing to support your customers into long term clients

It’s about sending the right message to the right person at the right time.

It’s everything you would like to do manually if you had the time…

…and putting it into a system that works on autopilot.

In ‘The Effective Executive‘, Peter Drucker says,

companies should embrace technology that makes existing processes more efficient

…and that’s exactly what a good marketing automation system does.

It can help you grow your business by eliminating human error, improving consistency, and increasing the quality of communication with leads and clients – all without the need for extra staff.

Think you don’t have the time to set this up?

A lot of people think the same…

…but think about how much time you currently spend on routine or mundane tasks that could be automated!

Instead of thinking about how much more successful and happy you could be “if only I had more time to focus on things that matter“…

…invest some of your time to implement a successful marketing automation system and you will actually have a LOT more time than you currently do right now.

Time you could spend on more important activities.

On growing your business… or even better… having some more time off to do what you love, to see your family more and to actually enjoy life.

The truth is… you don’t have the time NOT to implement a successful marketing automation system.

Here is how it fits into your business…

#1 – Attract People to Your Business

You first start with attracting people to your business and your website.

This might be from:

  • SEO
  • Banner Ads
  • Native Ads
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Adwords
  • Email
  • Affiliate/JV
  • YouTube
  • CPV
  • Offline Ads
  • Any other way people come across your business

When people land on your site for the first time, you don’t know who they are.

But even at this point your system can start adding them to your “invisible list” and also start tracking which pages of your site they visit and what content they interact with.

A large number of these people will leave your site.

But because you had retargeting pixels on your website and added them to your “invisible list” you can already start showing them ads as they visit other sites on the web and jump on Facebook for the 14th time that day.

And because you know what content they have already seen, you can guess at what might interest them and what might bring them back to your website.

#2 – Convert Visitors Into Leads

Assuming you have something valuable to offer, a certain percentage will provide you with their email address and turn into leads.

They might join your list or download a lead magnet or request some more information or contact you.

invisible-listYour system would then automatically update your “invisible list” to split out the people who became leads (because you don’t want to waste money on your ads or show people a message that isn’t relevant to them).

Instead your system dynamically adds your leads to a new “invisible list” so you can show them content that is relevant to them.

#3 – Nurture Leads Into Customers

At this point the majority of your new leads are not ready to buy just yet.

A lot of them will buy eventually… but it might not be for 12 – 18 months, or even longer.

So your system regularly keeps in touch with them by:

  • Sending useful content
  • Presenting irresistible offers to move to the next step
  • Learning more about what they are interested in and segmenting them within your list according to their interests and actions.
  • Dynamically sending them down different paths based on their behavior and what they do (and don’t do).

#4 – Delight Existing Customers

At some point a percentage will take the next step and buy something from you.

Now is not the time to drop the ball.

Instead you want your system to:

  • Help deliver your product and/or service
  • Gather any information you may need
  • WOW them with timely and relevant communication
  • Help them to get the most out of your product/service
  • Provide them with amazing support
  • Continue to engage with them
  • Learn more about how else you can help them and delight them as they become clients for life

Theoretically of course you could do all of this manually…

…and that’s certainly the way most businesses start out.

But if you don’t have a system in place to achieve all of this, then the return you get from all of your other marketing activities will not be as good as it could be.

Is it right for your business?

You may be wondering if this will really work for your business.

And I want to be clear, this isn’t right for everyone.

In my experience this is not right for you if:

  1. You are just getting started and don’t have an offer that converts yet
  2. You are currently getting less than 1000 visitors to your website each month*
  3. You have less than 200 people on your list*

*The specific numbers vary from market to market, but these work as a general guide.

It basically comes down to this – if you don’t actually have a business yet (i.e. you are not doing any marketing and you haven’t sold anything) then focus on developing an offer that converts.

On the other hand if you have a business that is getting traffic, a steady flow of new leads and are making some sales then the short answer is – marketing automation will have a shocking impact on your business.

This shouldn’t be a surprise…

…without an effective lead management and prospect nurturing system in place you can very quickly waste your marketing budget because it’s simply impossible for you or your team to chase every single lead and nurture every single relationship.

However businesses that use marketing automation to nurture prospects experience a 451% increase in qualified leads.

And not only will you get more qualified leads. But successful lead nurturing leads to educated and happy customers who make 47% larger purchases than non-nurtured leads.

To help you get started, I have put together a marketing automation kit that walks you through a brand new approach to marketing automation that 99% of all business owners have never seen and includes a swipe and deploy automation template you can start using in your business immediately.

In this kit you will discover:

  1. Behavioral Dynamic Response
    A brand new approach to developing and structuring your marketing campaigns and funnels. This will dramatically increase the percentage of your leads that turn into prosepcts.
  2. Shocking Stats About Your Leads
    New discovery reveals that over 50% of your prospects aren’t even seeing your offer. This kit gives you the cure.
  3. New: “Psychic” Sales Cycling
    Discover how to deploy a custom marketing sequence for each prospect …individually …by predicting their next move (and objections) based on their behaviour!

automationkitupgrade

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  • Tyler

    Very insightful article! This should help getting me started. What software do you recommend? We’re currently testing GetResponse and their new feature of marketing automation.

    • //functionalfunnels.com/ Todd Molloy

      Hi Tyler, glad you found it helpful. I highly recommend ActiveCampaign. It’s what I use.