Written by: Olivia Carroll It might not be a surprise to hear that 90% of marketers report using marketing automation for large-volume email campaigns, according to a study by Gleanster reports .Marketing automation software effortlessly accomplishes menial tasks like scheduling emails and social media for your business. It can save you time, energy, and even generate organic leads. It organizes and distributes your content for you – what’s not to love?In addition, there is clear evidence that marketing automation can grow your company substantially:“63% of companies that are outgrowing their competitors use marketing automation.” –The Lenskold Group “2013 Lead Generation Marketing Effectiveness Study” (2013)
But consumers want more personalization, and they are quickly learning how to spot mass content.
Jerry Jao from Forbes believes that soon, that will no longer be the case. Jao believes that automation’s strength lies in its ability to handle massive quantities of channel management and that consumers crave authenticity and personalization in the content they receive from these channels.Because of this, Jao foresees the rise of active marketing tools with the ability to create individualistic and creative campaigns from real-time data-driven insights. This would allow the marketer to take a step back from lifecycle management and allow the automation to do it for them.
Moosa Hemani tends to agree. Hemani believes that marketing automation tools will need to be continuously readjusted to address client’s primary needs. This will result in machine learning, capable of making predictive choices based on previous data rather that operating off of rules.Another prediction is that marketing automation will soon accommodate account-based marketing strategies. B2B marketers experienced a 171% increase in ACV when using ABM strategies like selecting target accounts, defining budgets and outlining team structures. This growth is expected to continue to evolve with the advent of artificial intelligence in ABM.According to the
GetResponse, this new automation will be heavily reliant on customer loyalty and crack below the surface with content. Marketing automation programs in the coming year will need to support loyalty programs that go beyond “buy two, get one free.” The savvy consumers of 2017 are expecting something more relevant and significant to them.In addition, social media will become even more interactive with features like the ability to click on items and make in-app purchases. As GetResponse states, “The best marketing automation software will provide native integrations with all major networks and add interaction data directly to customer profiles — perhaps even as a factor in lead scoring. That’s a lot more useful than a long list of likes.”
Keeping up with these marketing automation trends will keep you on target with your goals and strategies. Marketing automation is here to stay.The more you know about these trends, the more you can ride the wave of growth.
