We’ve all heard it before ...So much so it’s become somewhat of a “BUZZ Word” … MARKETING AUTOMATION.  

What is it, and how exactly will it help in growing your business? Understanding that Marketing Automation can come in many forms and can be extremely complex or very simple is important. Each form will have a place within your marketing mix and will add strength to your business’s overall communications agenda. A more complex method of marketing automation may consist of conditional–based triggers that, in turn, deliver multiple touch point communications which are specific to the consumers prior engagements. Whereas a more simplified automated process may be a single response system or a reoccurring scheduled event (examples of these will be given further down). 

Automations can have a positive impact on your business in the following ways: 

They can, 

1. Facilitate Customer Referrals 

2. Improve Prospect Conversion Ratios

3. Increase Client Satisfaction  

Let’s go into each of these benefits in more detail with some application examples of how to implement them.  

Number One: Referral Generation 

There are a couple of ways you could go about automating the request for referrals: 

• Option one could be baked into an already existing marketing process such as a newsletter.  If you are sending out regular monthly newsletters, it would be advantageous to place a Call to Action within that content encouraging the reader to share it with others who may also be interested.  To that end, you would also want to provide them with a social share link to enable them to do so.  
   
• Option two is to subscribe to a software that can be used as a tool in automatically requesting referrals.  Platforms such as refermeiq.com provide a great way to achieve this.  It is straightforward, easy to use, and cost effective. 
  

Number Two: Improved Prospect Conversion Ratios 

The fact is that prospects require on average 5 to 9 touches before they convert into a client. Generally speaking, these touch points should provide value to the prospect. In other words, there should be ongoing communications to get to know your client. You should be delivering content that is insightful, educational, and likely to be of value to the customer. This also positions you as the expert in the process, boasting your credibility. 

• A great way to facilitate this process is by subscribing to a service that offers an automated marketing funnel comprised of multiple touch point opportunities.  
• Or you can add leads that you have acquired over time to a recurring marketing piece such as a monthly newsletter or podcast that you create on a regularly scheduled basis.  (Note: You will want to be sure that the web form you acquire the leads from has a terms and conditions checkbox explaining your marketing process.) 

Number Three: Increased Client Satisfaction 

Now that you have converted the prospect, it’s up to you to implement consumer relations processes to increase client satisfaction.   

We’ve found that one of the most valuable actions an Advisor or Agent could do to increase client satisfaction is to provide better/more communications.   

To fulfill this need, I would recommend one of three simplified automated processes:   

• Number one is a Monthly Newsletter Email.  Believe it or not… email is STILL a great method of communication especially with a warm list.  I would encourage you to send out regular weekly or monthly email newsletter to clients.  Topics could consist of lifestyle, financial, or human-interest related content. Have fun with it and make it interesting. 
• Number two would be to send out SMS or Voicemail Broadcasts.  These channels of communication are proven to have some of the highest engagement rates.  Messages could range from financial market updates, product related information, or a friendly seasonal greeting.   
• Number three is to combine email and SMS with Video Landing pages. What you would do here is send out notifications that drive people to landing pages where you feature a short video of yourself presenting a message.  Studies have shown that video is the new preferred method of receiving information because it is easily consumable. Hence the value of creating a VLOG. 

Any one of these options will increase your clients’ satisfaction which will further facilitate client referrals.  

So, there you have it.  Those are the three areas and ways you can use marketing automation to improve your business.  

All of which have positive side effects on your day to day operations and overall business growth.  By streamlining these tasks, you’re able to significantly reduce the time it takes to manage everything. Which is of the upmost important, because as we all know… “Time Is Money”.   

In addition to saving time. Your long-term prospect conversion and client retention rate will benefit you dramatically, which equates to increased revenue. Take advantage of automated marketing today!