Marketing Automation Is a Business Systematizer
Not every business can be completely systematized, but almost every business can automate some processes.
Six North Cafe is my favorite coffee shop in St. Louis.
I drive there several times a week for my mocha latte fix, even though it’s out of the way and I pass several Starbucks.
The morning baristas always make me the *perfect* cuppa Joe: just the right temperature, not too sweet. Now that they have video on the drive-thru order board, they recognize me, then tell me my order before I have to say it.
But I never go to this Cafe after 1pm. After that, if I need caffeine, I go to Starbucks–even though it’s my second choice.
Makes me sad, but the mocha I buy at 2pm just isn’t the same. The afternoon shift doesn’t follow the Cafe’s recipe. So sometimes my latte’s too sugary. Other times it’s too watery. It never tastes the same, and that ruins my experience. I don’t want my coffee shop to frustrate me–they’re so nice!–so I just go there in the morning.
At Starbucks, however, I get the same drink no matter which location I visit, no matter what time of day it is. So even though I “settle” for Starbucks, I’m never disappointed.
Companies struggle with training and consistency all the time. They want to keep the personal touch and service in all they do, but scale it so they can conquer the world.
Not every business can be completely systematized, but almost every business can automate some processes.
Automating marketing processes is one of the easiest ways to start. Often you can eliminate your lowest-performing salesperson by automating basic follow-up sytems.
For example:
Do salespeople follow company-designed presentations or make sales calls in their own unique way? Could a systematized sales presentation, delivered in bite-sized messages to every hot prospect who visits your website, shorten the sales cycle, convert more sales and have fewer after-sale hiccups?
Do customers get different answers (or worse, prices) if they talk to 2 different sales reps? Could a “hidden” pricing page on your website be monitored whenever you sent a hot prospect there…and triggered a sales call if the prospect revisits in the future?
Do transaction emails look different, depending on who sends them out? Could you fulfill all orders online–even your over-the-phone orders, so that all post-sale correspondence is consistent?
These are “evergreen” marketing automation processes. Meaning, once they’re up and tweaked, they run without human intervention. Yet, unlike humans, these processes consistently perform and are accountable in your metrics, such as Google Analytics or your email dashboard.
Regardless of employee turnover or even filling in when someone’s on vacation, systematizing your business with marketing automation is like brewing your prospect and customer the same great-tasting mocha latte 24/7/365.
Schedule a free 30-Minute Brainstorm and let’s discuss!
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