If you’re a small business owner who is considering turning to marketing automation software to be more efficient, congratulations. You’re about to take a step that can potentially help grow your business.
It can help manage customer leads and improve communication with your prospects that ultimately result in revenue boosts.
As you make decisions about what systems you’re going to use, there are three things you’re going to want to think about initially.
Being aware of them upfront will help make the transition to a new system easier for both you and your customers. Better yet, they’ll provide better results for your efforts.
Consider How Easy The System is to Use
Some systems are easier to use than others. Or they work better with some kinds of businesses than with others.
As you’re considering all of the choices you have for automation platforms, try to find one that is both a fit for how you work and for your company.
Pay attention to how the functions of the program work.
Do they use drag and drop techniques or require programming and code?
Does the software’s organizational structure and interface make sense to you?
Test out the system in advance and see how you feel about it. The more you and your other staff are comfortable with the system, the better you’ll use it and the more it will do for you.
How Does it Integrate With Your Sales Funnel?
If you’re thinking about marketing automation systems you’ve probably noticed that they can be as simple as managing your email with just a few added functions, or as complicated as integrating into all of your customer communications platforms and your online prospect management tools like Salesforce.
Their functionality is on a spectrum and your job is to match what they offer with what your needs are on the spectrum.
You’ll also want to consider what the systems options are for you to create a variety of message sequences that prospects will go through.
As you think of these options, compare them with how they support your sales funnel and how they integrate with the human side of your marketing and sales functions.
You’ll also want to find a system that can accommodate fairly complicated message sequences if they need to so that your automated communications are more personalized and effective.
Does its Price Meet Your Budget?
When it comes to marketing automation software, it is possible to find a price point that fits the budget for nearly every sized business. Pricing can start at well under $50 a month and range to $1000 a month or more. That’s a big difference.
As you price systems, you’ll see that system capabilities vary with each level of cost. Pricing is also affected by the number of database users on your staff, the number of contacts you’ll send information to, and the number of campaigns you need to conduct.
Take the time to think about what you really need. If you keep your end uses in mind, you’ll be less likely to overpay and get more functionality than you need or underpay and get too small of a system.
At the same time, you might decide that you want to pay for a little more functionality because you’re confident that you’ll grow into what you need and switching systems is a hassle (to say the least).
Maybe in this way, buying a system is a little like buying a house. You want the room to grow into through the years.
Small Business Marketing Automation Software in Review
In the end, the decision you make for marketing automation software can have an enormous impact on the future of your company and how easy it is to grow your business from day-to-day.
As you’re making your decision, take your time and be thorough. As our list of three questions, and others.
Though it may take time to make the choice, invest the hours of research. The right decision will ultimately save you time, make your job easier, and grow your sales.
