When you run a business, you wear a lot of hats. In addition to doing the work your business is known for, you also need to follow up with leads, nurture relationships with clients, and consistently market your business. It’s a lot to handle!
Automation can help. And contrary to what you might think, automation isn’t about replacing your people or turning your business into a heartless robot.
When it’s done right, automation supports your team, makes your work easier, and helps you connect effectively with your audience.
Sounds great, right? If you’d like to automate your sales and marketing efforts this year, here are three important things to consider before you get started.
Before you automate anything, you need to ensure your processes are suitable for automation.
Automation won’t fix broken or unclear processes—it will only magnify the broken parts. If your sales and marketing efforts feel inconsistent or confusing right now, automation won’t magically clean that up. Before you automate, you need to ensure your processes are working.
Start by getting clarity around a few key questions:
Ensure these aspects are clear and well laid out within your process. If they’re not, it’s time to make some changes.
Next, your process should be at least one of the following:
Finally, any process that requires a human touch or emotional connection shouldn’t be fully automated. You may still be able to automate certain parts of the process, but keep the crucial human connection pieces in human hands. In short: If it requires a human, keep it human-led!
Automation supports what already works. Once you understand what’s working well, automation can step in to support those actions—like making sure follow-ups happen on time or no one falls through the cracks.
The goal isn’t to automate chaos. It’s to support a process that already makes sense.
Find out more about automating the customer journey in this blog.
One of the most common objections to automation that we hear is:
“I don’t want my marketing to sound robotic or spammy.”
That concern is completely valid…and usually comes from experiencing bad automation. To keep things human, it’s important to know what automation shouldn’t do:
The good news: Modern automation doesn’t have to feel cold or impersonal. When done well, it can actually feel thoughtful and human. Some simple examples include sending timely follow-up emails after someone reaches out or helpful reminders that keep things moving.
To keep things personal, you can utilize tools like audience segmentation based on criteria like purchase history, location, or buyer’s journey stage. Then, create email campaigns, dynamic web content, or personalized ad campaigns using that segmented data. You can also trigger personalized messages based on a person’s behavior (for example, a follow-up email that’s triggered by someone abandoning their shopping cart).
No matter the format, it’s absolutely possible to create automated messages that feel personal—you just have to be intentional about how they’re written.
Always write your messaging with a conversational and approachable tone, and offer helpful information—not just sales pitches. In other words, your content should be written like you’re having a chat with the recipient rather than giving a presentation about your brand.
Automation isn’t something you can just “set and forget.” Automation works best when it’s reviewed and adjusted over time.
Markets change, buyer behavior changes, your business will evolve…and your automation needs to evolve right along with it. What made sense a year ago might not make sense today.
That’s why regular check-ins are so important. Schedule times throughout the year to review your campaigns*, beginning with asking these questions:
In addition, it’s important to track key metrics like open rate, click-through rate, conversion rate, and bounce rate to determine which campaigns are working well and which need some attention.
Learn more about using key metrics to set and reach your goals in this blog!
Think of automation as a living system, not a one-time project. When you treat it that way, it continues to support your business instead of getting in the way.
*While you’re at it, go through your database to make updates to your contact list. This helps you avoid sending emails to outdated or non-existent addresses…which in turn helps improve your deliverability rates and keep your messages out of the spam folder.
At the end of the day, automation should help you:
You don’t have to automate everything at once. In fact, it’s better to think small and start simple. Focus on what will make the biggest difference right now, and build on your efforts from there.
And remember—you don’t need to be an expert in automation tools. You just need the right strategy…and a great partner!
If you’d like to automate your sales and marketing efforts this year, but are overwhelmed and unsure where to start, the Wild Fig team would love to help! Schedule a discovery call to:
We’ll help you build automations that work for your business.
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