A simple Google search for the most popular business software for customer relationship management will show you two results: CRM and Marketing Automation. Despite some resemblances, both programs have the purpose of fulfilling two distinct but complementary tasks. This article provides you with a closer look into both of these systems.
Marketing automation
It is software for marketing teams. Marketing Automation is intended to assist in capitalizing on all of the unique marketing opportunities that the internet provides. Marketing automation software is software that interfaces with an email server, a website, social media, and advertisements for two purposes:
- Encourage visitors, readers, and others to provide their contact information becoming verified users – this is known as lead generation.
- Keeping track of crucial information regarding their interests and habits. Depending on the digital touchpoints with which the program is associated, the marketing automation tool will determine which pages a user has visited, which emails they have viewed or not, etc.
The goal of marketing automation is to build a database with a massive history of data on users all the actions they have taken. They record their interests and degree of interest and push them towards purchasing the correct levers (lead nurturing). Moreover, a marketing automation suite allows you to provide a positive or negative score to contacts based on activities to determine the temperature of each contact, which is significant for B2B. For example, the solution may award 10 points if a user opens an email, 20 points if they visit a specific page on the site, and 40 points if they download an e-book or whitepaper on a particular topic. The higher the score, the more likely the potential customer is interested in your products and services.
In the same way, tags are issued to users based on their activities, opened emails, materials downloaded, and so on, to track whatever topic, product, or service they have demonstrated interest in. Based on the data gathered, it is feasible to segment the database into groups of users with similar interests and temperatures. And then create customized campaigns for each group of users using different tools such as forms, pop-ups, emails, landing sites, and downloadable resources.
The software entirely automates the campaigns using the if-then-else technique, which allows you to write specific emails or utilize specific pop-ups only when certain circumstances are met to generate alternative paths to the final goal, the purchase, or the contact request. As a result, the term marketing automation was coined.
CRM (Customer relationship management)
Whereas Marketing Automation draws its name from a product feature – automation – CRMs derive their name from the business concept at its heart- customer relationship management. Customer Relations Management (CRM) was born in the 1980s in America as of database marketing when organizations could begin to record customer information in a shared digital format, known as lead management. Therefore, the phrase became synonymous with the first software that enabled this management.
A CRM is a piece of software specialized in the sales and after-sales departments. This software stores the contacts of all active and inactive customers, and users can access this information to update the records. They can also record the offers made, deadlines, products of interest, customer demands, or even put an appointment on the calendar and set a reminder. Some CRMs also allow customers to open tickets directly to request technical and commercial assistance. Thereby it can act as assistance and customer service software. CRMs used to be deployed on-premise on corporate servers, which inevitably increased their cost and made them a solution that only a few (big) businesses could afford.
Today, CRMs are relatively common, even among small and medium-sized businesses. Thanks to the rise of the SaaS (Software as a Service accessible via the internet) model, organizations can access CRM from any device with an internet connection. It replaces the high costs of on-premise with an annual license at a much lower price.
CRM and Marketing automation: make the most of them
To understand why we must first examine the traditional sales funnel model. In this conventional approach, potential customers progress through various stages before becoming actual customers (four or more depending on the schematic). Consider the most well-known structure:
- Awareness: they are interested and learn about the product/service.
- Consideration: they compare their knowledge about the product to their wants and alternatives.
- Decision: they decide to give the product/service a chance (free trial or contact request)
- Action: they take action by purchasing the product/service.
The audience of potential buyers tends to contract in each of these stages or steps, hence the funnel shape. We can see how marketing is responsible for the first two steps: creating product awareness, informing, and pushing the anonymous visitor to become a lead (lead generation) to be nurtured with emails and targeted messaging. The previous two rounds of the funnel are the crucial role of sales, which includes- salespeople that subsequently close the deal, consolidate the lead’s decision, and transform it into a real customer. We can create and monitor the customer journey in detail by integrating Marketing Automation with CRM, both at an IT level (through API, but this would require its post) and at a functional level, by getting teams acclimated to utilizing the software in synergy.
- The customer arrives at the site through organic search, advertisements, etc., and enters their information- for example, in exchange for a free e-book.
- The contact information was created by the marketing automation software and labeled further based on the recorded interests.
- The contact will get approached with communications that are relevant to their interests.
- Each action is taken that reveals interest receives a score.
When this score is high enough, indicating that the contact has expressed sufficient interest or opts for a free trial, the potential customer is directed to the sales department on the CRM, where they are monitored and eventually contacted.
- The sales team contacts the lead.
- Once the interest is confirmed, discussions will begin, and a quote will get offered.
- The customer accepts the offer (takes action) and is now a customer.
The funnel and these processes will surely change depending on your audience and business. What remains is the benefit of having two softwares that work synergistically on the same customers despite having separate tasks, allowing you to monitor the funnel as its whole.
If your company is expanding year after year, with an increasing number of leads and clients, it’s time to invest in CRM and marketing automation. Most businesses begin with a CRM solution to get things running. Following that, marketing automation development and integration will be the natural next step in integrating your marketing operations into a single user-friendly platform for employees. CRM and marketing automation is the most efficient marketing tools. The key to gaining leads is to create and distribute appealing content. Using any of these platforms, you will be able to uncover effective ways to meet your sales goals. And once you’ve installed both products, integrating them into a single unified platform will drive your company to the next level of success.
Author’s Bio:
Deepali Daiya is a communication expert who excels in understanding customer needs. She writes powerful sales scripts and articles with very high conversion rates. Currently, she is associated with Sage Software Solutions, a leading distributor of high-quality ERP and CRM systems to small and mid-sized businesses in India.
Twitter Profile:- https://twitter.com/DeepaliDaiya
