We all can tell stories about companies or people that spam us. In today’s internet, spamming is a business. The last thing you want your customers to think, is that you are a spammer.
Nirit writes about 5 signs that you may be relying on automation a little too much. Be careful with your timing on campaigns.
5 Signs You’re Using Marketing Automation Too Much
There’s no doubt that marketing automation has been a cost-effective business strategy. A Nucleus Research study showed that marketing automation increases sales productivity by 14.5% and reduces marketing overhead by 12.2%. When it comes to email marketing, automated emails can reach up to 119% higher click rate than regular email blasts. This statistic is consistent with another study by Jupiter Research showing that relevant emails drive 18 times more revenue than broadcast emails.
All these numbers can give enough reasons for you to dedicate a portion of your budget to marketing automation, particularly on email. However, like any other things, too much of a good thing can bring you more harm than benefit. Marketing automation must be done with caution to avoid abuse.
The big question here: How will you know when it’s too much? I’ve listed down some key points to help you determine if you are on the verge of abusing marketing automation.
1. You’re Becoming Too Complacent
While automating email blasts to your contact list can save you a huge amount of time, you can never be sure that things will always run smoothly. It is essential that you monitor automation so you could do necessary tweaks on your strategies like updating your contact list or the content of your emails. Failure to do so can lead to significant issues.
Also, marketers who are too complacent forget to innovate as they tend to stick to their same old strategies. Don’t give your competitors an edge by being too satisfied with what you are doing.
2. You’re Becoming Spammy
Seeing positive results from your automated emails can excite you to send more. But, don’t be a victim of your own excitement by sending more emails to push your customers to do your desired action. You may only be pushing them away rather than attracting them.
There are estimated 260 billion spam emails sent every single day, and the last thing you would want is to be marked as one by your recipients. Another research showed that 78% of the people unsubscribe from a mailing list when a company sends too many emails. Don’t be a spammer!
3. The Only Personalization You Do Is the First Name
No one wants to talk with a robot, and customers need to feel extra special when your communication is personalized. Because it gives a personal touch to your messages, it was found that personalized emails can result in six times higher transaction rate and revenue compared to non-personalized emails.
But remember, personalizing your messages does not end by putting the first name of your recipient in your email subject or salutation. You need to personalize the content of your email or the offer you are sending. This means knowing your recipients well to know suits them. You can easily group your recipients by segmenting your contact list.
4. You Barely Look at Your Analytics
A survey showed that 15% of marketers say their company still does not regularly review email opens and clicks, and only 23% say they have integrated their website and emails to track what happens after a click. Forgetting to review your analytics means failure to managing your automated marketing campaign. You cannot ignore your numbers, as it should guide you on your next marketing strategies.
To be able to understand your analytics, you need to know the metrics you need to measure. Some key email marketing metrics are click through rate, conversion rate, bounce rate, list growth rate, email sharing/forwarding rate, and overall ROI.
5. You’re Putting Too Many CTAs
You don’t want to confuse your customers with a dozen of call-to-action buttons. The rule of thumb is to be clear with what action you want your recipients to do and not bombard them with too many CTA buttons in your email. In fact, one CTA button is enough to increase conversion rate, as a study showed that emails with a single call-to-action increased clicks 371% and sales 1617%.
There are many ways to put a high-converting CTA in your email. You can use a clickable CTA button or anchor text. Just be sure that your CTA is well-placed to be noticed.
Final Words
Being a responsible marketer means being mindful of your strategies and actions. Using marketing automation too much is a sign of abuse, which can drag your business down to failure.
One way to spot the above-mentioned signs is to audit your strategies regularly. Review which marketing automation strategies work and stop doing those that do not yield positive results.
If you are blasting automated emails, be sure to use an email marketing platform that provides real-time analytics. With real-time analytics, you can have a comprehensive report of the behavior of your recipients as it happens. This means that you can spot signs that you are doing marketing automation wrong right away.
Author Bio:
Nirit Braun is working as a content marketing manager for ActiveTrail. She writes for some top online marketing sites and blogging advice on email marketing and marketing automation.
She is a huge fan of shoes, ramen & brilliance.
