Marketing Automation Isn't Just Email Marketing

Many credit union marketing professionals only utilize the email marketing piece of their marketing automation platform. This is unfortunate because marketing automation platforms are much more than that. Marketing automation is a tool that helps you manage marketing activities across multiple channels. It helps you build productive relationships with members, generate relevant leads, and cross-sell them at a cost you can afford. By automating repetitive tasks, marketing automation can save you time and effort. It also improves member engagement and the quality of leads. It can also increase overall sales.

Channels

While email is the hub for a marketing automation tool, there is a lot more to it. You can integrate other channels as well. There are a couple of fairly easy channels to integrate into your platform right away. First, you should integrate it with your website. Then you can begin tracking your membership base which helps you understand what each individual is seeking, which enables you to deliver relevant content across channels. Depending on your website's content management system (CMS), this can also give you the ability to utilize custom ad serving on your credit union's website. For example, this would mean you could have different messages on your homepage based on the individual visiting your credit union's website. Second, it is good to link your social media accounts. Once you have done so, you can create and schedule posts, report on performance and even monitor brand mentions and respond. The biggest benefit to linking your social accounts to the platform, however, is the ability to create your social ads from within the platform and target-specific membership groups. You can begin retargeting campaigns for members that you know are in the market on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Finally, it is important to link your paid search advertising to the automation platform. This also allows you to create retargeting campaigns and measure results. Once you have these channels integrated, you can begin to create a consistent workflow of member communications across channels and consistently message member segments about targeting products or services. Sapphire Trail can help you create the framework to do so, regardless of your marketing automation platform.

Segmentation

Segmentation is a powerful tool in marketing automation, and it can help you improve your business's performance. However, segmenting isn't something that happens once and for all. It requires continual monitoring and updating to reflect changes in user behavior. In addition, it's time-consuming and prone to mistakes.

Segmentation is often done with the help of data. Past campaigns can help you determine which segments to target. You can also perform A/B testing on your segmentation strategy to make sure you are targeting the right audience. If you want to target a more specific group of consumers, you can use micro-segmentation.

Segmentation is a crucial part of marketing automation, and it can help you pinpoint the right audience. Segmentation allows you to target customers with meaningful content and make marketing campaigns more effective. It helps you understand your customers and create the perfect experience for them.

Customer journey

A customer's journey involves multiple touchpoints. Whether it's on mobile, desktop, or a hybrid, marketing automation software will help you tailor your message to a particular person's needs. Through its progressive profiling capabilities, marketing automation platforms also provide you with insight into the behavioral and purchasing patterns of your target audience.

With customer journey orchestration, companies can identify which customers are most engaged and which ones are not and can then optimize their communication with them. This way, they can predict future behavior. While marketing automation has many benefits, it can also be criticized as impersonal. While it may provide a reliable flow of sales, orders, and inquiries, it often fails to build trust with customers. This is why you must be cautious and precise with your automation actions.

Customer journeys are complex and difficult to predict. But with marketing automation, you can break down each step into automated series referred to as campaigns. This series will help you reach your goal of gaining a loyal customer base.

Cost

Marketing automation costs vary greatly, depending on the features and services you need. Some software packages are free but likely won't serve the needs of a credit union, while others will cost thousands per month. HubSpot Marketing, for instance, offers a free app and a free onboarding program but paid plans start at $200 per month. In reality, it will likely cost you more because it is based on the size of your membership list. Hubspot has a great tool to calculate what it would cost your credit union. Other marketing automation platforms are paid-for and can range in price from $1,000 to six figures per month. The cost of the software depends on the features you need and the number of members (contacts) you want to track.

Marketing automation software can help your business to automate tasks and save money. It helps you send out relevant emails to potential customers, trigger responses, and capture lead information. Moreover, it can help you prioritize leads based on their needs. In addition, it sends relevant messages and ads to these leads. This will help you maximize your marketing efforts and reduce waste.

Benefits

Marketing automation is a valuable tool for companies to make more sales. It makes it easier for companies to send emails to more people, and it can increase conversion rates. This technology also helps credit unions build better relationships with their members. This is because automation allows credit unions to respond to members promptly. Automated marketing campaigns are also more efficient than sending emails one at a time.

Marketing automation helps credit unions save time and money. It helps identify marketing efforts that don't work and enhances those that do work. At the end of the day, it you are looking to increase your marketing team's efficacy while driving results and better serving your members, you need to fully dive in with marketing automation. Sapphire Trail helps credit unions configure all of this so it is not an up-front burden on your team. We're marketing experts that have walked a mile in your shoes. We get it and want to help. We'd love to talk with you further about how we can start making a difference for you and your team with our marketing automation offerings.