3 Crucial Problems and One Big Fat Lie with Marketing Automation

This is a story you might know all too well. You’ve been told that marketing automation can solve a lot of your problems. You thought it would bring you a seemingly endless flow of prospects who’d convert into loyal customers. You thought it would help you save time, grow your small business, and put your online marketing efforts on autopilot.

However, results are yet to be seen. You haven’t seen any significant improvement since implementation – you still can’t attract the right people, your open rates are still embarrassing, and you still can’t turn leads into customers.

And you are not alone. Almost 44% of marketers are not fully satisfied with their marketing automation system.

The truth is that you’ve been lied to.

The Big Lie

Whether you are a doctor, an electrician, or a designer, you’ve all been told the same lie:

“Marketing automation is easy.”

Don’t fall for it. That is a myth perpetuated by so-called experts selling low-quality marketing automation systems. As a result, many small business owners think that you set marketing automation, forget about it, and after a while, you start seeing results. The reality, however, couldn’t be further from the truth.

Here’s the thing: marketing automation isn’t easy. You don’t just push a few buttons and wait for sales to roll in. It’s not a silver bullet that will transform your digital marketing strategy and drive results overnight.

Three Crucial Problems

Because many small business owners think that marketing automation is easy, they tend to make a series of common mistakes. Here are three of them:

• They Don’t Integrate It with Their Digital Marketing Strategy

Automation should go hand in hand with your digital marketing strategy, and it should complement your sales process. However, many business owners find themselves unable to integrate their marketing automation system with the sales efforts.

• Below Potential Usage

One of the most common problems faced by small business owners is their inability to use marketing automation effectively. There are two main reasons for this. First of all, many platforms don’t provide the necessary training to users, and they need to discover themselves how to implement the system. Secondly, small business owners can’t spend too much time trying to learn the platform in depth (they are busy growing a company.) As a result, they don’t use the system to its full potential and make a lot of costly mistakes.

• You’re Stuck in Old Practices

There was a time when the money was in the email list. Business owners were trying hard to grow their lists and send emails to each and every contact. Nowadays, things are a little different. Even though email marketing is still a key element of marketing automation; it is just one part of the equation. Now, you can use automation to guide prospects through your social media channels, your website, and your email to generate leads.

Successful implementation of marketing automation starts with understanding that it can’t fix all of your problems overnight. Only then you can start attracting and nurturing leads and growing your small business.