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Make a Love Connection: Finding the Right Marketing Automation Tools in CRM for Your Business

Post Author: Joe D365 |

Marketing automation is a lot like online dating isn't' it? You put yourself out there and hope that you get the results or love matches that you were hoping for. Wouldn't it be great if there was a way to target the exact type of relationship partner you wanted and automate the stages of that relationship from the "just getting to know you" stage all the way to life-long partner? Love would be so simple if you could sit back and let everything just take care of itself! Unfortunately, love doesn't quite work that way, but your marketing automation can! In today's blog, we will take a look at four tools in CRM that you can use to get started with marketing automation. Let's dive in!

So, what is marketing automation? PowerObjects' Dean Jones describes marketing automation is as a one-on-one conversation. At this point you're probably saying, "There is no way I can have a one-on-one conversation with all my customers and prospects." You are correct, however, we can make it appear as though you are. Marketing automation does not start with a bulk message (although indirectly it can), it starts with an action. For example, say a customer filled out a web form asking for information on training. This action can trigger a marketing conversation about "education offerings". Maybe a person attends a webinar about a new product. This could trigger a marketing conversation about a "new product". What if a person fills out a shopping cart, but never submitted the order? This could trigger a marketing conversation about completing the order. The point we are trying to make here is that the conversion should be defined in advance so that the correct conversation can be triggered by an event that starts the conversation for each prospect or customer at any point in time. Let's take a look at four tools in CRM that can get you started with these actions, events, and conversions.


1. Email

Email is probably the most common marketing automation tool, and CRM makes sending both bulk and single email campaigns pretty painless. Using CRM, you can create marketing lists built on specific criteria to send targeted information to your contacts or leads. Tools like PowerMailChimp even allow you to build emails in MailChimp and then send them using CRM. Email is a great tool to use for sending newsletters, surveys, and any other electronic communication you can think of. Using workflows in CRM, you can set up emails to be automatically sent to contacts based on an action they've taken. For example, if they fill out a web form, you can use a CRM workflow to send a confirmation email automatically. Use a tool like PowerEmail to track open and click rates, too!

2. Web Traffic

Monitoring your web traffic is great way to see who is visiting your website and learn what content they are viewing. What's great about CRM, is that if a customer or prospect is already in your CRM system, you can track if they visit your website, too! Tools like PowerWebTraffic make this super simple. The data you get from monitoring your web traffic can be used to implement a specific marketing campaign for example. Or use it to see what services your audience is most interested in to create content targeted towards that audience. After all, it's a heck of a lot easier to market to someone you already know knows you than to blindly send communications to anyone who might be interested.

3. Web Forms

If you use web forms on your website, it's best practice to import those back into CRM immediately. This way you can track them as new leads or see if they are already in your system. Using a tool like PowerWebForm, you can automate this process. You can even track that web form on the contact's CRM record so that you can always reference when and where they became a lead or contact from. Web forms allow you to "gate" resources or materials that your marketing team has put together so that instead of just giving something away for free, you have a way to gauge who is using the tools you work so hard to provide.

4. SMS

When marketing, it's important to communicate with your audience in the way that they prefer, and some people really love getting a simple text. Automated SMS messages are a quick and easy way to send reminders about events or to use as a fun way to communicate with attendees at a conference. Maybe you set up a fun game using PowerTrivia as a way to increase brand awareness or set up a coupon code to be sent out at a certain date and time. The marketing potential in SMS messages is infinite, and since they are so easy to set up, especially with a tool like PowerSMS, why not take advantage of that flexibility?

Check out what else Dean has to say about marketing automation and CRM tools. Remember, marketing automation doesn't have to be a hassle. Use the tools you already have within CRM and don't be afraid to try something! You won't know what works and what doesn't unless you take the leap first. At the end of the day, the ultimate relationship is marketing automation and CRM. They truly are a match made in heaven!

Happy CRM'ing!

Joe CRM
By Joe D365
Joe D365 is a Microsoft Dynamics 365 superhero who runs on pure Dynamics adrenaline. As the face of PowerObjects, Joe D365’s mission is to reveal innovative ways to use Dynamics 365 and bring the application to more businesses and organizations around the world.

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