Common B2B marketing automation mistakes to avoid 

Automation streamlines and enhances business processes, while boosting productivity, especially when it comes to managing repetitive tasks. Just like contact centre workforce management helps in the scheduling of the right agents at the right time, marketing automation tools help in handling routine marketing tasks. It is revolutionizing the entire marketing process with its ability to market on multiple online channels simultaneously.  

Let’s discuss a few common mistakes businesses make while using marketing automation tools and solutions.  

No marketing plans  

Investing in marketing automation without a solid strategy can have consequences. Businesses may end up sending the wrong message to the wrong audience or even worse, forgetting to send a promotion to the relevant customers. This could negatively impact sales. Businesses sometimes forget that marketing automation software is just a platform to help in the implementation of the marketing plan. Without a proper strategy in place, this software is useless.   

Moreover, integrating it into the system requires an adequate budget, meaningful content, and trained people. Organizations must develop a plan that clearly highlights the goals they want to achieve with marketing automation. This will save the business from a marketing disaster.  

Unsuitable automation tools  

It is critical to invest in the right marketing automation tool for it to run smoothly with the business operations. According to a report, B2B marketers are unable to find the correct software easily and nearly  59% of them are not able to utilize these tools to their fullest potential. This means that marketers are not only struggling to choose the most suitable software but also in using them.   

To find the most suitable automation software, here are a few features to look out for:  

• A user-friendly interface  
• Customer support tools  
• Advanced analytics and reporting  
• Easy integrations  

Inability to integrate with Customer Relationship Management (CRM)  

Marketing automation software generates, and nurtures leads whereas CRM helps in winning customers and delivering customer service. Combining these two can lead to outstanding lead management as both sales and marketing teams will gain access to valuable information. Therefore, before finalizing marketing automation software, make sure it can integrate with the CRM system. If they do not align, it is just going to make things complicated rather than simplifying them.     
 

Eliminating human touch  

Marketing automation enables automated workflows, so the business does not have to deal with manual processes. Even though this frees up employees to focus on other important tasks, sometimes it damages the relationship with customers. Do not forget that customers are humans, and it is not a great idea to make them feel like they are always talking to a robot. Try to humanize the brand; add a personal touch to messages to sound more genuine and realistic.   

 
Prioritizing quantity over quality  

One mistake that marketers make with this software is that they think it is okay to send multiple messages covering all topics to the entire list. Even though it is easy to send these messages in a few clicks, it is not wise to do so. With advanced software comes more responsibility. Businesses must make use of the capabilities of this technology and carefully segment the audience to send out more personalized messages at the right time to the right people, instead of relying on mass communication.

Setting and forgetting  

Marketing is an ongoing process. All programmed activities need to be reviewed and optimized frequently to make sure they are on the right track. Take the example of a link to a blog that may have expired or an invite to a trade show that has already passed. Staying ahead of the automated content is essential to ensure the audience always receives up-to-date and relevant information.   

Lack of training  

According to a report, B2B professionals believe that a lack of training and resources is what causes marketing automation software to fail. Even though these tools are powerful and have outstanding capabilities, they are worthless if the employees do not know how to use them.  It does not matter if the team is a digital expert or not, when a business implements innovative technology, it needs to hold regular training sessions to facilitate the employees. This encourages faster learning and professional development opportunities for the workforce.