Marketing Automation.

At its core, marketing automation consists of if-then rules. If someone downloads an e-book, then three days later they receive an email with a matching case study. If someone visits the pricing page three times, then sales is notified. If a customer has bought nothing for twelve months, then they receive an offer. The basis is a system that manages contacts, their behaviour and the rules.

Typical tools range from newsletter programs with automation features to CRM systems and specialised platforms. For SMEs the choice of tool matters less than the question of which two or three workflows deliver the most. Often these are a welcome series for new contacts, a follow-up email after a quote and a reactivation of inactive customers. Combined with lead scoring, you can also control when a contact is ready for a conversation.

An example: a provider of further education courses automatically sends a confirmation with the course dates after every enquiry, two days later an email with frequently asked questions and, a week before the registration deadline, a reminder. Previously a member of staff did this by hand, when she remembered. Now it happens reliably, and she only deals with the follow-up questions.

Automation does not replace strategy. Automate poor content and you simply send poor content faster. Before setting anything up, it should be clear what a workflow is meant to achieve and how you will recognise that it works. For AI-assisted workflows, see AI automation for SMEs.