It’s no longer a secret that customization and personalization factor strongly into lead engagement. Marketing automation technology, the most effective way to create a personalized customer experience for your audience, isn’t a secret either – but how to use it optimally is. Here’s what you can do to stay ahead of the race to win your audience’s attention with the most compelling customization.
Integrate Fully
Investing in marketing automation is only part of the journey. To take full advantage of the technology, it needs to be seamlessly integrated with other technology you have on board. Choosing a marketing automation platform that synchronizes with your CRM and allows a free flow of information between them is essential to keeping customized content relevant. If your sales team knows a lead just bought your latest product, your marketing team must instantly get that information and start that customer on upgrade or loyalty nurture programs.
Keep the Content Flowing
Content is where many of your competitors will fall short. They mistakenly believe that automation is a sort of appetite suppressant for content when the reverse is true: It only makes leads hungrier for new information as the information they get has greater specificity and relevance to them. This is the time to step up your blog posting frequency, start another newsletter, release more white papers – anything, in short, to make sure your marketing automation system has a large library of content to deliver once it has a thorough understanding of how to customize your leads’ experience of your brand.
Lock Down Data
Many businesses, some of them huge, have inadvertently compromised their customers’ data by taking insufficient precautions against breaches and hacks. Marketing automation technology has safeguards against data leaks, but data security is only as strong as the people using it. Get your CIO or CISO on board from the start when choosing a marketing automation platform so you can prioritize security from the outset. Working with a marketing automation integration consultant is another way to protect your leads’ vital data. The more certain your leads are that they can trust you, the more they’re willing to share.
Maintain Boundaries
Other companies will fail their customers by confusing personalization with getting personal. Leads want you to recognize them when they walk in the door, but they also want to know you respect their privacy. Some data your marketing automation system collects is for your analytics, not for customizing and personalizing your communications. For example, you may know your lead’s salary range, but you wouldn’t address that directly in an offer. Automation is the science behind customization; your marketing team supplies the art of knowing how to optimize that knowledge.
Test Your Customer Knowledge
How do you know when you’ve reached optimum customization? Test and test again. You’ll typically see response rates rise as you improve customization in A/B split tests, but there comes a tipping point past which prospects seem to back off. That’s your cue to leave a little space.
Enrich the Data
Data enhancement partners beautifully with marketing automation technology. While your marketing automation software collects primary data, you’re adding to those account records with additional data based on the information you’re gathering. Taking this extra step expands customization options and helps you verify the accuracy of incoming data.
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