Have you ever received an ‘Order Dispatched’ email after your order was already delivered? Or asked a question on ‘live chat’ and got a completely unrelated answer in return? We’ve all fallen victim to poor automation experiences over the years.
Which is probably why we find ourselves answering this question more and more: how can you make sales & marketing automation feel… well, less automated?
And how can you enjoy the benefits of automating your marketing without affecting your client’s experience?
Firstly, the errors mentioned above are not automation errors. Yes, you guessed it – it’s us humans who are to blame! Equally though, behind every successful and seamless sales & marketing automation process, is a robust plan and someone to manage it.
“Behind every successful and seamless sales & marketing automation process, is a robust plan and someone to manage it”
Here are our top tips to make your marketing automation feel more human…
The Importance of Good Quality, Clean Data
The very best campaigns are often created from insightful and reliable data. The more data you have about your contacts, the more personalised you can make your communication.
It can be as simple as a salutation. Have you ever received an email calling you Mr or Mrs “First Name”? It doesn’t feel very ‘human’ does it? And it’s a guaranteed way to break rapport with the reader before they’ve got to the meaty message in the body of your email. So to successfully personalise, make sure your data is dependable to avoid any mishaps!
Tip: Collect, analyse and maintain your data regularly and use it to personalise your communications.
Keep Your Messages Targeted and Relevant
Let’s say you’re a digital marketing agency. And you’re targeting clients who don’t invest in Google Ads. Sending them an article about ‘10 Tips to Optimise Your Spend on Google’ won’t be much use. Instead, tailor your content to the areas they’re interested in. Show them you’ve been paying attention. If you know they want to increase social media performance this year, then why not try a ‘10 Tips to Double Your Following’ article?
Or maybe you’re a Travel Consultant launching a March skiing holiday promotion. Why not target only those customers who you know booked a skiing holiday in March the year before – instead of your whole database?
Remind your customers that you listen to them; that you remember where they went on holiday, or that you know their ambitions and areas they want to grow, just as you would if you were their friend.
“Remind your customers that you listen to them”
Tip: Get to know any habits or trends in your data, and use it to create more personalised, targeted marketing activity.
Maintain a Consistent Look and Feel
Wherever your customers see you, keep your messaging consistent.
A fantastic way of showing off that human side of your brand could be through basic text emails, and not fancy HTML templates. We’re not suggesting this for all marketing communications, but maybe their appointment or order confirmation email would feel a little more human and friendly if it looked like a regular email sent from a close friend or colleague?
Tip: Audit your marketing literature and communications. Make sure tone of voice, language and messaging is consistently ‘human’ and on-brand throughout.
We hope you’ve enjoyed our top tips to making sales & marketing automation feel more human. The tips we’ve shared work for every industry, but should you want more industry-tailored tips and advice, then please get in touch today.
