8 reasons why your ecommerce business needs marketing automation

Here are eight solid reasons your ecommerce business needs marketing automation:

1.      Easier to personalize marketing campaigns

Consumers want to see and hear things that are personal to them, especially in a world where they’re faced with increased noise and distractions. By being able to ask questions and collect more data, and make offers that are specific to that customer and their purchase history, you’ll have a better chance of gaining repeat business. With dynamic content and email marketing automation, these steps are accomplished without actually having to personalize each email individually; instead, it just requires an initial setup with a top marketing automation platform.

2.      Easier customer targeting across multiple channels

These days there are so many channels across which you can market, with email, social media and SMS providing just a few examples. One of the best things about this variety is that your multichannel strategy can be devised so that you reach out to the right people, at the right times and in the right places. However, taking this job on manually can prove inefficient and time-consuming. Marketing automation enables you to send targeted marketing across all channels, reaching your intended audience when and where it suits them.

3.      Improved lead generation and conversion

While repeat business is always important, generating new leads and turning those leads into new customers is just as critical. When your business obtains a new lead, it’s wise that you connect with them immediately. Running manual lead engagement means that often, some potentials will inevitably slip through the cracks.

You can set up your marketing automation program to target all leads that come in and connect with each one in a way that matters to them. All lead engagements will be tracked and can be further targeted as they interact with your communications.

4.      Better opportunity for cross-selling and upselling

One of the key tactics to increase sales and drive repeat business has always been upselling and cross-selling. Ensuring customers know about upgrades or accessories that go with the product they purchased can be a quick win.

With marketing automation, you can use customers’ order data to send personalized emails that let them know about additional products that are relevant to them. For example, if you were selling a pair of suede shoes you might want to recommend a suede protector spray. This will increase the average order value and lifetime value of your customers, and ideally keep them coming back for more.

5.      Management of cart abandonment

Cart abandonment has become an epidemic in the world of ecommerce, with consumers abandoning a whopping 68% of carts. Marketing automation can help by allowing you to send out triggered abandonment emails.

You can target a customer who has abandoned their cart and send them an email after it’s remained neglected for a specified amount of time. When crafting the email, it should not only remind someone that they have items in their cart, but also encourage them to complete their transaction.

6.      Improved post-transaction marketing

Marketing to the customer who has already purchased your product is as important as marketing to potential customers. The idea behind post-purchase marketing is to provide incentive for repeat business, and marketing automation makes this easy to do. You can promote products that are related to what the customer just bought, you can personalize the email to better relate to their purchase behaviour, and provide personal replenishment or loyalty discounts.

7.      Improved analytics

Investing in email marketing automation means better analytics. Every aspect of your marketing campaign can be tracked and reported on, as the majority of marketing automation platforms can be integrated with analytics platforms, such as Google Analytics. Every aspect of a marketing campaign can be broken down so you can analyze the data and see where you’re doing well and where you need to optimize.

8.      It’s a time-saver

This might be one of the greatest benefits to marketing automation. In reality, you have probably experienced the realization that manual marketing communications can become a major time-suck. With automation tools, your time can be better used searching out new products, developing new services, or devoted to some other aspect of your ecommerce business strategy. Simply put, when your marketing communications are automated, you will not only decrease your workload, but also have a stronger, more efficient, and completely optimized marketing campaign.

If you’d like to find out how you can go about introducing email marketing automation to your business, download our free ‘Making time to save time’ guide. Alternatively, check out our ‘Find the right marketing automation tactics for you’ document, which includes inspiration and real-life success stories.