Skip to content
All posts

3 Marketing Automation Failures And How to Avoid Them

Marketing Automation Failures

Why Do Companies Fail to Clean Up Their Email Lists?

3 Marketing Automation Failures And How to Avoid Them

Marketing automation could be incredible. It could make businesses ultra-efficient and make scheduling a breeze. It could allow staff to focus on meeting clients’ needs instead of worrying about routine tasks. But all too often, it doesn’t. Recent history is littered with marketing automation failures. For some reason, companies fail to understand how to get the most out of their automation systems. It leaves them exposed to public relations disasters. For anyone who knows about marketing automation, these kinds of mistakes can make your blood boil.

One of the most fundamental failures we see time and again is companies forgetting or refusing to spend a little time and money cleaning up their email lists. It always pays to keep a clean list. Not only will it be cheaper only to send emails to bona fide customers, but you can also avoid contacting the wrong customers with irrelevant marketing information.

On top of this, poor quality email lists are almost always a sign that the underlying databases are faulty. These databases should guide your CRM strategy. They should contain as much information as possible about sales leads and loyal customers, and they should be kept as accurate as possible.

Who Cares About Mistaken Identities?

That’s not a serious question. As marketing professionals, we should all try to communicate clearly and directly with customers, and we should always get their names right.

How often have you received automated mail-outs that address you as “Mr Steve” or “Mrs Laura”? Even worse, many marketing automation campaigns leave out the names altogether. Instead, customers receive a greeting along the lines of “Dear [Insert customer name here]”.

This kind of failure should never, ever happen. But it does. With the right automated marketing system, you can minimise the risk of an identity crisis.

Social Media Can Be A Marketing Minefield

Plenty of companies has tripped up on social media. Automating your Twitter or Facebook responses seem like a great idea. For example, you might want to send out a thank you every time someone mentions your products.

Automated social media messages can often come across as poorly timed. At their worst, they can be actively offensive. However, think twice before subjecting your followers to this messaging strategy.

For example, if you’re part of a travel agency, you might want to set up automated responses to social media users who talk about their destinations. However, your automated response is unlikely to pick up on exactly what the user says about the said destination. What if they mention a country in a post about a tragic event there? This type of automated response could cause a lot of offence.

Marketing automation failures are frustrating because we know you can avoid them. Using the latest CRM solutions, you can craft efficient, client-focused communication strategies that save time and money without alienating anyone. If this sounds good to you, contact Flowbird, and we’ll help you find an automated marketing system that works for your business.