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2 minute read
Marketing Automation Failures
Why Do Companies Fail to Clean Up Their Email Lists?
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, leaving them exposed to public relations disasters. For anyone who knows about marketing automation, these mistakes can make your blood boil.
One of the most fundamental failures we see repeatedly 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 to send emails to bona fide customers, but you can also avoid contacting the wrong customers with irrelevant marketing information.
In addition, 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 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 always get their names right.
How often have you received automated mailouts 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 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 have stumbled on social media. Automating your Twitter or Facebook responses seems like a great idea. For example, you might want to thank someone whenever they mention 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 will unlikely pick up on exactly what the user says about the 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, contact Flowbird, and we’ll help you find an automated marketing system that works for your business.
