Automation 10 Marketing Automation Trends in 2020 Tess Boissonneault September 16, 2020 Automation It feels like the world has been turned upside down since the beginning of 2020, and in many ways, it has due in large part to the COVID-19 pandemic. Though we are still facing an uncertain future in relation to the virus, we are now at least beginning to understand how to adapt, on personal, societal, and economic levels. In the latter category, businesses of all sizes have had to adjust to new modes of operation, taking into account constricted budgets, remote working, and an increased use of digital resources. In this context, marketing automation tools have really stepped up to the plate, helping businesses transform and adapt their marketing processes and boost efficiency. In many cases, marketing automation is playing a pivotal role not only in keeping businesses afloat but in allowing them to thrive. In the following article, we’ll look at 2020’s top marketing automation trends and illustrate how they, with support from Wrk’s Marketing Automation Wrkflows, can positively influence your business in the “new normal”. 1. Most marketing professionals are using marketing automation today It is exciting to think about marketing automation in terms of future potential, but it is equally valuable to acknowledge the very real impact it is already having on business operations. Today, 75% of marketing professionals report using at least one marketing automation tool in their day-to-day, whether it is to streamline customer interactions with chatbots, to personalize email campaigns, or to generate entire ad sets. 2. More screen time leading to increased focus on digital marketing One of the clearest social consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic is that people have spent significantly more time in front of their phones and computers. For instance, during the lockdown period in spring 2020, internet traffic grew by 40 to 60% globally. This has led to some challenges for marketers, who have had to rethink more experiential advertising and marketing efforts, such as trade shows and events. In spite of this, the increased use of screens has also opened up some new opportunities in digital marketing, evidenced by a 16% increase in opening rates between February and March 2020. COVID-19 has seen a sizeable increase in internet traffic. This uptick provides businesses of all sizes the chance to reinvent their digital marketing strategies. So, despite the fact that the transition to digital marketing may have been more abrupt than ideal for some businesses, it is now apparent that digital marketing strategies are becoming an integral part of broader marketing efforts, and marketing automation tools can help drive this shift. 3. Tailored marketing content drives engagement This trend should come as no surprise: the best customer engagement results come from a personalized approach. This dynamic is based on the simple fact that each customer is an individual and appreciates being understood as such. While conventional marketing channels have prevented the creation of truly customized content, marketing automation tools have made it an achievable feat. Tailored content can be generated based on consumer data, which is collected and analyzed by marketing automation tools, and then shared with relevant customer groups or individuals. Looking at email campaign revenue, for instance, marketers have reported a 760% increase by using segmented campaigns. To sum it up, providing tailored content is one of the most effective ways to engage with your customer or potential customer. Segmented email campaigns can revolutionize how you communicate with your audience. 4. Upskilling teams to optimize marketing automation No matter how helpful marketing automation tools may be, they are only as good as what users make of them. Because of this, businesses seeking to reap all the benefits of marketing automation technologies should equip their marketing teams with the tools they need by providing upskilling and training sessions. Fortunately, this learning curve does not have to be a steep one: Wrk’s Hybrid Automation platform is highly intuitive and user friendly, meaning you don’t need a background in coding to start automating your processes today. 5. Lead nurturing boosts revenue growth Lead nurturing is an important part of generating revenue, not necessarily by securing an immediate sale, but by building customer loyalty, which, as we know, pays off in the long run. And though lead nurturing strategies will vary from business to business—the main point is to connect to customers on a human level—marketing automation can help these efforts across the board. When your audience is more engaged and invested in your brand, they are almost 50% more likely to purchase your product or service. Using Wrk’s Lead Nurturing Wrkflow as a starting point, you can adapt it to test various lead nurturing strategies to understand what works best for your particular audience. Our Wrkflows can also automate other tasks critical to lead nurturing, like lead scoring, customer behaviour tracking, and tailoring email marketing campaigns. After all, a nurtured lead is far more valuable than a non-nurtured lead, making on average 47% more purchases. 6. Email campaigns are key for lead generation Just as marketing automation is integral to digital marketing strategies, email is a vital part of generating leads. In fact, 67% of marketers name email as the primary channel for lead generation. This is largely because email offers a reliable way for you to connect with your customer and build a personalized relationship with them through product information, newsletters, and triggered emails (which have superior open and click-through rates). Wrk’s Hybrid Automation platform streamlines email organization and execution to ensure that your customer base is only receiving content that is relevant to them and that they receive it at the optimal time. 7. No more wasted time on repetitive tasks One of the more immediate benefits of marketing automation is that it reduces the amount of time spent on repetitive tasks. Whether it’s confirming that an order has been placed by email, gathering data about prospective clients, or responding to simple customer queries, Wrk’s marketing automation solution takes care of many of the more tedious daily marketing duties, freeing up your team to focus on big-picture strategies or more creative work. If your team is being asked to do more with less in recent months then marketing automation can help you focus on bigger-picture goals. In the context of COVID-19, having the time to come up with creative solutions has been more important than ever. And marketing automation is playing an important role in supporting teams—even those that may be working with reduced staff—as they dedicate their time to coming up with new angles and outreach campaigns that are appropriate in this new reality. 8. Chatbots handling increasing customer relations A growing trend across B2B and B2C companies is chatbot technology. Today, roughly 58% of B2B businesses and 42% of B2C companies are using chatbots to augment their customer support and relations. In 2020, chatbots can handle many aspects of customer support, offering immediate assistance and answering queries by automatically gleaning information from your business’ website. This creates more time for your employees to tackle more important matters and engage with customers in more meaningful ways. Historically, a major roadblock to adopting chatbots has been a lack of the structured and labelled data required to train the bot in the first place. Thankfully, this entire data-gathering process can now also be automated, bringing businesses one step closer to providing an impeccable customer experience with minimal effort. 9. Flexible work-style models are thriving There is no question that COVID-19 will have long-lasting impacts on how we work and how businesses operate. Work from home (WFH) policies were implemented quickly across many sectors in response to social distancing measures, and now, even as we transition (hopefully!) out of the worst of the pandemic, many employers are allowing their staff to continue to work remotely. The accelerated transition from in-office work to WFH has inevitably come with its fair share of challenges, but new technologies have helped to make the change as smooth as possible given the circumstances. Marketing automation can help teams reach their goals and remain cohesive even when working from home. Marketing automation has helped foster flexible work-style models in an important way by streamlining and facilitating the management of marketing tasks. Even though employees may be working from different buildings or even cities, marketing automation can keep everyone on the same page, as well as ensure that processes are executed consistently across the board and critical tasks never slip through the cracks. 10. Digital transformations accelerated during COVID-19 COVID-19 has truly accelerated digital transformations across many industries, and this abrupt push into the future has been hugely facilitated by marketing automation technology, which simplifies digital workflows and offers a consistent, superior quality experience for customers. The clear benefits of the technology are leading to a significant increase in marketing automation adoption, across the board. This creates an interesting dynamic: while many budgets have been slashed or tightened due to the economic impact of the pandemic, spending on marketing automation will actually continue to grow, as more and more people realize how integral it is to remaining productive and profitable. Conclusion: The future of marketing automation is now Though the first months of the pandemic were truly disorienting, we now have a better grasp of its impact and how we can navigate it. Above all, we are now equipped with solutions to help us adapt and progress—in marketing and in life! As we continue to see, marketing automation solutions have been vital to organizations, helping them to streamline operations and, most importantly, to stay engaged with customers. It is no surprise then that more and more businesses are recognizing the benefits of automation platforms like Wrk’s, making marketing automation an integral part of this new normal. Many trends predicted for 2020 in the marketing sphere were conceived before COVID-19 hit, and it is difficult now to see a connection with some of them. So here we are, quickly advancing towards 2021, trying to make sense of what has happened and how we are moving ahead. One thing that is abundantly clear at this stage is that marketing automation is progressing. The technology is advancing, its adoption is growing, and, most importantly, market automation solutions like Wrk’s are empowering many startups and SMEs to achieve their full potential. Share This Article Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email