Saturday 22 February 2020

What is Brand Management Software?

Brand Management is a critical priority for marketers who must ensure every touchpoint with a prospect or customer strikes brand consistency. Since content is often the first impression a customer has with your organization, all assets must reflect your brand experience in a cohesive way.

What is brand management?
Brand management is the process of setting standards and providing guidance for anyone developing branded marketing collateral, both internally and externally. Stakeholders here include vendor partners, printers, or agencies acting as brand and marketing extensions of your department. Brand management is a discipline that matters for anyone who represents your brand on any channel, including email, social media, print media, signage, and more. Reference 

Marketers who struggle to manage this task and follow brand guidelines risk the integrity of their brand equity and promise in the context of the market. Brand management software helps an organization manage their brand globally and market locally while ensuring 100% brand control.

What does brand management software do?
The fundamental purpose of brand management software is to build and protect your brand across all the channels used to reach and engage with customers, prospects, and partners. Unlike internally-developed processes and systems, brand management software is a unique class of content management technology built especially for the challenges facing marketers and brand managers.

From Gleanster’s Guide to Content Management Technologies:

Marketers have unique and succinct needs when it comes to content management, but organizations are increasingly finding it difficult to manage the chaos of multi-channel content production with organically developed processes (and disparate technologies) that often fail to optimize marketing efficiency or effectiveness.

Brand management tools like cloud-based software help marketers manage content creation, campaigns, and execution, especially within large, distributed teams who are using an array of online and offline channels. To manage that complexity, one key component of this technology is how it scales as part of globally distributed teams and requirements. Often, it’s used by large enterprise back-office marketing operations to keep the content management engine running, ensuring consistent brand assets and marketing materials are produced.

Why is brand management software important?
Brand management software provides a solid foundation for everyone in an organization to communicate a brand’s product or service across any channel, on-brand, and in a compliant way. It serves three distinct purposes:

Protection for brand identity and integrity – Your brand is the sum of all touchpoints a customer has with your organization. That means every asset carries an enormous responsibility to maintain brand identity. If branded content is fragmented, with incorrect branding, messaging, or design, it carries a real risk of degrading the brand as a whole and derailing your customer experience.
Sales enablement tool – Sales teams rely on speed and relevance. They need fast access to content that is not only on-brand, but relevant for the prospect or customer they’re serving. Brand management software can help a sales team get the approved assets they need quickly while giving them the ability to personalize their email marketing collateral, PowerPoint decks, handouts, and other asset types. Without it, sales teams tend to “go rogue” and create unapproved, noncompliant, fragmented assets in their attempt to be localized.
Self-serve marketing portal – With approved, branded assets available from anywhere, anytime, employees in the field spend less time asking the marketing team for collateral, and more time self-serving. This reduces the need for one-off asset creation by allowing team members to customize approved assets from anywhere, anytime.
What industries use brand management software?
A variety of industries rely on brand management software to access, customize, and distribute their marketing content, including:

Financial Services – A brand management solution gives agents, wealth managers, advisors, and branch offices permission-based access to regulatory compliant marketing pieces that can be edited any time with client information.
Healthcare & Pharmaceutical – Companies like Coolsculpting by Zeltiq leverage cloud-based technology to access customizable, corporate-approved marketing pieces, enhancing their healthcare marketing strategies by giving users the ability to localize assets.
Manufacturing – Brand management software helps manufacturers increase their speed-to-market, deliver unified messaging, maintain cohesive visual identity, and ensure regulatory compliance.
Retail & Franchise – These organizations leverage an online brand portal to ensure asset management with qualified partners, safeguard brand integrity, and foster collaborative growth with their sales teams to further grow brand loyalty and foster brand ambassadors.
Education – Institutions use branding software to reduce one-off creative requests, connect their entire organization with on-demand technology, and boost brand awareness through increased marketing efficiency.

Associations & Non-Profits – NPOs can create a seamless, cost-effective path for members, volunteers, or followers to find approved, hyper-customizable marketing assets. They can also maximize connectivity across borders by unifying the look and feel of their brand between geographically-separated offices to establish a truly global brand strategy.
Brand and asset management software may be one of many marketing tools available to a brand manager, but when every customer expects a cohesive, unified experience, it’s clear why this has become a critical priority for organizations. The need for a solidified brand strategy can’t be overlooked. That’s why a management solution like a brand portal or platform is the perfect option when it comes to choosing asset management software so that you can execute effective marketing campaigns and maintain your brand reputation.
Read more: Marketing Automation Platforms

Saturday 28 December 2019

10 ways to increase your brand awareness

Do you want to know how you can increase your brand awareness? Then you've come to the right place, especially if you have a limited budget to beat your competitors.

What can you do next to traditional ads to ensure that everyone talks about your brand? We have collected 10 ideas to make people talk about your brand.

1. Increase your brand awareness with social media
Sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Snapchat and Whatsapp offer companies a fantastic free platform to promote themselves, build their brand and expand their audience.

Although it is a challenge to find the time for your profiles and blogs, activity is very important. You should therefore try to post several times a day. But what do you have to say? If you have expertise in a certain area, it can help you get a large following. Offer meaningful and relevant content and you get a valuable and involved audience in return.

Remember that interaction is essential to grow your number of followers, which means that you must respond in time to responses on your social media and involve your followers in the conversation.

The social media tool Hootsuite regularly provides overviews of the best performing brands on social media . You can view these examples for inspiration. Then read our guide on how to master social media for tips on how to become an expert in social media.

2. Organize an event
Whatever company or organization you have, a live event is a great way to attract the attention of current or potential customers. This can be in the form of a summer barbecue or a Christmas party, or an event around the launch of a new product or promotion. You can even give a workshop to share your professional expertise.

During an event you get in touch with potential customers, while they get the chance to experience the look, feel and personality of your brand. You can always enter a theme to make it more interesting, for example a cocktail evening in the atmosphere of the 1920s or a Dutch drink. Perhaps it's a good idea to raise money for a good cause during your event: it's the perfect way to give something back.

3. Start a PR campaign
Media attention is basically free advertising. It is even better than that, because the media enjoys more credibility and offers a higher chance to convince potential new customers to look for your brand. The difficulty consists of coming up with a newsworthy angle, and that depends on your goal: local or national media, print media, TV or radio.

Perhaps you have a good personal story to tell about why you founded your company, or you have introduced a new, unique product or established an interesting sales trend. Publish the results of a survey within your field to provide a credible basis for journalists, or venture responsive PR and keep your eyes open for relevant requests from journalists you can respond to.

4. Go to a trade show
Exhibiting can be extremely effective in making your brand visible to hundreds of people in your target group. However, it can be expensive, so make sure you are well prepared so that you get the best return on your investment. It is not always a matter of 'now that we are there, people will come naturally'. You have to do more to get people to your stand and keep them there long enough to get to know your brand and to take your message.

Organizing a competition or giveaway is a great way to attract attention. Who doesn't like to get something for free? Funny or handy branded gifts are always appreciated, for example gadgets that people can give to their children or a snack and a drink. A promotional shopping bag is also a good idea: turn the recipient into a walking billboard. Not sure where to start? Read our tips for original goodie bags .

Do you want to take the initiative with your brand? Organize a competition

5. Join forces with another company
Together you stand strong: if you can find other companies that appeal to the same type of customer as you without being direct competition, you have the opportunity to join forces for mutual benefit.

As a florist you can for example offer an exclusive discount to customers of the local bridal shop. It's a great way for you to attract customers. For the established company, it is a way to reward customers free of charge and with virtually no effort.

6. Become a sponsor
Sponsoring an event or product is another proven way to reach a target group and increase brand awareness. By sponsoring an event, your company can get personal contact with visitors and create brand awareness.

But choose wisely: what you want to sponsor must be relevant to your target audience and your message. Avoid potential PR disasters: McDonalds sponsorship for sporting events  has not always worked out well for the company.  And most people also know Pepsi's PR campaign , in which the opening of a can of Pepsi could magically solve the two opposing camps during protests.

For help in making the right sponsor choice, read our blog about the reasons why big brands want to sponsor your event .

7. Take to the street
For companies that focus on consumers, there is no better way to gain brand recognition than to take to the streets and get in touch with potential customers.

From a pop-up on the street to professional artists, a flashmob or people discovering a new world with VR headsets, the possibilities are endless.

8. Invest in promotional material
Small promotional gifts are a great way to thank customers and at the same time strengthen your brand. For example, give them a power bank with your brand on it: it hardly costs you any money and your customers will have your company name and contact details within reach in the coming months.
brand management software

But don't be too stingy again. It makes no sense to give a power bank that will collapse in no time. The visibility of your brand is not only short-lived, but if you give away gifts of low quality, your company will make a bad impression.

The more creative the gift, the better. A unique, personal gift will really be appreciated by the recipient. Maybe he or she will post something on social media, which will put your brand in the spotlight even more.

9. Use the power of video
Video marketing continues to rise in popularity: in 2020, video is expected to make up more than 80% of total internet traffic .

With such statistics, chances are that your target audience will at least occasionally watch online videos, and in the battle for most video views, social networks are paying more and more attention to video on their platforms.

That means that if you make great video content for your brand, chances are there is an audience that wants to watch those videos and social networks are more likely to show your content to their users.

10. Try content marketing
The concept of content marketing has been around for several years, but there is still a significant number of companies that are not yet following the trend. The benefits are numerous: companies can increase organic search traffic, generate more leads, shorten the sales cycle and profile themselves as a thought leader in the sector.

If you want to build brand awareness, regular blogging can be just as effective for you as for thousands of other companies that are already actively involved in content marketing.

Thursday 19 December 2019

What is free software?

The definition of Free Software
Do you have a question about free software licenses that are not answered here? See our other license pages or contact the FSF Compliance Lab at licensing@fsf.org .

The definition of free software determines the criteria with which you can classify a program as free. Every now and then we refine that definition to clarify something or exclude subtle problems. See the historical overview below with changes that have already been implemented.

"Open source" is something else: the philosophy and underlying values ​​are different. Its practical definition is also different, but almost all open source programs are also free. We explain the difference in Why "open source" does not understand the essence of free software .

"Free software" is software that respects the freedom and community of users. It roughly means that users have the freedom to use, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software . So "free software" is about freedom, not about price. To understand the concept, you must think of "free" as in the "freedom of speech". We sometimes call it "libre software", where we use the French or Spanish word for "free" to indicate that we do not mean that the software is free. [1]

We are committed to these freedoms because everyone is entitled to them. With these freedoms, users (individually and collectively) have control over the program and what it does for them. When users have no control over the program, we call it a "non-free" or "private" program. The non-free program has control over the users, and the developer has control over the program; this makes the program an instrument of unjust power .

The four essential freedoms
A program is free software when users have four essential freedoms: [1]

The freedom to use the program the way you want, for every purpose (freedom 0).
The freedom to study the way the program works and to adapt it to your needs (freedom 1). Availability of the source code is necessary for this.
The freedom to distribute the program so that you can help others (freedom 2).
The freedom to improve and spread the program, so that the entire community benefits from it (freedom 3). Availability of the source code is also necessary for this.
A program is free software if it gives users all these freedoms adequately. Otherwise it is non-free. We could consider different non-free methods of dissemination in terms of how much they are lacking in freedom, but we do not do this: we consider them all just as unethical.

In any case, these freedoms must be applied to all the code that we want to use or allow other people to use. Take for example a program A that automatically starts program B to process some things. If we intend to distribute A as it is, it means that users will need B, so we must assess whether A and B are both free. However, if we change A so that it does not need B, only A needs to be free; B is then no longer relevant.

Read more: myadbox softwares

"Free software" does not mean "non-commercial". A free program is also available for commercial use, commercial development and distribution. Development of free software on a commercial basis has become commonplace and very important. Whether you have paid for free software, or whether you have received it for free, you always have the right to copy and change this software to even sell copies .

The rest of this page clarifies some points, so that it is clear whether certain liberties are adequate.

The freedom to use the program the way you want
The freedom to use a program also means that everyone, including companies, can use it on any computer system for whatever purpose, without having to consult with the developer or another organization. This freedom is about the goals of the user , not those of the developer ; you as a user are free to use it and when you pass it on to someone else, you may also use it for your own purposes. As a distributor, you may not impose any restrictions on this.

The freedom to execute the program as you wish means that nobody forbids or prevents you from doing this. It has nothing to do with the functionality that the program has, whether it works in a certain environment, or how useful it is for what you want to do.

The freedom to study and change the source code
To be able to apply the freedom to make changes and publish (freedoms 1 and 3), the user must have access to the source code of the program. In other words, free access to source code is a requirement of free software. Encrypted "source code" is not a real source code and therefore does not count in this.

Freedom number 1 also includes the right to actually use your own changes to the program. When the program is in a product that allows it to run changes from third parties but not yours - also known as "activation", "lockdown" or (in the suggestive terms of a manufacturer) as "secure startup" - it becomes freedom a laugh. There is insufficient freedom without this right. In other words, these programs are not free software, even though the source code that they are made from is.

When you change a program by adding free code and routines to it, but the license of the program determines that this is only allowed if, for example, you own the copyrights of that code, then that license is too restrictive and the result is not free.

Whether a change is also an improvement is subjective. When changes are only allowed if others regard those changes as improvement, that is not freedom.

The freedom to distribute the program: basic requirements
The freedom to distribute a program (freedoms 2 and 3) means that you are free to distribute copies, with or without changes, for free or for a fee for distribution and to everyone, everywhere . Being free also means that you don't have to ask or pay anyone permission when you want to do these things.

You should also have the freedom to make changes for your own use, without even having to tell them that you have made them. If you release the changes, you are not required to report this to anyone.

Freedom number 3 also includes the right to re-release programs that you have changed as free software. A free license also allows other forms of distribution; in other words, it does not have to be an author's license. However, a license that does not allow changed versions to be free is not a free license.

This freedom to copy may not only be limited to the executable version of the program, but must also apply to the source code for both exact copies and changed versions. (The release of software in executable versions is useful for installable operating systems.) It is fine if a program cannot be made an executable version (some programming languages ​​do not support such a thing), but you must have the freedom to distribute something similar. when you develop or find a method to do so.

Author obligation
Certain restrictions on how free software is distributed are acceptable if they do not limit basic freedoms. For example, the obligation of authorship stipulates (simply put) that when you distribute the program, you may not impose restrictions to deny other people the basic freedoms. This rule does not limit basic freedoms, it protects them.

In the GNU project we use an obligation to author to lay down these liberties for everyone in a legal manner. We believe that there are important reasons why it is better to use an obligation to author . But Free software without an obligation to author is also ethical. See Free Software categories for a description of how "free software", "software subject to copyright" and other types of software relate to each other.

Provisions regarding distribution
Provisions on how to re-release a changed version are acceptable, provided that they do not limit the right to release those versions or to use them privately. It is therefore acceptable when a license determines that you have to rename the modified version, remove a brand or name your own changes. As long as they do not prevent them from making changes, they are acceptable to them; you are already changing so some more changes can still be added.

Provisions of the type "when you release a sister version you must also release it this way" may also be acceptable, under the same condition. An example of this is the provision that when you release a changed copy and ask the previous developer for a copy, you must also give him that copy. (Note that you still have the choice to release that version at all.) Provisions requiring you to release source code to your users of versions that you release are also acceptable.

An exception to this is when the license requires that you change the name with which other programs can activate your program. This means you cannot replace the original. This is only acceptable when there is a configuration system that makes this possible.

Export rules
Sometimes government export rules and trade boycotts can stand in the way of the freedom to distribute software internationally. Software developers do not have the authority to abolish or ignore these restrictions, but what they can do is refuse to be guided by these rules, and not to include them in the terms of use of the program so that people do not create them with these rules are not hindered in the use of the software. Free software licenses may not, therefore, require you to comply with export restrictions.

If only the existence of export restrictions is mentioned, without being a condition for the license itself, this is acceptable because it does not limit users. If an export restriction is not important for free software in practice, then requiring this export restriction is no problem. However, it is a potential problem, because a change in export laws in the future makes the requirement realistic and therefore would make the software non-free.

Legal considerations
To be true liberties, they must therefore be permanent and irrevocable as long as you do nothing wrong. If the software developer has the power to revoke the license, or to be able to retroactively add restrictions to the terms and conditions, without you as a user doing anything wrong, then that software is non-free.

A free license may not require that you also agree to the license of a non-free program. So if, for example, a license requires that you adhere to the licenses of "all programs that you use", this would mean that you must adhere to the licenses of non-free programs if you use them. This makes the license non-free.

It is acceptable if a free license indicates which legislation is applicable, or where lawsuits must be held, or both.

Contract-based licenses
Most free software licenses are copyright based and there are limits to what you can determine within copyright. If such a license respects the freedom of the user as described above, we will not quickly encounter an unexpected problem (although it sometimes happens). Some free software licenses, however, are based on contracts, and with contracts you can impose much more restrictions, which means that there is a greater chance that there are unacceptable restrictions that make the software non-free.

We cannot list here all possible ways in which this could happen. When a license based on a contract restricts the user in an unusual way, and that way is not mentioned here as acceptable, then we will have to think about it, but the conclusion will most likely be that it is not free.

The correct terminology
When talking about free software, it is advisable to avoid terms such as "free" because they suggest that free software is always free of charge; this is not the case. It is also best to sail around with terms such as “piracy”. See terms that cause confusion and are better avoided . We also have a list of translations of the term "free software" into various languages.

How we interpret these criteria
Finally, note that you have to think carefully about the criteria that are set here for free software. To decide whether a license meets those criteria, we are guided by the spirit of those criteria and not just by precise terms. If a license contains unreasonable limitations, we will reject it, even though that limitation is not provided for in our criteria. Sometimes we even need the help of a lawyer to determine whether a provision is acceptable or not. When we are out, we will often adjust those criteria to make it easier to determine in the future whether a license is good or not.

Get help with free licenses
If you want to know if a certain license is a free software license or not, look at our list of licenses . If the license is not on the list,

If you are considering creating a license yourself, write the Free Software Foundation to that address. A proliferation of free software licenses means more work for users to understand the licenses; we may be able to help you find a suitable existing free software license.

If that is not possible and you really need a new license, we can help you to ensure that it remains truly free software and to avoid various practical problems.

Software and beyond
Software manuals must be free for the same reasons that software must be free. Also because manuals are actually part of the package.

The same actually applies to all kinds of works with a practical application - or works that contain useful knowledge such as teaching materials and reference works. Wikipedia is the best example of this.

Every work can be free, and the definition of free software has therefore been extended to a definition for free culture , which can apply to all kinds of things.

Open source?
Another group uses the term "open source" (or "open source") as something that looks like "free software" but is not. We prefer to use the term "free software" because it is immediately associated with freedom. You don't have that with the term open source .

Tuesday 19 November 2019

Mapping the customer journey: Customization in 2020

In your hands you hold the most valuable card of your life, with a drawing of a person on one side and a giant X on the other.

That's where the treasure is, exactly at that point. But it does not consist of gold or jewelry: your product is the treasure!

This card is not intended for you by the way (even though you will certainly find it very useful). It is intended for your customers and it is up to you to fill in the rest of the card.

A good understanding of the customer journey is crucial if you want to help your customers actually arrive at your product.

To map out the customer journey, and to find out everything about the purchase and customer journey, you must be thorough and  flexible.

With the help of customer-focused customer journey maps based on the customer experience and leaving enough room for personalization, companies in the SME segment can increase their conversion rate,   serve their current customers and leads and develop business strategies for the future to improve that X to make it even more tempting on the map.

Differences between customer journey maps and the sales funnel
Customer journey maps are generally more often associated with B2C marketing than with B2B marketing. But don't forget that more and more B2B customers are looking for a B2C marketing experience.

Customer journey mapping is a tool that is also easy to apply to B2B marketing. But instead of consumers, the focus is more on business IT decision makers.

This table not only clearly shows the differences between customer journey maps and the sales funnel, but also the interconnections.

Use the customer journey map to get to know your leads and customers better, and then to make a better approach to your sales tunnel possible.

Mapping the customer journey: the right approach
Before you get started, there is one thing that you need to be well aware of: the way you approach the preparation of your customer journey map determines the end result to a large extent.

If you do not go beyond how you can help specific parts of your company (such as your content writers, designers or your front-end developers), you will only see small parts of the customer journey and you will miss out on a lot of useful information.

Read more: Brand Automation australia 

If, on the other hand, you look for ways to serve your leads and customers, you not only put your entire team on the right track, but you can also maximize the impact on both your company and your customers' trajectory.

Combine quantitative and qualitative information to get a complete picture of your customers
There are two general ways of thinking about gaining insight into customers.

The first is based on the use of data and focuses on quantifiable information such as demographic data, conversions, when more purchases are made and how large your customers are.

The second is based on the person and focuses on the experience of the individual customer. Although this information is more difficult to analyze, it can nevertheless give a powerful picture of what your leads and customers have experienced before they came to you. It provides context.

The best approach? Use both ways.

If you only use the analytical approach, you run the risk of misinterpreting the data.

If you only assume anecdotal thinking, you cannot accurately predict the reasoning behind certain missteps.

But by combining both types of information, you get a complete picture of the customer journey.

4 ways to collect customer information
There are a few ways to collect both analytical and anecdotal data to determine your customer journey planning:

Collecting reviews : When you collect feedback from your customers, make sure you get information about who they are  and  about their experiences. This can vary from problems they have experienced during the course of the process to the choice of your software. Keep digging on!
Nurture your leads: Keep accurate track of the problems your leads report or the obstacles they discuss during their customer journey.
Involve customers in your mapping: If you are going to shape your customer journey map, it may be useful to take the opinion of your customers into account. Collect that information as much as possible directly from the source.
Experts in the field of customer experience : Although that is not always cheap, these experts can give an unbiased look at what your users experience and how you can improve your customer contact moments.
Recognize the most important steps your leads take before they make a purchase
The easiest way to dissect the steps of your customers is to take the same steps in your sales funnel as a starting point.

Let us give each step a name from the point of view of your leads so that the focus is on  their  actions and not on yours:
https://mix.com/myadbox
https://weheartit.com/myadbox
http://ttlink.com/myadbox
https://www.artfire.com/ext/people/myadbox
https://itsmyurls.com/myadbox
https://www.mobypicture.com/user/myadbox
https://creativemarket.com/myadbox
https://lookbook.nu/myadbox
https://www.play.fm/myadbox
https://www.voxmedia.com/user/myadbox

Sunday 20 October 2019

What is marketing automation and why do you need it?

Marketing Brand Automation in Melbourne is technology or software that enables companies to leverage the capabilities of smart and automated workflows to improve productivity and provide a better prospect and customer experience. In addition, using state-of-the-art marketing automation software, you can get an idea of ​​prospect activities (by integrating them with your CRM), recognize and prioritize the most promising leads, offer a personalized customer experience and generate useful insights to make informed business decisions.

The foregoing is precisely why about 49% of companies use marketing automation and the numbers are increasing every day. Unlike e-mail automation systems that only offer basic / bulk mail functions, marketing automation tools offer a wide range of advanced functions. Let's take a look at some of the most popular ones:

Advanced or automated email marketing campaigns, also known as drip marketing: this type of email marketing goes one step further than traditional email marketing. With this technique you can send emails according to a schedule; for example, the first email is sent as soon as a user signs up for a newsletter, the second is sent two days later, another goes out the door after two weeks and so on. In addition, you can also automate workflows that allow you to send emails depending on certain triggers, such as when a user subscribes to a service or performs a specific action.

Create landing pages : With modern marketing brand automation tools you can create continuous, customizable and aesthetically appealing landing pages.

Forms for Lead Capture: creates forms for you with which you can record the contact details of prospects and leads.

Segmentation: create dynamic customer segments instead of static for improved customer engagement.

Lead Scoring: links lead scores to prospects and offers the possibility to prioritize the most promising prospects (high lead scores).

Emails with triggers: Set up efficient auto responders to connect with customers as soon as they participate.

Dynamic content: show different content in your e-mails, depending on the person viewing it.

Run A / B tests: Optimize your e-mail campaigns by periodically performing A / B tests for your target groups.

Social media integration: use your marketing brand automation tool to plan your messages on social media and / or post them automatically.

Above some of the features of a modern marketing automation tool that can help companies increase the level of customer engagement and customer satisfaction. In addition, these marketing automation functions offer (alongside many other) companies the following benefits:

a) Use in combination with Act! CRM and take advantage of the benefits:

Modern CRM and marketing brand automation software offer you the luxury of integrating them. By placing your contact details and all your marketing data in one central hub, you can get an even more comprehensive picture of customer relationships and engagement levels. For example, if your marketing automation tool has access to all your contacts, you can send multiple emails with a few clicks instead of uploading all contacts to the marketing automation system.

b) Know your marketing KPIs and increase the ROI:

With a marketing automation tool you can not only set up automated workflows, but also measure their performance and generate KPIs. You can, for example, see the speed of generating a lead or measure the average expenditure of leads that you have achieved. By knowing your performance and effectiveness levels, you can find the best performing areas and those areas that need serious renewal.

c) Improve the customer experience:

With automation software for marketing purposes you can personalize the contact with your customers. By creating personas and adapting emails to specific customer characteristics, you improve the experience. In addition, you can follow the customer journey and consolidate all the different channels through which a customer interacts with the company. By doing all of the aforementioned, you can improve your overall customer experience with these advanced tools.

d) Increasing customer retention:

By personalizing your customer contact moments and thus improving customer experience, marketing automation tools can also help you optimize customer retention.

e) Increased sales efficiency:

To say that a marketing automation tool can boost sales is an understatement. There are many ways in which a sales team can benefit from the wonders of automated marketing; here are a few:

Spend time on the right leads: one of the biggest reasons why sales and marketing always hit each other's brains is poor lead quality. When marketing continues to send bad leads, sales waste their precious time fighting lost things. By keeping track of lead scores and only passing on “hot” leads, a marketing team gives a sales team the luxury of only spending time on the right leads.

Lead Segmentation: By segmenting leads based on various factors such as purchase stages , purchase preferences and locations etc., your sales team can generate targeted strategies that can ultimately lead to higher conversion rates.

Witness the activities of prospects: a sales team would like to know when a prospect is taking a certain action. For example, if a sales team is notified immediately when a prospect fills out a specific form or subscribe to a newsletter, they can take appropriate action.

Marketing automation can help eliminate the differences and bridge the metaphorical gap between the sales and marketing teams within a company. Marketing automation can also make it easier for you to collect and use customer data by creating an image of your prospects, leads and customers. As we noted in this article, a marketing brand automation tool, if used correctly, can enable a company to increase its revenue and achieve business growth.