A business can have all the goals it wants, but at the end of the day, a lot of the decisions that a company can make are limited by its budget. Smaller or budding businesses need to especially focus on this because it can take a long time for them to build a budget they can work with.

In short, finances are a limiting factor in all businesses, and the flourishing of a business depends on its ability to manage its income and expenses. However, not exceeding your budget does not guarantee success now or later or, either.

As a matter of fact, under-capitalization remains one of the most common causes of failure in new businesses. According to statistics from the US Bureau of Labor, only 80% of companies survive past their first year, and 50% of enterprises don’t make it past their fifth.

It goes beyond not spending beyond your means.

As such, it is vital to go beyond limiting your spending. A business should employ strategies that make the most out of every dollar spent.
One method of making sure a business’ operations fall in line with the budget is through automation & technology, especially when it comes to marketing.

Marketing is one of the most important aspects of any growing business, but more often than not, it is one of the hardest-pressed aspects of its operations. Not all enterprises have the budget to hire a marketing team, but this does not negate the need for meaningful advertising strategies for growth.

The concerns most businesses have

One thing is certain about customer interactions: they prefer a more authentic experience. They prefer responses that are personalized to their situation and inquiries.

Studies have shown that:

• Personalized emails deliver six times higher transaction rates,
• Personalized emails are more likely to be opened by up to 29%,
• 79% of users say they are more likely to take up an offer if it was tailored to reflect previous interactions.

However, this might be challenging for a small business with neither the staff nor the technical know-how to handle the load of customer emails and social media interactions.

One option is to offer repeat customers new promotions and discounts on products or services related to their past purchases, and there are many other equally viable strategies.

How automated marketing can improve the customer experience

A customer’s data—their name, location, preferences, transaction history—can now be used to tailor their emails, increasing the likelihood of positive responses.

This capacity goes beyond email marketing, for example chatbots on your social media accounts can relay important information to inquiring customers.

The most commonly asked questions from customers can be written in and accounted for, giving them the right answers instantaneously, instead of forcing them to wait for a response from the person who manages the page.

You don’t have to dedicate an entire employee to answering all those inquiries, giving you more freedom to dedicate your manpower to more critical tasks. This can save you crucial time and money that you can use for growing your business.

Providing a fantastic customer experience is one of the ways you can make your business stand out in the market.

Research has shown that even a one-second delay in your website’s loading speed can cause a 7% drop in your conversions. A delayed response to a customer inquiry can result in even more dangerous drops and harm your branding.

One of the easiest ways to provide convenience and simplicity to your customers is through the automation of various processes and responses.

You can collect valuable data

Automation methods don’t just include the customer experience. Automated marketing tools can gather important data on customer behaviors.

It’s not just about gathering their contact information, but how they interact with your website and your marketing at various stages.

This is especially effective if your online sales strategy involves what is known as a purchase funnel, a system in which different marketing methods are applied to a specific lead, depending on what stage they are in their purchase.

The data gathered by your automated software can be used to identify your campaign’s strengths and weaknesses, allowing you to change and adapt your strategy as needed.

The best part of this is that it can be done in real-time. Any mistakes or missteps you’ve made can be corrected immediately, minimizing any negative blowback.

Beyond your website, automation can also be applied to your content marketing campaign—in particular, to your SEO content. Using data gathering tools, you can carefully take note of your website’s ranking on Google by using the relevant keywords.

In reality, you can use automated data gathering tools for literally every aspect of your marketing outside the qualitative. This information is the best way to gauge the success of any of your marketing activities.

Without understanding the data, your marketing strategy can be compared to putting messages in a bottle, throwing that bottle into the ocean, and hoping for the best. It is just aimless without any goals or strategies involved.

Automation platforms can help you gain understanding

The best thing about many of these modern solutions is that they compile all your relevant data and actions in a single platform. You could expect to understand the success of your marketing strategy by looking at one simple platform.

You might think that, by automating your marketing activities, you are relinquishing control of each piece. In reality, you are gaining greater understanding of your activities and strategies by compiling the data in one easy-to-understand location. It allows you to see the bigger picture and use this bigger picture to your advantage.

In conclusion

Having a smaller budget does not necessarily have to translate to having less oversight over the path your business will take. As long as you make smart choices and invest in the right marketing tools, you can get more value from whatever amount you spend.

That way, your marketing budget can yield better results, helping your business succeed in ways both measurable and immeasurable.

If you are looking for help with your next marketing campaign, send us a message at MarketPlan. We aim to help you make your agency or business as successful as it can be.