Top 6 Marketing Tasks You Should Automate ASAP

As a business owner, you pour your heart and soul into your work. You care deeply about your customers, your team, and your brand. But let's be honest: some tasks are essential but don't spark joy.

Our solution? Automate all that not-so-fun stuff so you can focus on parts of your business that excite you. It's easier than you probably think, too.  

What is Marketing Automation?

Automation is simply the use of software to handle repetitive tasks. It's perfect for online marketing because so much of it revolves around processes that, while necessary, don't need loads of human brain power.

Some examples are sending out regular email newsletters, answering FAQs, and updating your contact list. As long as you lay down the groundwork, you can automate all of these without sacrificing quality.  

How to Decide Which Marketing Tasks to Automate

Use these criteria to help you pick which marketing tasks to automate first:

• Repetitiveness: Is it a task you perform frequently?

  This is a big one. If you find yourself doing the same thing over and over again, like sending out the same email to new subscribers or posting the same type of content on social media, automation is probably a good fit. It'll save you loads of time and energy.

• Scalability: Does it involve handling a large volume of data or contacts?

  If your marketing efforts involve reaching a large audience or managing a growing list of contacts, automation can help you scale up your efforts without breaking a sweat. 

  It can handle everything from sending personalized emails to thousands of subscribers to managing reviews across multiple platforms.

• Rule-Based: Can you define clear triggers and actions?

  If your marketing processes follow a set of clear rules or triggers (e.g., "send a welcome email when someone subscribes" or "send a reminder email if a customer abandons their cart"), automation can step in and take care of it. 

  This means you can create "if-this-then-that" workflows that run automatically without requiring constant supervision.

• Personalization: Does it require tailoring content to different segments?

  Think automation means sacrificing the personal touch? Think again.  Modern marketing automation platforms are surprisingly sophisticated. They can pull in customer data, track behaviors, and even analyze preferences to tailor your messages at scale. 

  So, instead of sending out generic blasts, you can deliver targeted emails, personalized product recommendations, and even customize your website content for different visitor segments – without you doing the work yourself.

• Time-Saving: Would automation free up significant resources?

  Ultimately, automation aims to free up your time for more important things. If automating a task would significantly reduce your workload or give you more time for strategy and creativity, it's probably a good idea. 

  This is particularly important in digital marketing, where things move quickly and you need to be able to adapt to changes and new opportunities.

6 Digital Marketing Tasks You Should Automate Today

Let's get the ball rolling on those ideas – here are six of the most common marketing tasks perfect for automation:

1. Lead Nurturing and Scoring

   Picture this - someone downloads your eBook, and instead of just letting them fade into the abyss, you automatically send them a series of targeted emails based on their interests and behavior. 

   As they engage with your content, they get "points" that move them up the lead-scoring ladder. The more engaged they are, the higher their score, and the more likely they are to convert. 

   Automation takes the guesswork out of lead nurturing and helps you focus on the hottest prospects.

2. Email Marketing

   Automated email campaigns are like having a personal assistant that never sleeps. Welcome series introduces new subscribers to your brand, abandoned cart reminders nudge shoppers to complete their purchase, and post-purchase follow-ups keep customers returning for more. 

   You can set up triggers based on user actions or time delays, so the right message always hits the right inbox at the right time.

3. Live Chat via Chatbots 

   By automating your live chat, you can provide instant customer support while freeing up your human team to tackle more complex problems. 

   Let your chatbots handle common questions, troubleshoot basic issues, and even make product recommendations. And they do it all 24/7, without ever taking a coffee break. Want to see how this works? Check out the demo of our solution here. 

4. SMS Marketing

   Text messages have crazy high open rates, but manually texting everyone on your list would be a full-time job. That's where automation comes in.

   You can set up automated SMS campaigns that send personalized messages based on triggers like abandoned carts, upcoming appointments, or special promotions. It's a great way to reach your audience where they already are - on their phones.

5. Enriching Contact Data

   The more you know about your contacts, the better you can market to them. But manually researching each lead would take forever. Automated data enrichment tools can scrape the web for additional info on your contacts, like their job title, company size, and social media profiles. 

6. Calendar Management

   Scheduling meetings and appointments can be a total time suck. Automated calendar management tools let prospects and customers book time on your calendar without the back-and-forth emails. You just set your availability preferences and let the tech handle the rest. 

Learn More About Business Automation

If you're feeling overwhelmed by all the possibilities, don't worry - you don't have to automate everything at once. Start with one or two tasks that are particularly time-consuming or error-prone, and work your way up from there.

We bet you have more questions, and our business automation experts here at SERTBO are more than happy to chat about it. So go ahead and book that free consultation - message us now and we'll be with you shortly.