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Lean Marketing requires efficiency, but such a title may seem outrageous. It turns out, it is not an over-the-top expectation, but actually a solution. You can do this – if you have a proper Workflow. In this article, we will explain what Workflow is, how it works, who is responsible for its efficiency, and ultimately – how to take advantage of it.

Lost productivity and poorly managed leads cost companies over $1 trillion annually. Some of these costs could be avoided with database automation software. (CMO Council). 

In our previous article on our latest feature, we explained the factors driving the incredible growth of Workflow Automation solutions. Here, we want to provide you with a grasp of what a powerful tool Workflow actually is.

 

How do workflows work?

 

Workflows are a part of the marketing automation phenomena, so some context is needed before we can discuss them in detail.

According to Gartner, “A marketing automation system is a system that helps marketers execute multichannel marketing campaigns by providing a scripting environment for authoring business rules and interfaces to a variety of third-party applications.”

Clearly, the efficiency of such a system depends entirely on the competence of its creators. So, what about Workflows?

“Workflow rules let you automate standard internal procedures and processes to save time across your organization. A workflow rule is the main container for a set of workflow instructions. These instructions can always be summed up in an if/then statement.” (Salesforce)

Workflows are simply command structures. We usually visualizing them as a flow because they foresee consequential instructions, that make marketing automation strategies operationally possible. 

What makes up a Workflow?

 

What is a workflow and what does it do?

 

Workflows use an “if/then” structure to execute certain actions when a certain condition is met. An automated Workflow, at least in an eCommerce marketing context, always involves:

Different touchpoints in the customer journeyConditions for steps within the Workflow (these may be user or customer features or behaviors)Actions that are automatically triggered by such instructions, such as sending an email to a contact on a  list or adding a new contact to a list. 

In general, every Workflow is configured like a predetermined set of instructions in a specific order to obtain two objectives: 

To facilitate a visitor’s transition to becoming a customer (conversion) To trigger a circle of lead nurturing, creating greater awareness and increasing purchase motivation. 

At SALESmanago, we consider this to be part of Customer Intimacy.

In summary, Workflows distribute content and personalized (or hyperpersonalized) messages to members of a company database:  

On the different touch points provided by the digital strategy, which correspond to different moments of the customer journeyTo give the decisive impulse to the activation of a conversion With the ultimate goal of creating interactions and, above all, creating Customer Intimacy 

But exactly how do Workflows achieve these goals? What features or actions on the visitor or customer website should trigger what actions?

When addressing these questions, the marketer’s competence is key and can even override the competence of the creators of the marketing automation system.

 

Examples of the Workflow goals and tactics

 

The key factors of a successful, efficient Workflow are:

Clearly defined marketing goalsProven, tested tactics Awareness of the potential of different channels

Let’s look at two examples of expertly crafted Workflows. The first was created by Marcin Ostrowski, a marketing expert who works regularly with such companies as Eurospin or RC Lens.

The marketing goals of this workflow are to increase customer engagement and build customer loyalty. To do this, Marcin uses the Lead Nurturing tactic. Remember, Lead Nurturing is not a goal in itself, it is just a tactic to achieve the goal.

Marcin decided to execute his tactic omnichannel, via:

Email MarketingSMSCustom audience

Details: Lead nurturing begins when a contact is added to the system. We send an introductory email, and then we try to determine the best way to communicate with the contact. Lead Nurturing involves delivering the same content to each lead, divided into installments, using the best channel for that lead. So, we check if the email has been opened. If so, we send two more emails. If not, we check if we have a phone number. If so, we send a message telling the lead that some interesting information is waiting in their email inbox (if the client’s Lead Nurturing is uninteresting, then do not conduct it at all) and then follow up with another email. Then we check if that email has been opened. If so, we send the rest of the content by e-mail, if not, we follow up again via SMS. 

If we don’t have a phone number, we resend the email to make sure the first one wasn’t sent to spam or otherwise lost. If the second email is opened, we end the Nurturing channel. if it isn’t opened, we add the contact to the custom audience list and GAds to increase brand presence without providing nurturing content. For customers with SM Mobile, a separate lead nurturing is created when they install the application. If the customer has his own application, both workflows should run simultaneously.

Another example is a Workflow created by Aleksandra Urban, an expert working with Cenomi Group, Nahdi, Alphorm, and Miss Group. This Workflow has several interconnected marketing goals: Lower customer churn, Increase customer lifetime value, Increase customer engagement, Hyper-personalize customer experience, build customer loyalty.

To do this, the workflow uses the NPS survey tactic, executed via three channels: 

Email MarketingMobile PushMobile Marketing 

Details: Email: After a purchase, we wait (time to be determined) and then check whether the contact has opted-in. If so, we send a message with a link to the NPS survey if not, finish the workflow. After sending this message, we wait (time to be determined) and then check whether the contact has clicked on the previous email (with the link to the NPS survey). If so, we mark the workflow complete; if not, we do not send follow-up. 

SMS: After a purchase, we wait and then send an SMS with a link to the NPS survey. We then wait again before sending a follow-up, and at the end, we add the path end tag. 

Web push notifications: These follow a similar pattern. 

Website personalization: After a purchase, we wait and then launch a WAR, which is designed to display a chat encouraging the lead to provide feedback. We wait and then check whether the contact has visited the page (and thus seen the chat window). If so, we check whether the contact has a tag that the consultant could have manually assigned to him after leaving a review. If the contact has this tag, we finish the workflow. If there is no tag, we run another WAR which is designed to display a pop-up to an NPS survey. If the contact hasn’t visited the page, we add a no-campaign tag. 

Omnichannel: After a purchase, we wait and check whether the contact has subscribed to the newsletter. If so, we send an A/B test email. If not, we check whether the contact has a tag (web push consent). We wait and then check whether the contact has provided a phone number. If so, we send an SMS; if not, we check whether the contact is in SM Mobile. If they are, we send a mobile push; if not, we check whether the contact is saved on NS. If so, we send an e-mail; if not, we run a WAR that opens a chat window encouraging the contact to write a review. We wait and then check whether the contact has visited the URL. If so, we send a web push; if not, we send a follow-up email. At the end, we add the tag of the finished path.

 

Why does it matter who creates a Workflow?

 

While marketing automation software is a solution in itself, Workflow templates created using such software can be brilliant and effective or flawed and ineffective. 

Marketing automation software designers can create a seamless, intuitive interface that allows users to build and execute a Workflow with multiple features, options, and customization possibilities – without coding. But in the end, you will be left alone with the program to do the best you can with your own expertise … or will you?

Modern marketing automation systems require constant development, especially if they are connected to Customer Data Platforms, and the skilled eCommerce experts at Martech work with some of the greatest eCommerce brands in the world. Their Workflow Libraries catalog the most efficient proven marketing tactics and can help companies achieve their most ambitious marketing goals. 

In essence, a Workflow Library allows marketers access to the most skilled marketing experts in the world. Of course, you will need to experiment with the available templates to find the best one for you, but with our modern Marketing Automation Software and Workflow Libraries, you can be sure that you are starting with solutions that not only work, but are responsible for the success of some of the greatest eCommerce brands in the world.

 

 

Take a journey with your buyer and decode their activities, likings, preferences, interests, and lots more: BUYER’s JOURNEY 1. Unaware Stage The first and foremost stage is to make noise and create awareness for your brand and company about what you do, how you do, and lastly, why do you do it. Pro Tip – Specifically for B2C markets, viral giveaways have proven to be very rewarding as these giveaways make way for direct leads, which could also lead to referred leads. 2. Lead Stage Once they know you and people are talking about you, it’s time you check whether they are a good fit for your business. Pro Tip – Use the Dollar Strategy to validate the interest of the leads. What is Dollar Strategy? Ask people to put a dollar into the campaign to reserve a spot and this will guarantee you intent. The ones who put a dollar in your campaign will be the ones who are genuinely interested in your product or service rather than just being here to win something for free. 3. Prospect Stage Once you validate the lead, it is time to turn that lead into a paying customer or a prospect. Pro Tip – Use softwares like Mailchimp or LeadPages, which can help you nurture these leads with drip e-mail campaigns and content upgrades. Once they are in your ecosystem, they can be marketed directly through e-mail campaigns. 4. Customer Stage The journey comes to the ultimate fulfillment only with this step. You have kept in touch with the prospects, nurtured the leads, and now the prospective lead trusts you enough to invest in your product or service. They become the CUSTOMER everyone is looking for. 5. Fan Stage Yes, there’s more to it. While the goal could have met, the journey has yet to end. For a business to run well, you need not only to think about the immediate results but focus on the long-term ones. Further your organic sales through referrals or recommendations, you need to build that extraordinary personal relationship with your customer. This effort will make them fans of your brand, enticing them to buy themselves and get others to buy repeatedly. And voila, this was your buyers journey for you! Remember, marketing and psychology are a match made in heaven. You can not afford to ignore your buyer. And once you find a sweet spot in the heads of your targeted buyer, you will see the difference yourself. Feel free to add in the discussion with your comments. We would love to interact! See you. Happy Marketing! submitted by /u/KiwiTechCorp [link] [comments]

Hi all. I’m wondering what you think are the top 3-5 skills a marketing automation specialist should possess. Look forward to your answers! submitted by /u/james2232 [link] [comments]

submitted by /u/chebeatz [link] [comments]

Welcome to HubSpot Marketing News! Tap in for campaign deep dives, the latest marketing industry news, and tried-and-true insights from HubSpot’s media team. 
Participating in Dry January? Martha Stewart has a few suggestions for how to use your Tito’s Vodka if you aren’t drinking it.
The vodka company and lifestyle maven partnered to create “DIY January,” a campaign showing the various ways the Tito’s DIY January kit can be used around the house, served with a splash of humor.

Though the ad spot is clearly a joke it underscores an emerging trend in mindful alcohol consumption.
Drizly reported a noticeable increase in non-alcoholic beverage sales in January 2022 — a 48% jump from the prior year’s non-alcoholic beverage sales. In the same report, Drizly also noted products that were perceived as “lighter” such as clean wine and hard seltzer were some of the top-selling products last January.
According to Gallup, alcohol consumption for American adults is on the decline and Gen Z’s drinking patterns may be influencing the shift. 
Compared to Millennials, older Gen Z’s spend 40% less money on alcohol and are less likely to consume alcohol regularly. A survey by Numerator found Gen Z’s alcohol consumption and purchasing habits are influenced by concerns about how it affects their mood, behavior, and social media presence. 
These same themes may ring true for younger members of Gen Z as well, as there has been a decline in underage drinking over the past decade. If younger generations continue to show less interest in drinking alcohol than their predecessors, campaigns such as DIY January (minus the satire) may become the new norm for brands looking to appeal to sober-curious consumers. 
Marketing Snippets

The latest marketing news and strategy insights. 
How to make a video go viral: what the latest research has to say. 
TikTok licenses IMDB data making it easier for users to find TV and film references on the app. 
Meta was fined over $414 million by the EU for GDPR violations.
Are we in a recession? How to discuss the current economic uncertainty with your marketing team. 
Learn what types of posts work well on LinkedIn, directly from the LinkedIn team.
TikTok users will soon be able to restrict their videos to adult-only audiences. 
Twitter is rolling out a new feature that will let users swipe between multiple views based on their interests.
Instagram shares the platform’s 2023 focus areas, just in time for your social strategy. 
How shrinking budgets due to the economic downturn may impact influencer marketing in 2023.

As we embark on the new year, marketing managers and project leads will determine their strategy for the first quarter based on the big question, “Are we in a recession?”.
Typically, a recession is considered two consecutive quarters of negative gross domestic product (GDP). The U.S. entered a recession in the Summer of 2022, but according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, GDP actually grew slightly at 2.6% in Q3.
So while we can’t fully confirm that we’re going to be in one again, we know that your marketing team is looking to you for answers. In this article, we’ll provide industry insight into the current state of the economy and best practices for marketing leaders to better address employee concerns.

Are We in a Recession?: Marketing Leaders and Data Weigh In
To see what brands think about the current economy, we used Glimpse to survey 300+ U.S. marketers to ask them if they think we’ve entered a recession in detail.
1. Do you think the U.S. economy is in a recession?

Marketers overwhelmingly (78%) say the U.S. is currently in a recession. This comes as no surprise as many marketers are already adapting strategies in response to changing consumer spending habits. Let’s go through some of the sentiments behind their answers.
Reasons Why We Might Be in a Recession

Consumers are spending less and exercising more caution and discretion.

People are spending less because they don’t know how long the recession will last. As a result, they pay less for products or services. They’re focusing on using their money for sustainability over risks and are spending less on nonessential goods.

Inflation has made everything more expensive for marketers and consumers.

In plain terms, higher prices make it harder to make ends meet. Instead of shopping for the latest, innovative tech, many have to delay payments, purchases, and planning. After all, no one wants to spend money when gas and food are priced so high.

Marketers are struggling with their budgets — and 37% have already seen budget cuts.

Consumers aren’t spending as much, and in response, many businesses’ marketing budgets are shrinking. This limits the projects marketers can conduct and impacts how many and what type of marketing activities they can do. One survey respondent even said, “We’re needing to spend more to get similar results from six months ago.”
2. Do you expect the U.S. economy to be in a recession in the next three to six months?

Most (67%) marketers expect the recession to last over six months, and one-third expect it to last more than a year if we break down the stats even further.

One of the respondents left a resounding statement summarizing this prediction better than we could’ve put it ourselves. “Between COVID-19 uncertainty, high prices due to inflation, supply chain and venue availability issues, people are hesitant to plan large events for the next 12 months. I expect that will continue at least for another year or until there is some sense of stability in the market.”
The first year of the pandemic was the shortest recorded recession on record. Many wonder how our economic path may look, so we also asked how they think a recession now would compare.
Marketers expect the impact of the recession to be on par or worse than COVID.
One-third of marketers say the recession will have a more significant impact than COVID, while another-third expect the effects to be about the same. It’s an ongoing debate that only the Federal Reserve can speak to. Still, according to recent financial news, the trend for economic growth is projected to be negative in the first quarter of 2023.
Financial figureheads such as Jamie Dimon, Chief Executive of JP Morgan Chase, shared in an interview with CNBC that consumers and companies are in good shape, but that trend “may not last much longer as the economy slows down and inflation erodes consumer spending power.”
How to Navigate Uncertainty as a Marketing Manager or Project Lead
1. Take steps to recession-proof your business.
Learning how to recession-proof your organization takes time. It requires leaders to take a step back and think creatively about how they approach business. Some actions you can take include sales forecasting, fostering stronger business relationships, or diversifying your revenue streams.
2. Lead with transparency.
Your team may already be aware of economic uncertainties, but it’s your job to ensure they know how it could impact their jobs. Amidst uncertainty, the best thing you can do as a leader is to openly share information and manage expectations — so none of your employees panic or wind up blindsided
Business.com has even identified a link between transparency and morale, citing that increased transparency can improve employee morale, boost retention, and create a better bottom line for your company.
3. Reduce spending where you can, but not to your detriment.
Rethinking your budget is smart, but you still want to empower your marketing team to do impactful work. Look at your systems and processes and determine which ones add the most value to your team’s objectives. You might even identify redundancies and save time and spend.
4. Keep benefits that your employees rely on the most.
Cutting frivolous employee perks and benefits is an agreeable — if uncomfortable — course for leadership to take in times of uncertainty. The benefits to keep should be essential to your company’s compensation philosophy. And don’t take away too many, like healthcare or time off — you don’t want to risk losing talent because their priorities aren’t being met anymore.
Are we headed for a recession?
As marketers, we’re not experts in financial markets and shouldn’t be a source for investment, HR, and legal advice.
It’s not our call to make, but for 2023 — regardless if we’re officially in a recession — we advise that marketing managers and project leaders stay vigilant and expect the unexpected. Have a game plan to present your team and prepare for uncertainty.