See what's new in our latest product release: AI, SMS and MMS.
Dotdigital blog
How to prepare for automation – 8 obstacles to eliminate
Whatever happened to the days when a generic message, emailed to thousands, would result in previously unheard of response rates? As inboxes became increasingly overcrowded with irrelevant offers, consumers became much choosier and therefore harder to please.
So what’s the answer? More personalized and relevant messages that speak directly to the reader, using automated email marketing. Simple right? We get that it’s not always an easy road to automation, with time, resources, and strategy all potential barriers. So take a look at our 8 obstacles to automation and our tips on how best to eliminate them…
1. Multiple data sources
Whatever size your data is, chances are it comes from multiple sources. Getting this data together is crucial to help move to a more targeted approach.
2. Big data doesn’t mean big insight
Translating this data into insight requires focus. Make sure to factor in time, resource and budget to do this properly.
3. What you don’t see in reports
Focusing on opens and clicks may suggest your campaigns are doing just fine, but this method can hide large groups of your audience that are unengaged.
4. Insight in to Automation
You’ve got your key insights. Now it’s time to create a segmentation strategy from this knowledge.
5. Keeping up with your campaigns
Your new customer insights means you now have more campaigns but no greater resources and time to create them. Here’s where automation is essential.
6. More segments, more content
Generic content will no longer cut it with your smart segmentation. Try creating rule-based content libraries that automatically serves content according to previous actions.
7. Keeping stakeholders onside
With potential push-back it’s important to make sure everyone is committed to the automation vision by clearly communicating the benefits.
8. Prove it with the technology
It’s much better to start with a sound planning approach than start with technology.
Right so now you know the obstacles, let’s get you past them. Download our full strategy guide: Navigating the 5 stages of marketing automation, to get you in to a more intelligent and effective automated approach.
