How does e-commerce marketing automation optimize the user experience and marketing activities of the company? Let’s find out together!
E-commerce marketing automation is not the definitive solution for an e-commerce, but it can often prove to be the ideal solution on two main fronts. On the company side, it optimizes operational resources and influences sales because it allows the brand to accompany its customers at every stage of their life cycle. This is one of the main reasons why many e-commerce are studying how to adopt it.
However, in addition to improving internal processes, e-commerce marketing automation must be done in the best possible way, to provide the user with an experience that is as personalized and engaging as possible. If the solution is adopted incorrectly, the risk is of generating a bad effect on the potential customer or, even worse, on our loyal customers.
E-commerce marketing automation from the company’s side
The optimization of costs and digital production times is certainly one of the first reasons why a marketing automation system is used. All e-commerce managers are tickled by the idea of being able to delegate manual and repetitive tasks to machines. However, there are some points to which particular attention must be paid:
Marketing automation must be scalable
When selecting a platform it is important to evaluate its ability to scale, understood as managing the volumes and greater complexity that may be created over time. If the business grows and users increase, a marketing automation solution must adapt to the continuous change in this need, managing repetitive tasks of various kinds, across multiple channels and multiple campaigns. Furthermore, the ROI must always be kept under control. Scalability means that the costs incurred for marketing automation must correspond to more than proportional profits.
Marketing automation must be omnichannel
To work, marketing automation must include all the channels available to us, or we risk optimizing only part of the contact process and then dispersing the advantage gained on other platforms or channels. For example, not recognizing an important or VIP user means losing the opportunity to offer them a product with a high probability of conversion and – at the same time – investing advertising budget for a contact already acquired.
E-commerce Marketing Automation on the user’s side
So that marketing automation is not reduced to a banal automatism of recovering abandoned carts or to massive and poorly personalized retargeting, we need to become aware of some “truths”. The first and most important is that automation is not just a way for the company to save time and resources. The key to success – and therefore to sales – lies in the ability to create unique experiences for users to improve the user’s overall interaction with the brand, pushing them to purchase. Strictly in omnichannel mode.
Marketing automation works if it takes into account all the data in real time, or the risk of making a bad impression is around the corner
Personalization is a key concept in e-commerce. The user wants to be recognized, but to do so we must take into account all the traces he or she has left behind. It is not enough to filter the purchase history, but you need to know what is happening at that precise moment, even outside of e-commerce (for example in the physical store). Otherwise you risk frustrating people by offering them uninteresting things, or even worse by showing them a discount on a product they just purchased.
Marketing automation only works if you segment users based on their value. We are not all the same!
Aggregating information is essential not only to personalize but to know who you are talking to. A user, in addition to wanting to be recognized as a person, also knows how much they “weigh” for the company, especially if they are a regular customer. Marketing automation must be implemented by segmenting the audience based on its present and potential value. A VIP user is not the same as a first-time purchaser!
Marketing automation works to increase relationship life, everywhere.
Marketing automation not only serves to increase the conversion rate of the first purchase, but also to optimize the CLV. In particular, it is a fundamental contact nurturing tool and can become an extraordinary tool for recovering users at risk even on touch points outside of marketing. Imagine a customer care call center capable of recognizing the user in specific segments and offering confidential treatments. Marketing automation communicates to the operator what type of personalization is reserved for a specific customer, based on the experience designed for him.
Marketing automation must be strictly omnichannel
For all the reasons expressed above it is clear that the automation process must be extended to all channels, otherwise all assets will be lost.
Advantages of Marketing Automation
In addition to optimizing costs, marketing automation can undoubtedly help us sell more and create longer-lasting relationships with our customers, thus increasing the value of our brand over time, but this only happens if we manage to do it best!
