When you think marketing automation, you probably don’t think of workflows. You probably think of mass marketing. The idea of sending one generic email to hoards of people in the vague hope that you’ll get at least a handful of conversions. But that’s not what marketing automation is used for. In fact, marketing automation can even be as personal as you sending an individual email to a friend. That is, if you use it right.
“What are workflows?”, I hear you ask.
A workflow is essentially a giant email campaign that reacts to a prospect’s behaviour. When they seem to be showing an interest in your product/services, the ‘workflow’ automatically takes action by pulling them into email streams based on that topic.
Why will this convert leads?
Using a workflow combats the whole “wrong place, wrong time, wrong offer” issue, which might’ve turned previous prospects into unsubscribers. A strong workflow knows when to send stronger content, when to add a client to a particular campaign and, generally, can help you understand where your leads are in their buyer journey.
In terms of taking action yourself – getting the sales team on the phone, for example – that can be configured in the workflow too. The workflow app works to your rules so that even sales can be notified as to when a lead has interacted enough to be deemed sales ready within the workflow. Clever, huh? The point is that it helps organise your email marketing and sales pipeline efficiently.
So, how do you build a strong workflow?
You can check out our whitepaper on workflows for a more in-depth explanation, but the basics are as follows. We start with a trigger, which is when a contact is discovered and joins the flow. This is often by a form fill or any way that their contact information is received. They are then sent an initial email. Based on their interactions, they will then be sent another email in the next few days, consisting of something which the workflow’s data deems as relevant.
Your contact’s engagement will determine which emails follow up from that, with the content staying “light” along the no engagement line. And so on and so forth until they are either converted into a sale or qualified out.
A strong workflow is more complex than the basic email marketing template, as it has multiple scenarios and solutions. This is to help improve customer interest and, overall, conversion rates. In short, a strong workflow helps you balance technology with personality so that you can broadcast tailored messages to a wider audience without losing sleep, money or time over it.
Allowing you to focus on your marketing results.
