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5 Reasons to Hire a Marketing Automation Expert Instead of Going DIY

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article, 5 Reasons to Hire a Marketing Automation Expert Instead of Going DIYMarketing automation is undoubtedly an excellent way to streamline your marketing operations. It saves you crucial time, money, and makes your work efficient. If you’re like most business owners, you’re always looking for ways to save money and optimize your operations. So, you may be considering doing your own marketing automation instead of hiring a professional. But before you make up your mind, here are some reasons why you should hire a marketing automation consultant.

1. A Marketing Automation Expert Saves You Money and Time

A good number of companies feel that setting up an in-house marketing department is the only way to save money. But hiring a team requires you to pay salaries, benefits, and perhaps even bonuses. Plus, you also have to invest in office equipment such as computers, laptops, printers, etc. On top of that, it’s going to cost a lot more if your employees aren’t familiar with marketing automation software solutions or the latest email marketing trends.

Hiring a marketing automation expert also means you don’t have to spend time training your employees. A professional can set up and configure new programs within hours, instead of days or even weeks you’d need if someone less experienced tried to do it on their own.

2. They Have the Right Knowledge and Experience

Building your own marketing automation solution requires the right knowledge. You need to understand how AI works, how predictive analytics can help you make smarter decisions, how to use chatbots for personalized customer engagement, etc. As a regular business owner, you probably won’t have the time to research all of these concepts, let alone implement them.

An experienced marketing automation consultant will have the necessary knowledge to set up your system properly. They will make sure it uses all available resources to automate processes and save you valuable time.

3. Your Expert Will Guarantee Performance

When you hire a marketing automation expert, they will guarantee the correct implementation and performance. They’ll also take responsibility if their service doesn’t meet your expectations in any way. This is because a professional knows all the factors that affect marketing performance.

For instance, there are dozens of factors that can affect email deliverability. A professional knows how to configure an email service provider’s systems for optimal deliverability. They also know the right time to send emails and which days will maximize your open rates. These are factors they’ll consider when deciding the best campaign strategy for you.

4. An Expert Will Help You Make Smarter Marketing Decisions

A professional will help you make better marketing decisions for your business. They’ll utilize their experience and expertise to best fit your needs. This means that they’ll understand what your competitors are up to, which demographics you should target, which ad networks will generate the most revenue etc. They’ll also keep your budget in mind, which means they’ll recommend the best tools and services for your budget.

5. Expertise in Marketing Automation Means Better ROI

Your marketing automation expert will have a number of years of experience working with different businesses just like yours. This means that they understand what works best for companies in your industry. When you hire a professional, they’ll use their expertise to help you achieve your goals.

For instance, they’ll know which demographics to target and how frequently. They’ll also set up your campaigns in such a way that you get the most out of every ad dollar you spend. All this means is that your return on investment (ROI) will be greater with an expert’s help than if you were trying to do it all yourself.

Hiring a marketing automation expert will save you time and money. It also means you’ll get better results than if you were trying to do it yourself. Hire an expert today so you can focus on what matters most for your business, while they help increase revenue and maximize ROIs.

The Latest Tried and Tested Marketing Strategies

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Marketing Strategies|The Latest Tried and Tested Marketing StrategiesWe witnessed unprecedented and exceptional advancements in technology in the past decade. However, what’s more, shocking is how the new technical development penetrated our everyday lives and changed the game for all human activities. From public health to education, every economic sector benefits from technology and is improving day by day. The commercial industry had a similar advantage, and the incorporation of computer-aided business strategies brought the industrial rivalry to the next level. It proves that technological developments are the need and requirement of every business unit, especially marketing.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to consider the marketing department the most crucial one for the business. After all, marketing bridges the gap between the buyer and the seller by determining many essential factors. It decides the prices of the products, places for its accessibility, ways to communicate the message to the customers, and even the product’s features. The marketing department is responsible for the thorough research about customers’ buying behavior, then sharing it to the respective departments of the firm and advertising the product or services. All this and more makes the company’s success heavily dependent and reliant on the effectiveness of marketing strategies. If you’re a businessperson searching for ways to stand out in the industrial competition, here are some of the latest tried and tested marketing strategies for you.

1. CDP Marketing Cloud

For a sturdy marketing plan, the primary step is to consider the perfect tools for your customer’s database. Marketing Cloud is a great option, specially after the launch of Salesforce CDP, as it allows you to automate digital marketing and works with advanced analytics software. Marketing clouds will enable you to collect digital software like CRM, email services, and workflow management. It works wonders in delivering and communicating clear messages to the end customers proficiently.

Customer data platforms collect customers’ data from different sources and then organize it in the most readable way. Incorporating technology in your marketing department will help you become more aware of your customers’ choices and make more informed operational decisions. It is also helpful in keeping customers’ data safe and using it most advantageously.

2. Personalization

With customers’ databases at a single click, it would be imprudent not to stand their demographics and analyze their buying patterns. In today’s date, marketers must personalize the promotional message to capture the attention of a wider audience. Base your marketing strategy on the discoveries you make about your current and potential customers’ mind wishes, fears, and expectations. Personalization makes them feel special and gives them a sincere expression of their respect for their choices.

With the help of automation, you can create and enable adverts that your customers are looking for so that they don’t have to swipe through many irrelevant ads. But, even in that customization, ensure that you are precise and interactive. Marketers need to focus on behavioral segmentation to group audiences into respective categories and target them accordingly. Even if they all fall in similar demographic segmentation, they don’t need to have the same behavior towards your brand, and it’s crucial to understand this difference.

3. Social Media Marketing

Social media has turned the world into a digital sphere, allowing greater access to several things through the internet. It plays a significant role in connecting people, which provides businesses with essential importance to improve their connection with their market base. Social media marketing (SMM) gives companies a way to engage with their current customers and promote their products or services to potential buyers. SSM is enriched with data analytical tools, which enables marketers to gather valuable, relevant data while tracking and assessing the results of their efforts. This type is marketing is beneficial for small businesses because it doesn’t demand a huge budget. You can use organic methods to generate online sales by building brand awareness on various online platforms.

4. Link Building

Designing a website and running it successfully is undoubtedly essential for your brand’s online presence. But it is of no use if there is no optimum web traffic and not enough people visit your website. Start by discovering keywords your customers are likely to look up when searching for a product or service like yours. You can collaborate with link partners, who can help you find high-traffic terms to develop the list of search results. Additionally, you can download SEO software to help you achieve search engine optimization, which would bring people to your website.

Other than improving search results, you can benefit by adding these SEOs on blogs or reviews where your potential customers might be active. When highlighted by your website’s hyperlink, they will likely click on these words and visit your website. You can approach non-competitor websites to feature your articles or add some of your content on their blog sites. This way, even if your website doesn’t make it to top searches, they could help by becoming a channel between you and your web traffic.

5. PPC Advertisement

Pay per click is a type of internet marketing that has proven helpful in today’s date. Advertisers have to pay a certain fee every time their ad appears on someone’s screen, and they click on it. It increases visits to your site, and if it’s interesting enough for the visitor, they are likely to stay and further surf on your website. You can use PPC in search engine advertisements, especially Google Ads, as they allow your company’s name to appear in the search result when someone looks up a related brand. To succeed in this type of marketing, you need thorough research and digging to get to the right keywords. Google charges you less if your content and website are more relatable to the searches, and hence, it is necessary to choose the exact and most relevant keywords.

Conclusion

Research is bringing up excellent marketing opportunities for all types of businesses every day. Due to the high demand for differentiation, marketers are working on their analytical skills to develop out-of-the-box ideas. Luckily, AI and automation prove to be exceptionally useful at taking over manual jobs for human capital to spend more time critically thinking and evaluating the best decisions for their business firms.

Smart Uses For Technology That Can Save Your Business Time

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StrategyDriven Tactical Execution Article |Business Technology|Smart Uses For Technology That Can Save Your Business TimeTechnology is a massive advantage for any business. It can help you to improve processes, cut down on inefficiencies and identify areas for improvement. However, there are so many types of technology available that it can be daunting to know where to start. The important thing is to understand what’s out there. You could do this by keeping up with the latest technology news and find innovative ways to apply new tech. It can also help to consult with other business leaders to learn from their successes with tech.

Use Marketing Tools

Marketing technology can help streamline your marketing strategy. You should do some research into the tools available and find one that allows you to set up your marketing strategy in a way that lets it run efficiently and proactively. There is a lot of work that goes into marketing, and it’s essential to get it right to give your business the highest chance of success. It could help to get in touch with a marketing agency who will be able to advise you on the best tools and strategies to be noticed.

Stay Ahead Of Industry Developments

Being in the know about technological advances is the best way to ensure you find the right tech at the right time. You can do this by subscribing to different industry news resources. The sooner you implement new technologies, the sooner you will see results. Ensure that the technology you are considering is reliable before you start using it.

Give Employees Remote Working Options

Remote and flexible working are excellent ways to improve employee satisfaction at work. You can use technology to allow your staff to work remotely. This gives them a better work/life balance and will enable you to hire the best people for roles in your company, regardless of where they are located.

You could use video conferencing software, cloud storage and instant messaging platforms to keep your employees connected and productive.

Manage Pensions Efficiently

Offering a pension is essential for your employees’ job satisfaction. It is vital to ensure that you manage your employee pensions effectively and allow staff to see how their pension is stored and what they can expect to receive from it.

Pension administration software is crucial to help you manage company pensions and can be beneficial to both employee and employer. It is a good idea to do some research into the types of pension software available. In the digital age, this sort of technology has never been important to the industry. Do some window shopping and look into pension administration software like this to get an idea of what you should be looking for.

Go Paperless

Cutting down on the amount of paper you use can save you time and money – as well as doing your part for the environment. Consider the different uses you have for paper currently, and see if you can easily replace them with digital alternatives. For instance, filling out lengthy paperwork in a warehouse can slow things down, whereas filling the information out online can mean that you can pre-populate common answers and save time on filing and copying.

Automate Processes

Review your processes to see if there are any that you could do with automation. For instance, sending out chaser emails or copies of invoices can take up a lot of valuable time, and having these tasks automated can free up staff time for more high-value work.

You should ensure that you use a professional IT company to set up automation unless you have experience doing so. This can help ensure that there are no issues or bugs that can cost your business money.

Host Regular Team Meetings

You can use video conferencing platforms to host team meetings across multiple locations. This can help foster good relationships between employees, keep everyone in the loop about business developments and give them the chance to innovate and collaborate. It may help to try out a few different platforms to find the one that suits you and your team best.

Keep Your Data Secure

Storing data and documentation online can be a great way to improve your efficiency and save time, but it is crucial to ensure that you do so safely. The cost of a cybersecurity breach can be high both in terms of money and reputation.
It can help to ensure that your staff understand the ways to be safe while working online. You could consider sending staff members on a course about online safety. Changing passwords frequently is another excellent way to keep your data secure.

Conclusion

Technology is a crucial tool for any business in 2021. It would help if you were proactive in finding tech that works for your business model and practices. It may help to discuss potential changes with your employees to make the best decisions. You could also take on board any suggestions employees may have on which technologies to make use of.

8 Software Platforms To Improve Productivity

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Improve Productivity|8 Software Platforms To Improve ProductivityYour business relies on maximum productivity at every level, whether it’s planning your marketing campaigns or improving your customer service. To support productivity and keep on growing what you need are the right tools.

1 . Infusionsoft

Infusionsoft is a top marketing solution, designed to help you deliver highly effective campaigns. Using Infusionsoft you can automate and improve your marketing, ensuring consistency and high levels of quality. The platform offers solutions for CRM, marketing automation and e-commerce. There are plenty of features to boost your productivity levels including sales reports, opportunity management, social sharing and inbuilt metadata. Infusionsoft also provides referral program management, and lead scoring.

2. LiquidPlanner

LiquidPlanner fuses collaboration software with amazing project management features. There are features for project managers, and separate features for marketing professionals and development teams. LiquidPlanner is adaptive depending on your needs. With this software you can take advantage of time tracking features, manage clients and resources, and create risk assessment roadmaps. Liquidplanner permits you to share data with your staff, partners and suppliers. Some of the best features of LiquidPlanner include baseline view and project analytics.

3. Zoho Cliq

Zoho Cliq provides video, voice and instant messaging options so your teams can collaborate better. With Zoho Cliq it’s possible to operate multiple channels, simultaneously. It’s simple to separate important posts from long threads with a setting called ‘fork’. You don’t need to waste time attaching files, just use the drag and drop function to transfer files via the chat window. Zoho Cliq can be integrated with Zoho Business, along with a few other useful integrations. With Zoho Cliq you can access features such as SSL encryption, task bot automation, and slash commands.

4. Periscope Data

With this powerful analytics platform you can visualize, report and analyze your data. The platform has an easy-to-use interface, complete with query tools. Using Periscope you can transform complex analysis into a simple task. The software saves you time, and improves the collection and cleansing of data. You don’t need to mess around with lots of code, Periscope makes it easy to conduct simple calculations, and arrive at insights faster.

5. Hubstaff

Hubstaff is a fantastic time tracking platform, helping you to create reports, send invoices, and track time. The software permits you to oversee scheduling and track staff activity. Hubstaff allows staff to monitor the time they are spending on various projects. With this data you’ll gain productivity insights. When you’re running a business it’s vital to make the best use of all your time, and with Hubstaff, you’ll make that task considerably easier.

6 . Microsoft Azure

Microsoft Azure is a powerful cloud platform, offering businesses the best solutions in storage, cybersecurity, networking and more. The platform offers cloud-scale analytics, helping companies turn data into valuable insights. There are robust disaster recovery and backup features, meaning you’ll have a cost-efficient way to minimize disruption. Need a digital marketing solution? With Microsoft Azure you can create high-performing campaigns and deliver them on a mass scale. Microsoft Azure Service Providers can help you to make the most of this software. To access all of the benefits it’s important to learn how to use and manage the software.

7. Crazy Egg

Crazy Egg is a fantastic website optimization platform, allowing you to gain insights about customer behavior. With the heat mapping features you can see how you customers behave on your site, and which parts of your website get the most attention. Some of the great features of Crazy Egg include conversion rate optimization, A/B testing, analytics, CRM, scroll map tools and a simple set up. Converting more consumers is one of the most important end goals, and with this software you can gain the knowledge you need to improve your campaigns. Improving your user experience is the best way to convert leads.

8. Sendible

Sendible is a platform designed for social monitoring, analytics and audience engagement. Using Sendible you can track ROI from the dashboard, providing you with a clear picture of your successes. The software helps you to automate your marketing and drive leads, plus there are some great CRM tools. With Sendible you can manage clients, schedule posts, build your brand, and improve customer engagement.

Boosting productivity relies upon creating the right environment so that creativity and innovation can thrive. It can be helpful to ask your team for feedback about how to improve productivity. With the insights of your team and these powerful tools you’ll improve the efficiency of your business operations.

Essential Digital Tools For Non-Profits

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Non-Profits|Essential Digital Tools For Non-ProfitsRunning a non-profit can be challenging enough without being able to rely on profits and consistent paying customers, which is why there are plenty of excellent tools designed to make your non-profit excel without paying the same prices that massive corporations do. If you’re looking for your non-profit to be as successful and as rewarding for its clients as possible, here are the essential digital tools you need to know about.

Make Donations Easy

Donations are a massive part of any non-profit, so it makes sense that one of the main tools you want to invest in is a way to make them as easy as possible. Instead of shaking a collection jug as passersby on the high street, you can reach people from the comfort of their sofa watching football.

Donation software makes it possible for millions of people to feel charitable, and the best of this software can set a page up in fewer than 15 minutes. If you’re still not convinced, there are more than 7,000 non-profit organizations worldwide who use this software, and they can embed your forms or popup widget to make it easily accessible for those who are feeling generous. There are paid and free services, so take your pick of whichever works best for you.

Keep Systems Up and Running

With so much to take care of while running a non-profit, you can often neglect other parts of the organization. If you’re going to make the most of digital software and services, then Non-Profits IT support is crucial.

This means you have one less thing to worry about while you do your campaigning, and they can also solve any issues as soon as they arise, often with 24-hour support, seven days a week. With everything running smoothly, you can focus your energy elsewhere and focus on making your non-profit as fantastic as it can be.

Keep Subscribers In the Loop

Services such as Mailchimp or any of its competitors are a fantastic way of keeping your subscribers firmly in the loop when it comes to what you’re doing, what you plan to do next, or any other big news you want to share, especially at the end of a highly successful campaign.

It’s too easy for donors to forget about non-profits they were once so passionate about. However, with a dedicated email and newsletter service, you can ensure that the good news spreads sufficiently, and you can also reach out to other potential donors to help you fight for your cause. With such an excellent tool for marketing automation, you can also get a wide range of data and information about your subscribers.

Final Thoughts

A non-profit still needs to keep up with advancements in technology and the potential that it can offer if it wants to demonstrate that it can make a difference. By investing in the best and most essential digital tools, you can guarantee that your organization keeps on changing the world and committing to causes on a local, national, or even global scale.