As a small business owner, you have many moving parts to your company, from developing new products and services to satisfying every question asked by potential customers. The larger your company grows, the more important it is to develop ways to properly manage communications, and a CRM (customer relationship management) solution is one of the best ways to do so, especially when automation can streamline your efforts and save you money.
Yet, it is common to make some marketing automation mistakes even when you have the best of intentions. As your company moves towards more automation inclusion in the way you operate and market your business, you absolutely need to avoid these common CRM automation mistakes that reduce your efficiency.
#1: Not Having a Clear Plan to Implement Automation
Automation is certainly the buzzword today, and every software company is including it in some way. Before you adopt dozens of strategies that could potentially automate your efforts and streamline your marketing, you have to know what you hope to accomplish with the process.
Take a look at your current processes. Pinpoint the specific areas that slow down your team or that cause miscommunications within your business. Focus on one or a few of those areas first, tackling those that pose the largest possible improvement to time management for your company first.
#2: Not Putting the Power Into the Hands of the Website Visitor
Most people coming to your small business website know what they need. If they need to book an appointment, they can often handle that task on their own without your team having to worry about the customer interaction directly.
For example, Townsquare Interactive’s business management platform provides online booking. It’s easy to use, your calendar is always up to date, and there’s no reason to have your valuable team member on the phone with a customer trying to organize their schedule.
#3: Trying to Automate Big, Independent Tasks
If Amazon could automate its big delivery service, it could invest the time and money into doing so. Big adjustments like this are comprehensive and take a lot of planning and effort. Instead, try smaller tasks first, those that free up time and improve efficiency but don’t require a comprehensive and overwhelming overhaul of your operations.
For example, email marketing is certainly a time-consuming task when you have your team manage it. Instead, move to a tool like Townsquare Interactive’s business management platform that will automate these tasks for you as one component of a bigger strategy.
#4: Not Knowing the True ROI of Automation
For many companies, one of the most important CRM automation mistakes to avoid is not considering the return on investment of any strategy before you implement it. For example, what task is costing you too much money in labor or missed opportunities right now? That’s going to provide a better ROI than a task that’s less valuable.
Look deeper, too. Before you invest in automation, determine how much the tool costs, what it is going to cost to get it into place with any necessary training, and how this will enhance your bottom line revenue by freeing up your staff time.
#5: Failing to Train Your Marketing Team
One of the best things about automation tools today is that they are super efficient. They are also rather straightforward to use. Yet, even the most basic tools still need hands-on support and training.
More so, you need to make sure your team is coordinated. Your sales and marketing teams need to know what each other is doing when it comes to marketing. Just because you’re automating email messages doesn’t mean your sales team can relax. They need to be kept up to date on the tools being used, trained in how to utilize them, and responsive to the benefits they offer.
#6: Automating Just One Thing
While you don’t want to take on your entire organization at once (at least just yet!) you do want to tackle multiple strategies with automation so you can see the ROI compounding over time. For example, you may be moving to email marketing automation. Include SMS marketing campaigns in the process. This service, a feature offered within Townsquare Interactive’s business management platform, allows you to double the benefits of just using one tool.
When you incorporate additional strategies over time, you’ll see a ripple effect in the value they bring to the table. Look at solutions that can do more for you than just a single task, too. That is going to make it easier to streamline the entire process.
#7: Not Aligning Your Automation Software with Your CRM
When you use a product like Townsquare Interactive’s business management platform, you have a product that incorporates the automation features you need alongside your CRM. You don’t want to purchase software or tools that cannot integrate well with each other. Doing so will cost you money over time.
Instead, when possible, ensure these tools are linked and work together to save you time and money. It’s easy to do when you invest in a comprehensive CRM solution.
#8: Choosing Overly Complicated Systems
Your automation and CRM tools do not have to be complex. Instead, they should offer several key features:
- They should be easy to learn.
- Utilize those that are scalable as your company grows.
- They should provide advanced analytics.
If they lack in any of these areas, it could cost you time and reduce your ROI significantly.
#9: Not Having Support
With all of the marketing automation mistakes you could make, this one can be a costly problem. Any time you are investing in CRM automation of any type, it needs to come with support. You need training and hands-on support from a team that’s always available to you.
Your business operates around the clock. You need a company that is there to support you when there’s a question or concern easily.
Set Up CRM Automation With Townsquare’s Business Management Platform
When it comes to CRM automation mistakes to avoid, make these at the top of your list. Contact Townsquare Interactive now to learn more about our business management platform that streamlines your marketing and saves you money.