A whopping 73% of customers use multiple channels during their shopping journey.
From awareness to purchase and support, organizations meet customers across a dozen or more channels, including the company website, mobile app, email, live chat, text, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and more!
Delivering a consistent, personalized experience across these channels at scale is impossible without enterprise marketing automation. In this blog post, we explore why and how.
Enterprise Marketing Automation Tools and Strategies
- What Is Enterprise Marketing Automation?
- Functions of Enterprise Marketing Automation
- Components of Enterprise Marketing Automation
- Enterprise Marketing Automation Tools and Platforms
- 1. ClickUp (Best project management-driven enterprise marketing automation platform)
- 2. Adobe Marketo Engage (Best pipeline-focused enterprise marketing automation software)
- 3. Salesforce Pardot (Best CRM-focused enterprise marketing automation tool)
- 4. Oracle Eloqua (Best CX-oriented enterprise marketing automation tool)
- Implementing and Optimizing Enterprise Marketing Automation Strategy
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhat Is Enterprise Marketing Automation?
Enterprise marketing automation (EMA) is the use of software and data to automate marketing processes/tasks in a holistic and strategic manner toward achieving organizational goals.
Typically, EMA is used in digital marketing activities. The most common use case is email marketing. Organizations use enterprise marketing automation to segment audiences, send email campaigns, personalize messages, and push trigger-based alerts.
However, today, organizations use EMA to operationalize a wide range of digital and in-store experiences.
How does enterprise marketing automation work?
Good enterprise marketing automation is a holistic approach to engaging prospects and customers.
Instead of treating someone as an email ID or an Instagram follower, EMA unifies all their activities to create a customer profile, serving their needs irrespective of where or how they show up. EMA helps customers pick up where they left off and be served contextually.
Typically, B2C organizations use EMA to consolidate use activities to a single email ID. As the customer comes back to the brand, their phone number, preferences, purchase history, feedback, customer support interactions, etc. will be associated with that profile.
On the other hand, B2B companies typically consolidate information based on what’s called an account. They bring together every individual associated with a particular account/prospect and automate communication accordingly.
Why do you need enterprise marketing automation?
Some of the biggest benefits of EMA are as follows.
- Scale: EMA performs tasks quickly and 24/7. It can perform hundreds of tasks without additional resources. For instance, EMA software can send 100,000 emails or activate 100 different workflows without human intervention
- Efficiency: Sending communications at scale is significantly more cost effective with EMA. In fact, automating repetitive tasks also frees up the marketing team’s time for creative/innovative work
- Consistency: Automation ensures that tasks are completed on time, with greater consistency and accuracy than manual efforts
- ROI: EMA makes campaigns more targeted and personalized, improving their effectiveness
- Manageability: A good automation platform consolidates efforts and outcomes from all channels, marketing campaigns, customer groups, etc., giving a clearer view of your growth engine
Summarize this article for me pleaseFunctions of Enterprise Marketing Automation
The primary function of enterprise marketing automation is unifying customer profiles to deliver consistent omnichannel experiences. In pursuit of that, EMA performs the following functions as well.
Data management
Data unification: EMA collects data from all relevant sources, such as customer relationship management (CRM) software, social media, e-commerce purchase patterns, etc., to create a unified view of every customer. It also updates this data in real time to keep efforts relevant and effective.
Audience segmentation: Based on the collected data, EMA segments customers into relevant groups. This can be as granular as ‘people who have abandoned their cart over the last three days,’ opening up a world of possibilities for targeted messaging.
Lead scoring: EMA scores leads based on their potential to convert. This helps enterprises target their messages to the right audience based on their likelihood to buy and potential value.
Content management
Dynamic content: Enterprise marketing software can dynamically personalize content sent to customers. Not just adding a first name to the subject line, EMA can customize various fields, such as the last product purchased, the last chat conversation, a wishlist item, an abandoned journey, etc.
Content optimization: EMA platforms have inbuilt tools to create landing pages and optimize them based on the campaigns you’re sending.
Content distribution: Across channels, EMA helps schedule and execute campaigns. You can send emails, post on social media, push notifications on the app, trigger text messages—or a combination of all of the above.
Workflow management
At its core, EMA platforms are workflow management tools, triggering actions based on customer behaviors. For instance, you could trigger an onboarding flow the moment a user signs up.
Sales and marketing teams also use EMA to conduct experiments. They might set up an A/B test to see which version works best and optimize future workflows accordingly.
Analytics
An integral function of enterprise marketing automation is data-driven decision-making, powered by advanced analytics. Good EMA platforms track performance across key metrics, measure return on investment, and produce reports that make it easy for teams to take action.
For all these functions to work properly, you need to set up a few components right. Let’s see how.
Summarize this article for me pleaseComponents of Enterprise Marketing Automation
Good enterprise marketing automation is built on four pillars: People, process, technology, and data. Here’s how they work in tandem.
People
EMA has two types of stakeholders: Customers, who are the data subjects. ; And users, who use customer data to design communication. EMA platforms are designed to meet their needs efficiently, effectively, and ethically.
For customers, EMA empowers control of their information. Some customer-driven features include:
- The ability to accept or decline cookies
- Sign-up forms
- Unsubscribe
- Request to delete account or data
For users, EMA allows the opportunity to ideate, experiment, execute, and optimize communications toward business goals. User-focused features include:
- Filters to segment customers
- Personalization across communication forms
- Trigger-based and time-based scheduling
Process
Process and workflow automation are an integral part of EMA platforms. Related features include:
- Campaign automations: Workflows initiated based on specific triggers, such as a particular date or an event or customer action, like signing up for a newsletter or making a payment
- Project management automations: Tasks such as creating reports, assigning the right team member, sending follow-up emails, etc
Technology
Naturally, EMA is set on the foundation of a technology platform. In addition to the core automation features, the platform typically has the following.
- Integrations with various tools such as marketing CRM software, content management systems, social media, etc.
- Marketing plan templates and reusable frameworks for streamlining workflows
- Custom rules for setting brand guidelines, prohibiting select words/terms, etc.
- Storage for marketing assets
- Collaboration features for teams to work together, brainstorm, approve/disapprove, etc.
- Generative AI for rapid content creation
Data
Data forms the foundation of good enterprise marketing automation. Some of the most critical data features in an EMA include:
- Management: Collecting and storing relevant data, eliminating duplicates, maintaining data quality, etc.
- Reporting: Dashboards and reports across various metrics and KPIs
- Insights: Recommendations for campaign optimization and generative AI suggestions for content
Let’s see how some of today’s most popular marketing tools integrate these components.
Summarize this article for me pleaseEnterprise Marketing Automation Tools and Platforms
Enterprise marketing automation tools come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Let’s look at some of the most commonly used enterprise marketing automation tools and platforms.
1. ClickUp (Best project management-driven enterprise marketing automation platform)
ClickUp for marketing teams is an all-in-one productivity platform for organizations of all sizes. Designed to be highly customizable, ClickUp serves as a flexible workspace for marketing teams with thoughtful automation features and diverse integration opportunities with marketing automation tools.
If you’re using ClickUp CRM, you can integrate marketing project management and automation seamlessly for more effective and holistic operations.
Best features
- Rapid ideation and content creation with ClickUp Brain
- Connected search across all integrated tools, such as Google Drive, HubSpot, etc.
- Brainstorming with ClickUp Whiteboards with the ability to create tasks or assign users automatically
- If-this-then-that automations
- Customizable KPI Dashboards based on marketing project data
- Comprehensive marketing project management
If you’re new to marketing automation, try ClickUp’s Marketing Campaign Management Template for tracking, coordinating, and accelerating your efforts.
2. Adobe Marketo Engage (Best pipeline-focused enterprise marketing automation software)
Marketo Engage is Adobe’s marketing platform that helps teams manage omnichannel customer engagement, content publication, campaign operations, sales intelligence, and advanced analytics.
Best features
- Customer segmentation and account-level profiling for B2B companies
- Pre-built integrations with popular tools
- Ability to handle multiple data types, including firmographic, technographic, geographic, behavioral, and CRM-related
- Predictive lists, using look-alike audiences
- Email performance and unsubscribe predictions
- Bi-directional integration with CRMs for better sales engagement
3. Salesforce Pardot (Best CRM-focused enterprise marketing automation tool)
Salesforce Pardot is an app that sits on the Salesforce CRM platform. Built on top of a CRM, Pardot automates processes in email marketing, lead scoring, lead nurturing, prioritization, etc.
Best features
- Native integration with the Salesforce CRM
- Prospect integration tracking, including downloads, page views, web chats, etc.
- Sales team productivity optimization
4. Oracle Eloqua (Best CX-oriented enterprise marketing automation tool)
Oracle Eloqua focuses on creating unified customer experiences through acquisition, retention, account-based marketing, and more. Eloqua is integrated into the larger Oracle customer experience (CX) ecosystem for seamless sales and service processes.
Best features
- Campaign orchestration with segmentation, content, omnichannel distribution, and productivity features
- Prebuilt audiences
- Templates and brand-approved content
- Customer profile insights and sales tool extensions
While the above four are popular tools among enterprise customers for their comprehensiveness, scale, and existing integrations, these aren’t the only available ones.
For instance, there is Mailchimp, a primarily email marketing tool, which organizations use to automate communication processes. There are niche players, like Klaviyo for e-commerce and Braze for mobile marketing automation. At the other end, organizations implement custom solutions on private/public cloud too.
Read more about the 10 best marketing automation software tools.
The tool you choose will have a significant impact on the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. Here are some best practices in choosing and implementing an enterprise marketing automation tool.
Summarize this article for me pleaseImplementing and Optimizing Enterprise Marketing Automation Strategy
From choosing the right tool to continuous optimization, implementing an enterprise marketing automation is a strategic effort. Do it thoroughly and carefully using the following framework.
1. Choose your marketing automation tool
When it comes to enterprise marketing automation, you’re spoilt for choice. There are dozens of tools, with pricing ranging from next to nothing to several thousand dollars, depending on your usage. Choosing the right one to suit your marketing strategies is your first and most critical decision. Consider the following while you do so.
- Features: Look for things you need, such as email automation, collaboration, marketing analytics, etc.
- Scalability: Evaluate the tool’s ability to handle the scale of emails, users, events, and automations that you need
- Usability: Check if it’s easy to use for non-tech teams as well or if you need IT support to update/edit things
- Integrations: Test the capabilities of the chosen tool to work well with the other software you’re currently using
- Pricing: Calculate the total cost of ownership of the tool and compare it with the ROI you expect
Consider a tool like ClickUp that effortlessly adapts itself to your CRM, marketing campaign management, and automation needs. It helps you organize, ideate, execute, and optimize dozens of marketing activities.
Your internal teams can also use it as enterprise project management software, giving you a 360-degree view of campaign and operations effectiveness.
As the world’s first neural network connecting tasks, docs, people, and all of your company’s knowledge, ClickUp is one of the best AI marketing tools available today.
2. Implement and customize
Very few tools are perfect out of the box. Every tool becomes effective through customizations, which is the next step.
Integrate: Bring all data together into your marketing automation software through integrations. ClickUp integrates with 1000+ tools, including HubSpot, Figma, Salesforce, and more. You can also embed anything into your workspace through custom integrations.
Organize: Set up your automation platform to meet your needs.
- Add users and enable permissions
- Create brand guidelines and upload the assets
- Conduct training and onboarding programs for users
Migrate: Clean and format data from other platforms to be consistent and accurate. Remove duplicates and other unnecessary information.
Finance software company, Finastra, sets an example of implementing and customizing ClickUp for their go-to-market needs. They use ClickUp to orchestrate demand generation across all business units and regions.
This includes tracking go-to-market activities, creating dashboards, consolidating information, and managing campaigns and automations to keep the team in sync.
Also Read: Discover how financial services giant Finastra experienced a 40% spike in go-to-market (GTM) efficiency using ClickUp.
3. Execute your marketing automation strategy
Once the foundation of your marketing automation is set, it is time to execute the strategy.
Map out customer journeys
Map journeys across customer types, products, and channels. Identify the path and the various touchpoints in it. ClickUp Whiteboards is a great way to structure this marketing planning process collaboratively.
Create automated workflows
Identify the journeys that you want to automate for your customers. Draw workflows for each of them and set them up with ClickUp Automations to be triggered automatically.
Choose from 100+ pre-designed automation templates or design your own with ClickUp. Here are a few marketing and project management automations you can set up.
- Send a welcome email when a user subscribes to the newsletter
- Send the retention workflow when the customer abandons a purchase
- Send automated birthday wishes with customized discount codes
- Send nurture campaigns to dormant accounts
Bonus: Check out the most important campaign management tools to consider as part of your marketing stack.
Create reusable content assets
To go with the workflows you’re automating, create or upload content assets. Use ClickUp Docs to write down brand guidelines. Use the list view to see all your visual design assets in a single view. With ClickUp Forms, create lead capture mechanisms and embed them in your landing pages.
4. Enable user interactions
The success of your enterprise marketing automation program depends on how well your teams use it. Make it easy for them.
- Eliminate the game of rolling chairs and bring all data into one place
- Train your employees on the new tool
- Enable an easy-to-use chatbot like ClickUp Brain to answer all questions that users might have
5. Set up dashboards
Identify your key metrics and set up ClickUp Dashboards to track them. Track campaign performance, project progress, team productivity, time spent on marketing tasks, and more.
6. Run test campaigns
Before you go all out, run a few test campaigns. Choose a small group of users and execute test automations for them. Check whether the workflows are working as intended. Also, confirm that the dashboards you’ve set up reflect performance accurately.
7. Schedule reviews and continuous improvement
Modern enterprise marketing automation is not a one-and-done thing. As situations evolve, more data is collected, and more insights are at hand, automations need to be optimized as well.
To ensure this, set up regular reviews with the team. Track the effectiveness of each automated workflow and optimize as appropriate. Eliminate non-performing workflows and regularly experiment with new ones.
Summarize this article for me pleaseAutomate Processes and Accelerate Marketing Outcomes with ClickUp
In the digital world, good customer experience is the foundation of business success. Automation is an integral part of it. Delivering personalized experiences for numerous customers across channels demands a robust marketing automation program.
The effectiveness of this relies on four components: People, processes, technology, and data.
ClickUp’s virtual workspace is designed to manage all these four components with ease. ClickUp enables people to come together and collaborate effectively. It empowers you to share just the right amount of information with the right people with the right access control.
Collaboration and automation tools help streamline these processes. They give visibility into each touchpoint in real time, and their multiple integrations and data capabilities help teams understand trends contextually.
ClickUp brings together marketing and project management capabilities to provide comprehensive control over your growth efforts. Try ClickUp for free today.
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