Editor’s note: This post comes from our Constant Contact UK office. You can view all the posts from our UK team here. Or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter. Does marketing automation work? It’s a question plenty of small businesses are asking as they look to get more bang for their buck from their marketing campaigns. So we set about finding out. Our research is neatly displayed in the infographic below. As you will see, the case for marketing automation is pretty darn compelling.

Marketing doesn’t have to be such a gamble

For lots of small businesses, marketing is a hit-and-hope kind of a thing. Some businesses don’t think they have the expertise to create a successful campaign. Others simply lack the time. It needn’t be like that for you. Marketing automation gives you a way to find out more about your audience. That way you can create targeted, personalised campaigns that are more likely to get results. And with analytics capturing the all-important numbers, your marketing becomes accountable. You build a picture of what works, what doesn’t work, and how to tweak it.

Automation means more personalisation, not less

Some people fear that marketing automation will mean their campaigns lose the personal touch. They worry about losing control. The opposite is true. Marketing automation doesn’t mean your online marketing gets done automatically. It’s not going to do your marketing exec out of a job. Rather it’s software that makes it easier to schedule, prioritise, and execute your campaigns. It also allows you to build a profile of the different personas in your target audience, so you can target your prospects on a more personal level. And that’s important. Successful marketing requires tapping in to the needs, fears, desires, and ambitions of your target audience. The more you know about them, the better. So when you nurture a relationship based on what you know about your prospects, you stand a far better chance of turning them into paying customers. The upshot is a more personalised relationship with your audience, a better opportunity to drive revenue and more time to spend on the non-marketing aspects of your business.

But does marketing automation get results?

Yup. According to our research, 74 percent of marketers who use data-driven marketing say they have benefited from a competitive advantage. Meanwhile 55 percent of businesses using marketing automation have reported increased revenues. Dive into more numbers with our infographic below or by downloading a free copy of our ‘Marketing automation on a shoestring’ whitepaper. The post How small businesses can benefit from marketing automation appeared first on Constant Contact Blogs.