The goal of a marketing operations professional isn’t to send ongoing communications to the target audience, it is to delight them. Great marketing is about the emotion it evokes as much as it is about conveying information.

This is a big task because the smallest negatives tend to stick out in an otherwise perfect piece of communications. For example, think of a time you received an email that was beautiful in design, satisfying on mobile but then you saw ‘Hi {{first name}}’. Everything positive about the email is undone, and now it’s an immediate turn off.

However, get it right and it is easy to stand out from the rest. Extremely positive and frictionless marketing can be equally as memorable for the desired customer.

To make people feel positively towards a brand and its messaging, here are some fundamentals.

Data is fuel – use renewables, avoid crude

Renewables are all the rage right now and this applies to marketing data too.

When building an automated process, always start at the beginning with the data-capturing forms. By focussing on this first, marketers will be able to infinitely accrue all the high-quality data needed directly from prospects and customers. If something changes, they’ll renew the data for you. For example, if someone is promoted and their job title changes, let them tell you. If someone’s phone number changes, let them tell you.

All marketing automation platforms have the ability to capture data via forms with very advanced functionality. As such, marketers are able to configure these forms to dynamically change according to what they know about the individual. In other words, ensure that all forms are bespoke to every person viewing them, at all times and that they ask relevant questions.

Bad data, on the other hand, causes marketing nightmares. Some companies are still in the business of purchasing lists and yet expect to see great results. A common question that is still asked is ‘what is the typical open and click rate for a purchased list?’. Rather say ‘sorry we don’t use crude data, we’ve gone green’.

Some companies are still in the business of purchasing lists and yet expect to see great results.

Let the target audience provide the high-quality fuel for your marketing automation platform (MAP) and avoid purchasing lists.

Expensive shoes with… dirty old socks?

Purchasing the most expensive and powerful MAP means nothing without a strong foundation underneath the hood. Only a team of experts can create something special for you.

However, it is important to note that marketers don’t have to know this expertise first hand. Rather they can build a dream team of marketing professionals by leaning on proven consultancies to help with either the knowledge gap or the resource shortage within the team. Either way, competent professionals and subject matter experts are the key to winning here.

New campaigns, new markets, changing customer needs and brand maturity will all play a part in how automation changes.

New campaigns, new markets, changing customer needs and brand maturity will all play a part in how automation changes and marketers should always keep an eye out for stale content that needs a refresh or new marketing automation opportunities within the data.

Alongside this, marketers can lean on Artificial Intelligence (AI) to surface the key data and metrics that will enable better strategic marketing decisions. This will provide a quick view of the best performing content type, channel, message and more.

The goal is to keep messaging fresh and engaging, at scale. Or, keeping within the analogy, wash your socks regularly because you do a lot of walking.

It’s always about ‘YOU’

This is the number one tip to any marketer who wants to really please their audience. Make it about them, 100% of the time.

So many B2B emails begin with ‘I just wanted to check-in’ or ‘I am reaching out because’… Who cares? 

You should make automated communications align with real life, behaving as if your prospect was sat one-to-one with you in the same room having a conversation. The message will deliver much more seamlessly.

If the recipient feels like just another one of many or like they’re being talked at, much like in real life, they will switch off.

Similarly, it is important to pay attention to when to talk to the target audience as that matters too. Timing plays a big part of most things. Many tools include AI that can send emails when the recipient is most likely to open it which is really important when sending to thousands of people.

Be personable, listen intently to people’s needs and aim to be more human through automation.It sounds obvious, but you’ll be surprised how often marketers get this wrong.

The following Tom Ryan from 2023 provides their research perspective. HERE