Table Of Contents:
1. Prevents human error
2. MA pulls data from other sources
3. A Focus on quality leads
4. Data remains consistent across all channels
5. Marketing automation is not an instant fix
Data management in marketing automation
B2C marketers have long complained that data management is tedious and riddled with human error. A good lead where the address or phone number is entered incorrectly won’t do a bit of good, while duplicate and half-entered leads can be just as useless.
But then there are the ruined relationships that result from inaccurately entered data:
- 55% of respondents reported being sent irrelevant product information by a business.
- 47% said they felt annoyed when businesses get their personal information wrong
- 35% said that data errors reduced their faith that the organization will do an acceptable job
Unfortunately, the statistics show that poor data management is extremely common,in fact, Demand Gen Report found that 62% of businesses rely on marketing and prospect data that is 20%-40% incomplete or inaccurate.
Marketing automation can solve this problem and save your organization’s reputation. With the right tools and settings optimization, here’s how marketing software can keep your database clean, healthy, and constantly growing.
Prevents human error
The first and most obvious benefit of using marketing automation is that your data is entered correctly and consistently. Of course, if a prospect fills out a form and misspells something, marketing automation software cannot correct that data. But automation will transfer any data the prospect enters with speed and accuracy.
We know this because data management is the very focus of marketing automation. Without correct data, automation software wouldn’t be as relevant or effective.
MA pulls data from other sources
A prospect filling out a lead form may only be willing to provide a few elements, such as their name, email address, and phone number. A marketer who wishes to learn more might have to conduct a few online searches to find the person’s business, physical address, and other information.
Data management is much easier with marketing automation running behind the scenes. The moment a prospect fills out an online form, the automation software can fill in all the blanks. Using a phone number, for example, marketing automation can search Google as well as online directories for the business name, size, revenue collected, and more. A complete customer profile can be devised in an instant, freeing up resources and valuable time.
A focus on quality leads
The true value of marketing automation lies in its ability to define quality leads accurately. After all, lead quality isn’t just about data, but it’s more about the context of the data. With automation, marketers no longer have to sift through the many piles of letters and figures to make decisions quickly. Marketing automation makes the decisions, and qualified leads are the intended result.
Data remains consistent across all channels
Furthermore, a marketer sending an email may type the prospect’s name wrong, even though it’s listed correctly in the database. Marketing automation will ensure emails can be tracked back and personalized with the utmost precision, keeping customers satisfied and loyal, and your marketing always on the right track.
No matter which channel the data is used on, marketing automation will ensure data is always listed just as it’s kept in the company records.
Marketing automation is not an instant fix
If your company has poor data hygiene and you suddenly add marketing automation to the mix, you shouldn’t expect your problems to be solved overnight – or at all. Marketing automation relies on accurate data to perform as expected.
When you consider that nearly half all marketing automation users cite inaccurate or incomplete data as their biggest problems, you can see that marketing automation is only a tool. It is up to marketers to use the tool properly while making sure the data is correct.
In other words, with automation software infusing with CRM and many data management platforms, marketers must still oversee and learn how to manipulate the data to make the most of any marketing efforts. This may take some fine-tuning over time, but organizations who put time and energy into marketing automation, as well as a complete scrubbing of all past data, should go far in the digital age.
Conclusion
Poor data management can keep you from achieving your B2C marketing goals. Whether prospects are filling out an online form or calling you directly, you shouldn’t be relying on humans to record your data, as too many errors can result. The better alternative is to use marketing automation so that your data is entered just as it was intended and built-upon by intelligent and intuitive algorithms.
Marketing automation can then personalize messages and nurture leads, as well as predict interest and customer viability with scarily-accurate precision.
The lesson is to use marketing automation so yours doesn’t become one of the majority of businesses relying on poor data management to achieve far-reaching goals. With exemplary data management and hygiene as your goal, marketing automation is just what the data doctor ordered.
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Kasturi Patra 
Diksha Dwivedi 