7 Marketing Automation Workflows Perfect for Nurturing Your Customers

Automation is just one beneficial tool in a well-built MarTech stack and has become a key feature of the marketing sector. With the ability to improve efficiency and help marketing departments deliver on their goals, marketing automation looks set to grow in importance in the coming years.

Statistics about marketing automation show:

Annual business spend on marketing automation tools is expected to reach $25.1 billion by 2023
Companies that automate lead management typically see a revenue bump of 10% or more in six to nine months' time
Mapping customer experience and creating personalized content are seen as the most effective applications of marketing automation
Saving time is perceived as the biggest benefit of automation
Nearly 90% of agencies say their marketing automation strategy is successful

There are many potential applications of marketing automation and various benefits to gain from it. One of the most useful things you can do with automation is creating dedicated workflows and processes that get the right messages across to website visitors, leads and customers at the appropriate point on their journey.

HubSpot marketing automation workflow example Source

Here are seven specific workflows that can deliver a welcome boost to your efforts to nurture leads and build relationships with customers:

1. Welcome workflows

It's a good idea to show some recognition and appreciation when a potential lead makes initial contact with you, and automated workflows are a great way to do that.

When a new user subscribes to your blog, for example, you could send them an automatic welcome email that thanks them for signing up, but also provides some extra information that could add to their engagement, such as recommendations of posts you think would interest them.

Welcome workflows can also be set up to reflect a lead completing a purchase and becoming a customer.

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2. Topic-based workflows

Running workflows based on particular topics can help you segment your audience based on the subjects they're most interested in, putting you in a stronger position to anticipate their needs and deliver relevant, valuable content to them in the future.

If you're an HR software provider, for example, you could use topic workflows to segment leads based on the interest they've shown in subjects like:

Recruitment
Onboarding
Employee relations
Payroll
Training

Producing 'lead magnet' content like ebooks and webinars can help you gauge levels of interest in particular topics and collect contact details for addition to your workflow database.

3. Lead nurturing workflow

Top-of-funnel customer activities like whitepaper downloads and webinar sign-ups give you a good indication that a lead is interested in a certain subject and has a specific need you can help them with.

An automated lead nurturing workflow will help you engage contacts with more information and begin to move them along the sales funnel. You could target users who have already downloaded a guide or viewed a webinar with content more relevant to their unique requirements, such as solution guides and comparisons.

4. Cart abandonment workflow

Cart abandonment is a common problem for internet retailers and other companies trading online, so it's worth considering processes that could mitigate its impact on the business.

Workflows can prove particularly useful for giving people reminders of products they have added to their basket but not purchased, which could be enough to encourage them to complete the transaction. You can also offer additional incentives such as discount codes to turn an abandoned cart into a sale.

5. Upsell workflow

Bringing in new business is vital, of course, but it's just as important to take every possible opportunity to generate revenue from your existing customer base.

This is where upsell workflows can deliver huge value, by making it easy for you to follow up on sales with invitations for customers to upgrade or purchase another product that complements one they've already bought.

6. Purchase reminder workflows

If you provide a subscription-based service or products that need to be renewed or updated at regular intervals, automated workflows can help you maintain engagement with customers and secure repeat business by delivering purchase reminders at the right time.

In the case of a 12-month software package, for example, an automatic email could be set up to go out after 10 or 11 months, giving the customer enough time to plan their renewal. This could also give you the opportunity to draw the buyer in with a limited-time discount or to remind them of the other products you offer.

7. Feedback workflow

Gathering customer feedback should be a top priority for marketers. Positive input can show you what you're doing right, while complaints and criticism can highlight areas where you need to invest more resources to drive up standards.

Feedback workflows are often used after a customer service interaction, to get an idea of how satisfied your clients feel with the help and support they're receiving.

This can help you better understand your strengths and weaknesses as a business, which will help you evolve and grow.

To learn more about how automation and AI can transform your marketing strategy, watch our interview with Mike Rhodes on The Strategic Marketing Show: