“Marketing automation” is a popular buzzword in the marketing industry at the moment, but a lot of folks aren’t even sure what it is, let alone how to use it. But statistics suggest it’s worth understanding.
Businesses that use marketing automation to nurture leads see a 451% increase in qualified leads and 53% higher conversion rates on average, according to research. Impressive, right?
During this week’s #AptChat, we discussed who’s doing marketing automation well, how apartment marketers are using it, how to track performance and more; these are the highlights. (Click on the links to jump straight to a specific question.)
- What the heck is marketing automation anyway? How would you define it? Are you automating any of your marketing today?
- What are some good examples of automation? What are the types of things you have in place or want to work on next?
- What are some things you might need to better use automation in your marketing? (More education, integrations w/ PMS/ILS, etc.)
- Our industry puts so much weight on leads and “cost per lead”. How would you track performance of marketing to existing leads?
What the heck is marketing automation anyway? How would you define it? Are you automating any of your marketing today?
.@AptChat utilizing tools & technologies effectively to save time, energy & resources through automation, ex. social media posting #aptchat
— Places4Students (@Places4Students) January 24, 2017
.@AptChat a really cool tool we came across recently is @MeetEdgar , definitely worth checking out for social media automation! #AptChat
— Places4Students (@Places4Students) January 24, 2017
@Places4Students Yep, @MeetEdgar is a great tool if you already have a solid library of content to pull from and share. #AptChat
— 30 Lines (@30lines) January 24, 2017
A1: I’d call it any tool that helps you automate the repetitive tasks of marketing (certain outreach, follow ups, etc.) #aptchat
— Khara (@leftnwrite08) January 24, 2017
Some automation we use: Social postings, referral reminders, newsletters, and working on personalize-able F/U templates. #AptChat
— Khara (@leftnwrite08) January 24, 2017
@AptChat Q1: Basic marketing automation properties over-rely on: email auto replies. #aptchat #IFollowedUpSinceWeAutoReply ?
— Stephanie Oehler (@StephanieOehler) January 24, 2017
@AptChat exactly. Or worse- the auto reply says “call for more information”. #aptchat
— Stephanie Oehler (@StephanieOehler) January 24, 2017
@AptChat protocol that’s a mix of automation (ex. email drip campaign) & customized/creative f/up. Track & hold LP accountable. #aptchat
— Stephanie Oehler (@StephanieOehler) January 24, 2017
@AptChat @StephanieOehler Using those “instant replies” can be helpful during middle of the night and on weekends. #AptChat
— Mindy Sharp (@MsMin) January 24, 2017
@MsMin @AptChat agreed- people like knowing their contact form went through. Issue is when that’s *only* response lead receives. #aptchat
— Stephanie Oehler (@StephanieOehler) January 24, 2017
@MsMin @AptChat @StephanieOehler I personally love that FB has this feature. Helpful when you can’t respond right away! #AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) January 24, 2017
@StephanieOehler @MsMin @AptChat Shopped a property & automated response was “someone will contact you in 2-3 DAYS”. DAYS! #Aptchat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) January 24, 2017
@Marketing_Mommy @MsMin @AptChat sigh. What’s our #CostPerLead again? #Aptchat
— Stephanie Oehler (@StephanieOehler) January 24, 2017
@StephanieOehler @Marketing_Mommy @MsMin That’s why we’re asking the question … industry perceptions need to evolve. #AptChat
— Apartment Chat (@AptChat) January 24, 2017
@StephanieOehler The drips can help weed out less qualified prospects so LP’s are working with those who are most likely to rent #AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) January 24, 2017
@Marketing_Mommy Absolutely! Ex. Prospect opened email & clicked on video. Prompts phone call follow up from LP. #aptchat
— Stephanie Oehler (@StephanieOehler) January 24, 2017
@AptChat @Marketing_Mommy Manually. Ironically my answer to Q4 was: analyze prospect behavior & push LP tasks. Does this exist? #AptChat
— Stephanie Oehler (@StephanieOehler) January 24, 2017
@StephanieOehler @Marketing_Mommy Yeah, a couple industry CRMs are getting better about this. The tools are improving every day. #AptChat
— Mike Whaling (@mwhaling) January 24, 2017
What are some good examples of automation? What are the types of things you have in place or want to work on next?
.@AptChat @IFTTT is a perfect example, there are “recipes” to automate almost any element of marketing, just don’t go overboard! #AptChat
— Places4Students (@Places4Students) January 24, 2017
.@AptChat @IFTTT here’s some great ones, many can relate to apartment marketing – https://t.co/J2mCFfqzj4 #AptChat
— Places4Students (@Places4Students) January 24, 2017
@AptChat @Places4Students We got you: https://t.co/UaQ2lqdJGa
— IFTTT (@IFTTT) January 24, 2017
Boom. Thanks, @IFTTT! (Now we’re all wondering if that tweet was automated…) #AptChat https://t.co/zCY9XvrV6Z
— Apartment Chat (@AptChat) January 24, 2017
@AptChat We’ll never tell pic.twitter.com/4FzP9Mjb3W
— IFTTT (@IFTTT) January 24, 2017
@AptChat @IFTTT that’s some impressive social listening and response time! #AptChat
— Places4Students (@Places4Students) January 24, 2017
A2: Would love to automate some of the follow up process. *Some* of it. It needs to be personal, but creative templates help! #aptchat
— Khara (@leftnwrite08) January 24, 2017
@leftnwrite08 There’s a stigma attached to the word “automation”. It doest mean you have to take the “personal” out of it #AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) January 24, 2017
@leftnwrite08 Email drip campaigns! They don’t replace personal follow up but offer more touch points at the right times #AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) January 24, 2017
@Marketing_Mommy Exactly! I’m working on visual templates; folks just need to remember “there’s a spot for this person’s name.” 😉 #aptchat
— Khara (@leftnwrite08) January 24, 2017
@leftnwrite08 @Marketing_Mommy Get yourself an email svc like MailChimp or Drip … takes care of filling in those fields for you. #AptChat
— Mike Whaling (@mwhaling) January 24, 2017
That’s a new term for me! What does drip mean? Learning something new! #AptChat https://t.co/I8cQO1Y7xS
— Mindy Sharp (@MsMin) January 24, 2017
@MsMin A series of emails that go out in a timed, specific order (consumer behavior also triggers which email they get, & when). #AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) January 24, 2017
@MsMin I know they’re automated emails sent out by a schedule. I just have never wrapped my head around doing it for apts. #aptchat
— Khara (@leftnwrite08) January 24, 2017
@leftnwrite08 @MsMin So.Many.Options. You can trigger these based on what the prospect does (or doesn’t do). So cool! #AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) January 24, 2017
@leftnwrite08 @MsMin Go put a pair of shoes in your shopping cart on Nordstrom or Zappos but don’t buy. Then watch your inbox #AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) January 24, 2017
@Marketing_Mommy @leftnwrite08 @MsMin BRB – Doing it now! *JC
— Zappos (@zappos) January 24, 2017
@zappos @leftnwrite08 @MsMin Ha Ha! This is why I love you @zappos! Awesome service, great social listening & fun to converse with! #AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) January 24, 2017
@Marketing_Mommy Any good guides to drip campaigns for multifamily? I’ve been trying to make this happen. #aptchat
— Khara (@leftnwrite08) January 24, 2017
@leftnwrite08 #1 rule: it should truly be a drip campaign – timed, based on prospect behavior if possible and not an email “blast” #Aptchat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) January 24, 2017
@leftnwrite08 You can really see conversion rates on traffic you’re already getting improve when you run a drip correctly #AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) January 24, 2017
What are some things you might need to better use automation in your marketing? (More education, integrations w/ PMS/ILS, etc.)
@AptChat As my aunties and uncles say, “Got to get that edumacation!” 🙂 Learning the “how” definitely helps with the “do”! #aptchat
— Khara (@leftnwrite08) January 24, 2017
.@AptChat I think it boils down to discovery and education. There a tons of automation tools not many people know about! #AptChat
— Places4Students (@Places4Students) January 24, 2017
@AptChat More education! Great automation tools are largely useless without the training and technologies in place to help execute on them.
— Updater (@updater) January 24, 2017
@Places4Students @AptChat We all get stuck looking for solutions within the industry. Many great tools are in other marketplaces. #AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) January 24, 2017
Our industry puts so much weight on leads and “cost per lead”. How would you track performance of marketing to existing leads?
@AptChat Shouldn’t it be “cost to convert a lead”? Just saying. They don’t convert all by themselves (at least not usually). #AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) January 24, 2017
@Marketing_Mommy “Marketing spend per door” gets you to a real ROI. #AptChat
— Mike Whaling (@mwhaling) January 24, 2017
@mwhaling I’d still want to know what it costs to convert each lead – and from which source, too. #AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) January 24, 2017
@Marketing_Mommy “Cost to acquire a new lease” is “cost per lease”, but not measured per source. Contribution > attribution. #AptChat
— Mike Whaling (@mwhaling) January 24, 2017
Bigger tools & technology won’t significantly impact your marketing as much as a solid strategic foundation. –@NickWestergaard #aptchat
— Nicole Mintiens (@Nicole_Mintiens) January 24, 2017
@Nicole_Mintiens @NickWestergaard Totally agree. Do you think “speed to the lead” has to be part of the foundation today? #AptChat
— Mike Whaling (@mwhaling) January 24, 2017
@mwhaling How do you define “speed to the lead”? Lead acquisition rate over time?
— Nicole Mintiens (@Nicole_Mintiens) January 24, 2017
@Nicole_Mintiens If we can help leasing staff get better/faster at follow-up, that goes a *long* way in this industry.
— Mike Whaling (@mwhaling) January 24, 2017
@mwhaling Agreed. Marketing initiatives need to be aligned to overall business objectives, operations, sales efforts and customer service.
— Nicole Mintiens (@Nicole_Mintiens) January 24, 2017
Our next #AptChat is slated for Tuesday, January 31, 2017 at 12 pm Eastern, and we’ll be discussing video marketing trends. In the meantime, be sure to sign up for #AptChat updates to get these recaps and more delivered straight to your inbox!
