5 Marketing Tools to Invest In

Ever gotten an automated email with just a space in the greeting, instead of your name, before the comma? Or what about that one company that keeps auto-calling and texting, even though you keep asking for a break? If you’ve ever been the victim of these kinds of marketing faux pas, you probably look down on the organization committing them. “Get your act together!” you think to yourself, as you click “unsubscribe” or text back “STOP” for the fourteen-millionth time.

Whether you’re just starting a small business or you’ve been around for a while, you don’t want your marketing to be annoying or error-prone. You want your prospects to look up to you as an all-seeing, all-knowing fountain of useful information and personal attention. How do you achieve all that, while keeping operations and focusing on providing the best possible products and services? Here are five tools that can take the work out of showing the world your best side.

1. Content Planning and Optimization Software

While it won’t fix an out-of-date email client or customer database, content planning can establish your brand as trustworthy and knowledgeable. It can also help you grow your brand awareness and online presence without hassling your current clients for more of their attention and time. With a solid content strategy, you’ll have prospects coming to your door, rather than the other way around.

How do you develop that strategy? That’s where content planning and optimization tools, like competitive content analysis, come in. These systems can help you analyze your own content and competitors’ to see where you have room to improve. Among other things, this type of software looks for gaps in competitors’ ability to answer common client questions. Then, it shows your brand how to fill those gaps and become an invaluable resource for searchers and followers.

2. Customer Relationship Management Systems

If you’re using a legacy CRM — or no CRM at all, you might be having a hard time keeping up with clients and prospects. In today’s world, where personalization is everything, this could be your organization’s downfall. An effective CRM helps you manage, centralize, and organize customer information, so you never lose track of a lead. It doesn’t just store all their contact information; it helps you get it right at every stage of the customer journey.

Advanced CRMs can automate tedious or multi-step workflows, like sending multiple follow-up emails or keeping other team members in the loop. They also give users insight into customer interactions across all channels, including social media, emails, chats, and even phone calls. Many platforms also use AI and other predictive technologies to predict when prospects will convert or churn, so team members can take appropriate action.

3. Email Automation Clients

It might seem counterintuitive, but the vast majority of customers still prefer to hear from brands by email. However, they also unsubscribe like wildfire, so it’s important that your emails add value — and don’t drive your customers crazy. Most newer email clients don’t just automate email timing and send messages to your (hopefully accurate) customer database. They also analyze audience attributes to segment and personalize each campaign accordingly.

More advanced email clients can tweak follow-up steps depending on how a customer interacts with an initial message. They can fine-tune future marketing efforts based on whether a customer ignores an email, opens it and clicks, or makes a purchase. They also comb your contact lists for uninterested clients and undeliverable email addresses, so you aren’t wasting time or spamming anyone who’s already unsubscribed.

4. Data Analytics Tools

Data analytics tools can help you analyze, understand, and improve your website and app performance by tracking metrics like views, engagement, and bounce rates. They can give you a better understanding of what’s working, and what needs improvement to attract more clicks and conversions. If you’re not already using a tool like Google Analytics to monitor your site and app, you should be. There are also a number of additional options to consider for analytics.

Google has another tool, called Looker, that uses AI to display first-party data and build custom segments through a simple user interface. You can also try marketing analytics programs like SEMRush and HubSpot Marketing Hub or business analytics software like Tableau, Microsoft Power BI, and Qlik. These programs can help you visualize core marketing KPIs, predict outcomes, and make decisions about future marketing decisions.

5. Social Media and Influencer Platforms

In some ways, social media is entirely its own animal. However, it can also be a core component of your marketing strategy. Beyond existing as an additional content distribution channel, it’s also a powerful way to gain insights about your audience. You can use social media to analyze customer demographics, stay on top of trends, get feedback on campaigns, and more. You can also gain a deeper understanding of your brand perception and find ways to improve it.

A variety of media tools can help you publish and automate content, track performance, and manage relationships with followers and customers across social media platforms. They may also incorporate social listening tools, competitor intelligence tools, and other advanced analytics. Some platforms can also help you form partnerships with the right influencers and affiliates, so you can use social proof to boost your marketing efforts.

An Investment in Your Future

Upgrading your tech stack can seem like a lot to take on, from software expenses to time spent on implementation and training. That said, it’s usually worth it — the best new tools can pay for themselves in ROI. Better marketing tools can attract new leads, manage relationships, boost your brand reputation, and turn you into an authoritative resource for your prospects. The upfront cost might be high, but you can’t put a price on that kind of exponential growth potential.