How My Small Business Uses Marketing Automation

Summer is here, and I’m all for it.

This is the time of year I disconnect from the day-to-day of running my business to revisit the reasons I'm a business owner and make sure I’m being true to myself.

Time with family, creative freedom, flexibility, and financial independence are why I started my marketing studio, Tote + Pears. For years, it felt like the business was taking more from me than it gave. It wasn’t until I started taking summer breaks that I could find joy in my business again. These breaks wouldn’t have been possible without marketing automation. 

Now, I’m able to prioritize playdates and vacations – without sacrificing profits or increasing expenses. I’m a better business owner, wife, and mother because I’m able to step away, and I have marketing automation to thank. 

What Is Marketing Automation?

Marketing automation software reduces the need for human input, streamlining everyday business tasks like email and customer service responses. Various platforms have been around for years, but at first, I found them a little intimidating – they were pricey, the interfaces were complex, and my processes weren’t documented, which made automation challenging. 

But as the systems matured, so did our business. We revisited automation, and now we look for opportunities to automate when we can, prioritizing the areas that don't sacrifice our clients’ experience or feel disconnected and cold. 

How I Use Marketing Automation at Tote + Pears

Marketing automation tools are usually associated with simple tactics like routing campaign emails and responding to customer inquiries with chatbots, but I’ve found them particularly helpful in streamlining my tasks as a CEO. 

Engage with new prospects

It’s important for me to respond quickly to new inquiries, making it difficult for me to be away. But I’ve been using a sales automation tool for a few years that has drastically reduced my time in the office by changing how I interact with prospects. With only a few entries, a potential client can submit an inquiry directly from our website, answer a series of filtering questions, and schedule an introductory meeting without me being involved – boosting my productivity without sacrificing the prospective client experience.

Connect with new candidates 

When people think of marketing automation software, it’s usually regarding operations or another client-/customer-facing activity like sales or marketing. Still, marketing extends beyond your customer's experience. Your employees, vendors, and partners are all a critical piece of your business' success, and I want to make sure everyone has the same high-touch, personal experience no matter how they interact with our brand. I’m using marketing automation to help ensure that’s the case, especially when we’re actively recruiting. 

Time with family, creative freedom, flexibility, and financial independence are why I started my marketing studio. For years, it felt like the business was taking more from me than it gave. It wasn’t until I started taking summer breaks that I could find joy in my business again. These breaks wouldn’t have been possible without marketing automation.

Everything from promoting our job posts to collecting applications to converting the applicant to a new hire is handled in a streamlined way through our applicant management system. As candidates complete their application, they’re greeted with a warm welcome to the agency and routed through a series of questions that help us shepherd them through the hiring process. The software keeps them up to speed along the way, triggering automated emails that provide updates and requests for interviews. Once they’re hired, the information is automatically transferred to our payroll system, eliminating the need for additional data entry. 

Nurture and strengthen relationships

Whether I’m engaging with customers, leads or friends of friends, networking is essential to my business growth. But keeping up with everyone all the time can be time-consuming, especially as people move and their preferred means of communication shift.

But for services-based businesses, growth is all about relationships, so I’ve been using CRM marketing automation tools to help me keep track of prospects and clients and build workflows that keep me engaged and connected. 

For example, our workflows help us send happy birthday text messages or gifts, providing reminders about a client’s child's graduation, and delivering automated emails reminding clients it’s time for a brand refresh. Our CRM system at Tote + Pears helps us keep track of who’s important to us and what's important to them so the Tote + Pears brand is always present when it needs to be. 

What’s Next for Marketing Automation in My Business

As a business owner, it’s my job to make sure the business is running smoothly and we hit our targets, and I’m far more effective when my cup is full. I use marketing automation to help me do more without sacrificing myself or my time. Today it’s prospecting, hiring, and nurturing activities, but I’m not stopping there. As I grow as a leader, I’m looking for more ways to do more to nurture my relationships through mobile automation, grow my presence on social media, and improve our sales process so I can ensure my hours are spent on the most impactful activities for my business. With the right marketing automation investments, that should hold true not just in the summer months when I’m craving extra downtime, but all year long.