Marketing Automation tools are amazing things. It has made my life much simpler in so many ways during my various roles over the years and if I’m being honest, I’m a big sucker for simplifying/automating time-consuming processes. If I can shave some time by automating a task rather than doing it manually, count me in!
But every so often I find myself getting so caught up in the weeds of automation that I forget that there are real live breathing humans on the other end receiving my emails.
As marketers one of our top goals is to build trust with our audience. And when we lose sight of that and start treating them as just another click, a conversion or email address, it shows! Your audience can tell the difference between someone who cares versus someone who doesn’t. Which is why it is so important to show your human side in your marketing.
Below are 5 ways you can add a hint of human touch to your marketing automation:
1. Use segmentation
Being able to segment your audience is one of the most powerful tools in marketing automation. Segmentation allows you to deliver catered content based on the experiences and expectations of the different groups of your audience. The more information you have about your audience, the more segmentation you can do to create the most relevant content without being disruptive. The bottom line: Segmentation can help your emails seem more human.
2. Be relatable
Showing that there are real people behind your emails can help you build stronger relationships with your audience. Customers want to be able to connect with you on a personal level, and showing a glimpse behind the curtain of who you are as an organization and what makes you human, is a great way to create emails that are relatable and more engaging.
3. Be conversational
From the days of primitive man, human beings have told stories. Story-telling is also a key element for marketers. Think about the last time you opened an email. What made you do it? For me, a well-told compelling story gets me every time. Incorporating conversational elements, opinions and story-telling into your strategy, shows that you care and adds a great emotional aspect for your readers. Telling your story in a relatable way will engage your audience on a meaningful level and encourage the right people to connect with your organization.
4. Avoid always asking for a sale
Be sure to mix up your campaign strategy. If every campaign you send out is a deal or a promotion, you are simply treating your customers like walking dollar bills. Let’s avoid that! It’s so important to show that you care about your audience by regularly delivering valuable content without always asking for a sale in return.
5. Automation isn’t always everything
Let’s be honest, no amount of automation will ever replace the human touch. There are things that cannot be conveyed in the right way through automation. Some situations call for a little human intervention every now and then. Sometimes a simple phone call is what is really needed. Being able to be flexible in your automation strategy will allow for more productive communication and effective engagement.
As the saying goes: People don’t buy from companies, people buy from people. Audiences are looking to connect on a deeper level with brands. They want to know and trust the companies they are engaging with. By humanizing your marketing automation, you bring greater personalization, impact, and overall more engaging marketing tactics to the masses.
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