Sales automation – what is it?

At a certain stage of the company’s expansion, proper sales management requires a certain change of mind – or rather, the willingness to delegate some responsibility to special software. Software devoid of the human factor, of course, will not replace the salesperson in convincing the customer that this product or service will be the best choice for the lead – at least not at the present stage. However, it can revolutionize the company’s approach to sales organization. After all, it cannot be denied that the “traditional” model of sales management has several disadvantages, of which two are in the lead:

– Sales specialist’s time is limited – the more small sales-related obligations a salesperson has to fulfill, the less time (and energy) he has to actually sell;
– Even in the best organizations, leads are sometimes “wasted” – for example, when they were not communicated to the right person at the right time or their potential was misjudged.

The Sales Automation software allows you to eliminate, or at least significantly reduce, the damage caused by the above-mentioned points. It saves the time of the sales department on all “fronts” and – properly configured – deals with the organization and classification of leads. All this is done with the inevitability and immediacy of a computer program. In short, the Sales Automation module in HubSpot:

– Improves productivity by replacing the salesperson in many necessary organizational tasks;
– He makes sure that the lead is not “lost in action”;
– It ensures consistency of sales data between all departments in the company;
– Allows you to associate a given lead with activities that he performed on the company’s website – for example, he visited specific subpages or completed a given form;
– Offers the ability to send internal messages to all members of the sales department;
– It allows you to see the entire history of cooperation with a given lead – conversation records, logs of activities performed, etc. on a clear timeline.
– In conjunction with the Marketing Hub, it enables full automation of e-mails – for example, automatic dispatch of an upselling offer, reminders about the need to settle an invoice or a request for an opinion on a product / service.

What does our Head of Sales Donald Cooper say about HubSpot Sales?

HubSpot enables me to manage my sales team with greater efficiency. Detailed data analyzes and non-standard reports allow you to study the sales effectiveness of salespeople and observe their ability to build relationships with customers. Thanks to the possibility of tracking leads on our website in real time, I can select the most engaged ones and configure the appropriate e-mail notifications for my team. This is just a drop in the ocean of possibilities that HubSpot offers us. It is definitely worth using them to develop your business.

It should not be forgotten that while Sales Automation in the right hands is an advanced tool that can be a catalyst for the dynamic development of the company, the software will not be able to use its capabilities without proper configuration. Sales automation is a powerful ally of the merchant, but without it is nothing more than galaxies of ones and zeros. The introduction of this type of software to the company must therefore take place in a thoughtful and organized manner, and all people who will use Sales Automation in the company should be properly trained. Don’t worry – in the vast majority of cases it pays off.

Sales Automation CRM

The most important element of Sales Automation is certainly CRM (customer relationship management) – software for managing customer relations. The times when all related processes were organized using Excel’s spreadsheet should be rightly called the past – the CRM system can be compared to the transition from a cab to a modern car.

HubSpot Free CRM as part of a wider ecosystem perfectly meets the needs of enterprises in establishing and maintaining relationships with potential and current customers. What is it about?

Sales automation in HubSpot – for the merchant

Let’s start from the beginning, i.e. adding contacts to the lead base and initial selection. The marketing module in HubSpot allows you to develop a personalized workflow. In this way, based on the source from which the lead comes, the data he provided and the activities he performed on the website, it is possible not only to automatically enter it into the contact database, but also to categorize a given lead.

People who have participated in, for example, a company-organized webinar on a specific topic, will rather be interested in such a service or related options, rather than in another part of the offer. The source of the contact may also be advertising on Facebook or Google Ads, the form on the website and many others. There are many options for classifying leads thanks to the almost complete customization – other examples are categorization by position (with a CEO with a high probability the conversation will look different than with a junior specialist), the size of the company and any other value you set.

The Sales module in HubSpot allows you to create message templates with personalized tokens, thanks to which the system can automatically fill in such elements as company name, name or position. This provides a noticeable time saving in relation to writing content, and even the typical copying of a template from another source and adapting it to a given lead. HubSpot does it for you.

What’s more, thanks to the e-mail tracking function in HubSpot, the trader will see in the system that the message was opened by the addressee, the link in it was clicked or the file attached to the message was downloaded (notifications can also be displayed on the desktop in the form of push notifications).

If the lead ignores the sales email, the sales chances drop, but are still more than zero. The Sequence feature in HubSpot Sales allows you to automatically send several messages at specific intervals to remind a potential customer of the offer. And when the dialogue is established, HubSpot will immediately remove the contact from the list and stop sending any more e-mails.

Thanks to the integration with the Google calendar or the calendar available in Microsoft Office 365, HubSpot will also help the salesperson to arrange a meeting with a potential customer. It is enough to send a link with the available hours to the lead, and the lead can quickly and conveniently click on a suitable date. The meeting will automatically appear in your calendar.

Sales automation in HubSpot for a manager

HubSpot is also a powerful convenience for leaders of sales teams. In many organizations, reporting is a very time-consuming (and often necessary) job. HubSpot has a solution for this – customized reports can be automatically generated and then sent via e-mail to members of the sales team, management board or other people associated with the process.

Another advantage of HubSpot as a CRM are the enormous possibilities of automatic categorization of leads. From basic classification options – for example based on company size, location, industry or type (B2B / B2C) to fully definable custom fields that can be useful in a given activity. What’s more, with HubSpot you can also create a scoring system for potential customers.

What is it about? Thanks to the recording of various events and the possibility of adding your own fields, a given lead can be subject to automatic evaluation. For example, failing to pick up the phone several times will result in receiving negative points, and reading the article on the subpage of a specific service will result in a positive ranking. You can extend the entire algorithm with even such elements as e-mail address analysis – if the customer is potentially interested in a service or product with a high price, and the company e-mail is on a free domain, it can be initially assumed that the cost probably exceeds the customer’s capabilities.

With the right number of factors and giving them the right weight, HubSpot can present the potential of cooperation with the client using a percentage value. Of course, it will only be an auxiliary indicator, but if properly configured, it will be surprisingly effective in scoring.

HubSpot and the power of integration

Even the best designed and configured CRM system would be of little use if it could not be integrated with other services. Enterprises use many external services for various purposes – from lead acquisition, to analytics, to logistics and many more. In the case of sales automation, HubSpot can be integrated with different types of software, used in principle at each of the steps mentioned above.

– For example, Sales Navigator will help in “catching” leads,
– LeadSpace or LeadGenius can be useful in obtaining information,
– When arranging calls, apart from the Google and Microsoft calendars, you can also use Calendly or Arrangr,
– In the analysis of sales calls, it is worth taking an interest in tools based largely on artificial intelligence: these are, among others, Wingman or Avoma,
– ClientPoint or PandaDoc will work well in developing valuations and sales proposals,
– In report automation, your (and HubSpot) ally will be, for example, QuarterOne.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg – the number of tools you can integrate with HubSpot is truly impressive – and sales automation is just a slice of the platform as a whole.

In this post, we present all the features and tools that are available on Hubspot. So if your company is considering implementing automation to its marketing activities – read on.

HubSpot – what is it?

HubSpot is a system for automating the activities of sales and customer service departments with marketing activities, thanks to which your company can closely monitor the impact of one on another and optimize specific processes.

In addition to these possibilities, HubSpot is primarily a huge database of contacts and companies. Anyone who interacts with your business can be saved as a contact on HubSpot. Examples of contacts are visitors who converted on the form, visitors who contact your team, or potential customers your team met at events. A good database of contacts will allow your team to easily record and retrieve information about them, keeping everyone up-to-date.

What modules does Hubspot consist of?

The system consists of 4 main modules:
– marketing – helping to increase traffic, the number of conversions resulting from a larger number of visitors and effectively lead and monitor the effects of marketing campaigns,
– sales – helps to automate sales tasks (sending e-mails to potential customers, call register),
– service – thanks to which you will introduce order and improve customer service processes (notes, detailed data, reports),
– CMS – used to manage content, create newsletters and landing pages.

Each of the modules is a separate tool and can be used separately, however, for comprehensive sales and marketing support, it is worth using the potential of all of them. And about the potential in them below.

Marketing Hub in Hubspot

The marketing module allows you to manage all marketing processes in your company: automate activities related to publishing content, combine various advertising channels and analyze their effectiveness. What features will you find in the marketing module and what are the benefits?

– Option to post the content your audience is looking for to make them easier to find in search engines, social media and more. And by adding call to action buttons, encourage them to convert.
– Positioning the website thanks to SEO tools that help you plan your strategy and optimize your content as you write it.
– Manage your Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Google ads directly in the HubSpot system. The ability to track which ads turn leads into customers.
– Planning social media publications, managing, analyzing and monitoring posts and prioritizing them to increase the chance of reaching customers.
– Function to insert and manage files directly in HubSpot and easily embed them on social media, websites and blog posts.
– Live chat function, thanks to which you can chat with your website visitors in real time. Use bots to qualify leads and scale your efforts to focus on the conversations that matter most.
– Option to design and launch a landing page without the help of programmers or IT specialists. Access an extensive library of mobile optimized templates that convert, or build pages from scratch.
– Create forms with a simple drag and drop editor. Add them to your website to turn anonymous visitors into leads that will automatically be added to your contact database.
– Automate repetitive company processes, plan large-scale mailing campaigns, streamline cross-functional operations, bulk data management, and more.
– Create mobile-optimized email campaigns that look professional. Ability to personalize content for each audience and run A / B testing to improve click-through rates.
– A complete picture of each potential customer in one integrated database. Thanks to the segmentation of contacts based on the collected data and automation, you can evaluate the potential of leads and assign them to a specific person from your sales team.
– Advanced, custom reports and built-in analytics.
– Flexibility to store and customize any type of data in HubSpot. Ability to prepare reports With custom data and create dashboards to share insights with your team.

Sales Hub in Hubspot

The sales module combines all tools and data on one easy-to-use, efficient platform. Thanks to it, you gain constant control over acquiring leads and converting them into customers by sales departments. What exactly does it have?

– Ability to create email templates from the most effective emails that can be shared with your team.
– Monitoring the time a prospect opens emails, so you can respond to them in a timely manner and close the deal faster.
– Library of useful sales materials for the entire team, the ability to share documents directly from the inbox.
– Making and recording calls directly from the browser and automatic registration of them in the CRM system, thanks to which you will discover what is behind the team’s results.
– Share a link that allows potential customers to choose an appointment that suits everyone – it will be automatically synced with your calendar.
– Set up a series of personalized emails and follow-up tasks to keep the entire sales process in mind.
– Ability to contact potential customers when they are actively using your website. Direct your chat conversations to the right team members to build better relationships and close more deals.
– Knowledge base full of the right tools, chat scripts, marketing guides, and more.
– Full insight into the sales process to be able to effectively forecast and achieve even better results.
– Mobile application to manage your contacts, offers and tasks from any place and device.
– One-click contract adding, task assignments and progress tracking on your dashboards.
– and more!

Service Hub in Hubspot

Today, customers expect a problem to be resolved within minutes and personalized service 24/7 through a variety of channels. However, most customer service teams struggle to meet these growing demands because their tools and data reside in multiple sources or tools.

The service module collects all customer service data and channels in one place and helps you scale support through automation and self-service. What do you gain from this? More time for proactive service that retains and expands your customer base. Here are the features that can make it easier for you:

– Ability to add routing and automation to tickets, so the help desk will prioritize critical issues.
– Possibility to transform the FAQ database – frequently asked questions into a library of articles, videos and documentation that will help to solve them.
– Combine team email, live chat, Facebook Messenger, and more into one universal inbox so your entire team can see conversations and respond in one place.
– Ensure that each user has access to the appropriate resources. Ability to quickly view and manage permissions, statuses and availability across the team.
– Create custom surveys to collect customer and contractor feedback.
– Reports and custom funnels to monitor the health of your business and improve the efficiency of your customer service teams.

CMS module (CMS Hub)

The CMS module is the content management system needed to easily create and personalize websites for each visitor – optimized for conversion on any device. Thanks to it, you will create websites with the tools you prefer and your marketing team will be able to update themselves thanks to flexible themes. Additionally, in the module you will get access to the resources and ideas of the HubSpot developer community. What do you gain with the functions available in CMS Hub?

– You can improve your site and take action in one place using SEO recommendations.
– Pre-made themes with the option to create custom themes that will help you build a consistent site without worrying about mismatched designs, logos or navigation.
– Managing multiple language domains and optimizing each of them for SEO. Users will be able to switch between languages.
– Ability to update and build the page without the help of a developer or custom code.
– A / B tests – a function that allows you to select up to five different page variations, which HubSpot will monitor and display the most effective option.
– Analyze the types of content, sources and campaigns that attract the most potential customers.
– Tools like GitHub to handle version control and make changes to web resources.
– Add interactive elements such as event registrations, guest books and calculators without setting up an external server, SSL certificate or data transfer processes.
– Create a site-wide content editing environment that allows the marketing team to manage and update the user interface.
– Access to extensive documentation and an active developer community to get started immediately, as well as get answers and ideas.
– Website security thanks to automatic and manual checks for attacks, potential abuse or other anomalies.

Which HubSpot Modules are Best for Your Business?

If you are considering introducing sales and marketing automation in your company, the HubSpot system will definitely have most of the functions you need. So if you have questions about the system’s capabilities and how to implement it in your company – contact us.

However, conducting extensive marketing in social media is very demanding. Each platform in social media has its own rules – it has a slightly different user profile, puts emphasis on different elements and uses a different technology, so that the marketer has to adapt to the communication code prevailing there. Usually, we will not post the same content on a TikTok or Twitter profile (or at least not in the same form) as on Instagram or LinkedIn. For this reason, when running company profiles on various websites, we have to generate a lot of different content, tailored to a given website.

In addition, it is necessary to use separate applications for each medium, and sometimes, in addition, to switch between several profiles within one platform – all this in real time in order to answer customer questions as quickly as possible and react to current events. It cannot be denied that in terms of logistics, this is a huge challenge.

Social media tools

Platforms that, thanks to API (Application Programming Interface) integration, allow you to manage profiles on many social networks within one tool come to the rescue. Thanks to this, using one “combine”, we can – depending on the functionality offered by a given product – plan automatic publication of posts, reply to comments, talk to users via private messages, and analyze statistics on reach, engagement or the number of subscribers and generate reports from it. What are the most popular tools and what exactly do they offer?

Hootsuite

Hootsuite, apart from the basic functions, also allows you to set an alarm that will notify the user of a non-standard increase in activity on our profiles. As you know, immediate reaction allows you to minimize any crises. Hootsuite also allows you to analyze frequently used words in a given situation, so that we can properly formulate the messages we need. Setting the right parameters also allows you to connect and advanced analysis of the effectiveness of posts in Google Analytics.

The most important information at a glance:
– Integration with over 20 social networks – including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter,
– Post publication planning,
– The ability to receive and send private messages for some portals,
– Charts regarding the reach of individual posts, collective charts and the possibility of comparison with competing fan pages,
– Built-in link shortener,
– Possibility of integration with advertising systems,
– Mobile applications for Android and iOS.

Postplanner

Postplanner connects to the most popular portals and allows you to plan posts using a convenient calendar. Integration with Canva also allows you to easily create graphically friendly content.

The most important information at a glance:
– Integration with 5 social networks: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest,
– Planning, editing and targeting of posts,
– Sorting posts in terms of range, number of comments or reactions,
– Displaying the most popular posts on a topic from different platforms for guidance and inspiration
– File hosting,
– The ability to create graphics using Canvy,
– Algorithms to evaluate the potential of a given post.

Loomly

Loomly, apart from the publication calendar, allows you to analyze the effectiveness of posts, suggests ideas for new entries and allows the tool to be used by several users.

The most important information at a glance:
– Integration: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn,
– Calendar post scheduling,
– File hosting,
– Image library for publication,
– Management of ads in social media,
– Performance analytics,
– Ideas for posts generated on the basis of current trends in a given industry,
– Ability to reply to comments.

Later

A content publishing tool focused mainly on Instagram, but also works with Facebook, TikTok and Pinterest. As one of the few, it allows you to plan Stories (in the form of sending material to the phone and reminders about the need to publish – Instagram API currently prevents the automatic publication of stories).

The most important information at a glance:
– Drag & drop calendar,
– Hashtag suggestions,
– Suggestions on the date of publication based on data,
– Visual image editor with filters,
– Post effectiveness analysis.

Buffer

Like the above Later tool, Buffer also allows you to schedule Instagram Stories in the form of content upload and publication reminder. Buffer will also highlight any Instagram comments we haven’t replied to.

The most important information at a glance:
– Integration: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn,
– Analytical module,
– Mobile application for iOS and Android.

Planoly

A tool dedicated to Instagram and Pinterest, in a limited form also cooperating with Snapchat, Facebook and Twitter. In addition to the publication calendar combining several platforms, Planoly also offers other modules, including a post builder with various functions for visual modification.

The most important information at a glance: Platform integration:
– Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat to a different extent,
– An extensive analytical module,
– Built-in basic post patterns,
– iOS and Android application.

Postify

Basic post planner for several social networks – apart from the most popular, it also integrates with the Russian platform Vkontakte. On Facebook, apart from the publication of entries at a specified time, it allows, for example, to automatically change the background photo on the fan page.

The most important information at a glance:
– Integration: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Vkontakte,
– Graphics editor,
– Suggestions and inspiration for posts,
– Built-in link shortener (to Twitter and LinkedIn),
– Analytical module.

NapoleonCat

The Social Inbox feature will allow you to handle all messages sent to the company in one inbox. NapoleonCat also allows you to manage ads (Facebook / Instagram) and profiles on Google My Business.

The most important information at a glance:
– Integration: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Messenger, YouTube, Google My Business,
– Analytical module,
– Ad moderation (Facebook and Instagram),
– Multiple users – team coordination,
– Reports in .pdf.

SkedSocial

A tool that focuses mainly on Instagram, but according to the principle “Instagram first does not mean Instagram only”, it also works with Facebook, Twitter, Google My Business and LinkedIn.

The most important information at a glance:
– Publication calendar,
– Multiple users,
– Graphics editor,
– Analytical module,
– Canva integration.

SproutSocial

SproutSocial is a multiplatform social media calendar that also allows you to analyze and compare your statistics with competing profiles.

The most important information at a glance:
– Integration with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest (post publication), Reddit, TripAdvisor, Glasdoor (monitoring),
– Analytical module,
– Graphics editor and template library,
– Algorithms suggesting the best time to publish a given post,
– Multiple users,
– Mobile application.

Kontentino

A simple-to-use social media organizer, useful especially with a large number of profiles and a large team. It will be especially useful for marketing agencies thanks to the module enabling easy acceptance of the given content by the client.

The most important information at a glance:
– Integration with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest,
– Solutions facilitating communication in the team,
– Mobile application,
– Analytical module,
– Ad management.

Sendible

A tool designed for larger teams and marketing agencies. Monitoring of specific phrases can be especially useful, which will allow you to be always where a given brand is mentioned.

The most important information at a glance:
– Integration: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google My Business, as well as a number of blogging platforms (WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr) and messengers (Slack),
– Solutions facilitating communication in the team,
– Mobile application,
– Analytical module,
– Ad management.

While it is said that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, in fact many of us do, and a similar mechanism works for the newsletter as well. If it is not visually attractive to the recipient, the chance that he will devote enough time to read the content is minimal. Besides, there is also the question of whether the user will see our message at all. Nowadays, e-mail has sophisticated anti-spam filters that redirect the mass of messages to the “spam” or “offer” tab. So in order to reach our potential customers, we need to send messages from a source that they will read as trusted.

So that the newsletters we send do not hit the vacuum and bring measurable benefits, we should choose a tool for sending them that has a high delivery rate and allows you to create visually attractive e-mails. Here is an overview of the most popular programs on the market with which you can create and send such newsletters.

MailChimp

MailChimp is one of the most popular systems for creating and sending newsletters. Its huge advantage is the extensive free plan. It is available without time limits and allows you to send as many as 10,000 messages per month. As part of this offer, you can build a database of 2000 contacts.

Newsletters sent by MailChimp can be easily adapted to various industries and current needs. The program provides access to over 100 e-mail templates and an advanced text editor, so the newsletters created in it can be graphically interesting and adapted to the visual identification of the brand. The tool also allows you to independently combine graphic and text elements using an editor that works on the principle of “drag and drop”. This means that without any programming knowledge, you can place frames for texts, photos, CTA buttons, headers or other components anywhere.

Features and packages
MailChimp also provides its customers with extensive reports and the ability to test different types of messages to find the most effective version. It can be integrated with various platforms, including WooCommerce, Magento or Zapier. Most importantly for marketers – e-mails sent by this system have an acceptance rate of 96-99%, which means that messages almost always go to the recipient’s main mailbox instead of offers or spam.

The tool has three paid packages, the cheapest of which costs $ 9.99 per month. They differ in the number of available functions, for example, only in more expensive plans are dynamic content available, i.e. content adapted to a specific recipient.

The most important information at a glance
– over 100 templates,
– English platform,
– the ability to create newsletters in the mobile application,
– acceptance rate 96-99%,
– free plan for up to 2000 contacts,
– Unremovable MailChimp footer in the free package.

MailerLite

MailerLite is a system that also has a free version for an unlimited period. In this case, however, the number of subscribers is much smaller – it is a maximum of 1000 contacts. The platform is intuitive to use and has a built-in drag-and-drop editor. It can be integrated with many tools (including Shopify, WooCommerce, Zapier, WordPress).

There are only two packages in this tool: Free and Paid. The latter, however, does not have a fixed price – subscription costs are constantly increasing along with the extension of the contact list, so choosing it, you have to take into account a gradual increase in expenses. You can compare the features of the packages during the 14-day trial period of the paid version.

The most interesting features
What interesting features does this tool have? The built-in photo editor is definitely worth mentioning here, thanks to which you can crop and correct photos that are to be sent in messages directly in MailerLite. The platform also allows you to conduct A / B tests to help determine the most effective version of the message, and to create pop-ups encouraging you to subscribe to the newsletter. Options that are useful for marketers are: automatic resending of messages to people who did not open the email, and delivery of messages by time zone.

The most important information at a glance
– 14-day trial period for extended versions,
– free version up to 1000 subscribers,
– English platform,
– built-in photo editing,
– automatic resending to people who did not open the message,
– A / B tests,
– delivery of messages according to time zones,
– 24/7 chat support with a paid package.

GetResponse

GetResponse includes a drag-and-drop editor, but also a database of over 220 ready-made templates – this is the program that has one of the largest libraries of this type. However, there is no permanent free plan, you can take advantage of a 30-day trial period, but then you have to decide on one of the paid plans. However, it is worth knowing that within one package, the price increases as the number of subscribers increases.

The most interesting features
GetResponse allows you to adjust the dispatch to local time, and also offers a perfect timing tool. This means that messages are sent by the system when recipients respond best to them, which is estimated by algorithms based on their previous behavior. An interesting option is also the ability to create dynamic content, i.e. content that changes depending on the preferences of the recipient. Thanks to this, each subscriber can, for example, receive an e-mail recommendation of products that he was interested in.

What distinguishes the tool from the previously mentioned programs is multifunctionality. Thanks to GetResponse, you can not only send newsletters, but also, for example, run webinars (in more expensive packages). So, if you’re looking for a program that can do things more comprehensively, this is an option definitely worth considering.

The most important information at a glance
– 99% deliverability,
– 30-day trial period,
– access to ready-made e-mail templates (220),
– built-in photo editor,
– database of free photos,
– perfect timing tool – sending messages when recipients respond best to them,
– adjusting the shipment to local time,
– A / B tests,
– you can also do webinars in more expensive packages.

FreshMail

In Freshmail, we do not have access to the free version, after a 14-day trial period, you must subscribe to one of the paid packages. However, the prices are quite attractive here – the cheapest version costs $ 10 a month and allows you to build a list of up to 1000 recipients. This program also allows you to create newsletters using the drag-and-drop method and has a rich database of message templates – there are over 150 of them. This program has one interesting option that you will not find in most tools of this type. There is an option to buy a specific pool of messages to be sent without subscribing. In this model, we can, for example, buy 10,000 messages and simply do a one-time mailing. This is a very profitable option for people who send newsletters less than once a month.

What else does the tool offer?
This shipping system offers great opportunities when it comes to user segmentation. You can divide by interests, gender or location, among others, and send mailing only to those people who are the target group for a specific message. Freshmail also has the functions of optimizing the sending time of newsletters and creating dynamic content. In addition, it is also worth paying attention to the large possibilities in terms of creating a shipping schedule – the platform allows you to plan any number of them.

What else does Freshmail offer? A useful function is, for example, anti-spam tests, thanks to which, before sending, you can make sure that the message will not be read by email filters as junk. In addition, many interesting options are included in the highest package. Onboarding, which introduces the secrets and functions of the tool, contact with a dedicated customer manager and the possibility of creating webinars, are also included in the price.

The most important information at a glance
– 14-day trial period,
– over 150 ready-made templates,
– anti-spam testing before shipment,
– shipping time optimizer,
– schedule of any number of shipments, – in higher packages: onboarding, webinars, dedicated account manager,
– option to buy a news package instead of subscribing.

ActiveCampaign

As part of this program, you can count on a 14-day trial period, after which you must buy one of the paid packages, the cheapest of which costs $ 15 and allows you to create a base of 500 subscribers. In addition to the standard “drag and drop” editor, ActiveCampaign offers ready-made templates, the base of which, however, is relatively small – it is currently 25 versions. What is an advantage of this tool, however, is free photo hosting, thanks to which you can store photos and graphics that you want to use in the future in the cloud. A useful feature of ActiveCampaign is also the history of changes – if at some point in the newsletter creation we find that the earlier version was better, we can easily return to it.

In ActiveCampaign, there is no problem with integration with various platforms or with importing contacts, if we previously used a different tool. There are also options for personalizing messages, delivery control and Lead Scoring. What is the last of these functions? Well, we can automatically assign points to our contacts depending on their engagement, thanks to which we create a list of our most loyal recipients. Active Campaign also allows you to do A / B tests, and in the highest of the packages we also get basic CRM functions – for example, assigning tasks to people from the company. What to take into account is that the price within the package increases as the contact base grows. It is quite a powerful tool that is best suited for large companies that need more than standard solutions.

The most important information at a glance
– e-mail templates (about 25),
– message change history,
– free image hosting 14-day trial period,
– personalization of e-mails,
– deliverability control,
– the function of adding ticks.

MailPoet

MailPoet, on the other hand, is not a standard program, but a WordPress plugin. It is free for up to 100 subscribers and there is no distinction between packages – it’s just that the price of the paid version grows in proportion to the number of subscribers. Its advantage is that it allows you to send an unlimited number of e-mails, no matter how wide the contact base is. It also works on a drag-and-drop basis and offers around 50 templates for free.

A useful feature not found in other programs is the automatic removal of uninvolved subscribers, so we don’t have to spend money sending newsletters to people who do not respond to them. The time after which a person is considered disengaged can be freely set in the panel according to current needs. The plugin has a high message delivery rate and is easy to use, so it is a good choice for WordPress users.

The most important information at a glance
– platform in English,
– free templates (around 50),
– free of charge up to 100 subscribers,
– unlimited number of e-mails,
– there is no division into packages
– the price increases with the number of subscribers,
– automatic removal of uninvolved subscribers,
– high deliverability ratio.

EmailLabs

EmailLabs is a platform that has very high message deliverability. We can even decide on a dedicated IP address, thanks to which only we have influence on the reputation of the address and message deliverability. The tool offers 4 packages, including one completely free, which allows you to send 24,000 messages per month. At EmailLabs, we also have ready-made templates that make creating mailings simple and fast.

In the case of this tool, great emphasis is placed on ensuring the client’s security during the transmission of messages and encryption of communication. In higher packages, we also have access to full onboarding, training for employees and the support of a dedicated specialist who helps, among others, in carrying out the necessary integrations. Reporting options are also expanded, including not only basic data, but also open tracking, link tracking and e-mail deliverability alerts.

The most important information at a glance
– very high deliverability,
– 24,000 messages a month for free,
– dedicated IP in higher packets,
– very extensive options to ensure security,
– free plan forever.

The importance of the emotional environment is openly emphasized by the representatives of show business (“we do not sell skills, we sell PPV and emotions”), but probably every modern entrepreneur is aware of the importance of non-financial aspects of sales. The customer should not only buy something, but also feel good about it.

Even the process of purchasing screws, pens or a phone case can be a carefully directed spectacle, after which the customer will leave satisfied and will probably come back to your store next time. It is not about unfairly manipulating the client and persuading him to make a decision that is unfavorable for himself, but about creating a long-term relationship based on trust and mutual respect.

The e-commerce industry, due to its specificity, generates huge amounts of data. We can – in simple terms – track every user movement on our website, in social media, and thanks to cookies and advanced profiling, virtually the entire network.

For this reason, e-commerce relies more and more on analytics every day. While intuition is still a very important element in business, it cannot compete with terabytes of detailed data on user behavior and profiles. Thanks to the huge analytical capabilities, you can get to know the customer’s expectations and see how he meets the brand, how he browses the website and makes a purchase, and whether he is satisfied with the entire experience. So you can design every element of this relationship and adjust it to the user’s expectations.

Customer path – what will be needed?

In order to be able to analyze the behavior of your website user and professionally check whether the customer’s shopping path within the website requires verification, the Google Analytics module will be the key. This powerful system provides thorough data about your website and its users.

The functionality of Google Analytics that you should pay special attention to in the context of the customer journey is Behavior Flow. This component may, inter alia, group content and individual pages and associate it with user behavior, generating detailed reports. You can also find reports that identify Multi-Channel Funnels and Top Conversion Funnels.

The HotJar tool can also help. By tracking the movements of the user’s cursor, it allows to detect those elements of the website navigation that fulfill their role well and those that should be improved.

Customer path and customer experience

The client’s path can be conventionally divided into layers. Each layer is characterized by a different level of customer relationship, which requires slightly different solutions and tools – from the multitude of available methods we have selected a few that have proven their effectiveness – of course, it is not a whole, but it is a very solid basis.

Building awareness

The first moment when the customer’s shopping path is revealed. The interested party is considering purchasing a new service or item. Often, he does not have specific needs yet – he is looking for gifts for Christmas or Black Friday promotions and enters a general phrase related to it in the search engine. Magic begins here, or rather advanced marketing tools that will allow you to make friends with the client and reap mutual benefits.

The first step for a brand should be to say “I am.” At this stage, several solutions may be crucial:
– Text ad in the Google search network – the world’s most popular ad format for many years. The system displays sponsored links matching the phrase entered by the user in the search results.
– SEO – thanks to appropriate positioning, your website will be higher in the search results of a specific phrase, and thus will generate more visits and – probably – transactions.
– Advertising in social media – social media has become one of the foundations of internet marketing. On Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn, users provide systems – and therefore marketers – with hundreds of information about their interests, behaviors and views. Thanks to this, it is possible to signal the presence of your brand among people who may be potentially interested in it.
– Google Display Network – a system that allows you to display ads directly on specific pages. GDN covers over 90% of the Internet, including huge portals. In order to use GDN, the advertiser must use data about the user’s interests and on this basis target the user with advertisements.
– YouTube Ads, e.g. bumper – short advertising formats displayed on the YouTube platform. In building brand recognition, the so-called bumpers, lasting a maximum of 6 seconds.
– Blog – at the stage of creating brand awareness, it is a useful tool. A blog entry, e.g. with propositions of gifts for a given occasion, may signal the customer a need for a purchase that he or she is not yet aware of.

If the actions were effective, your brand managed to gain the attention of a potential customer. This means that the tools you used did their job. You have attracted someone’s attention – not just anyone, but the person who by clicking expressed interest in your products.

This is a good start, but not only does it not guarantee success and may even mean little. Time for the second layer of the path.

Consideration

The customer already knows about your existence. Now it’s time to convince him that your offer will be the best choice for him. Let’s face it – probably your brand isn’t the only one it is considering.

At this stage, two aspects will be key – appropriate content and UX (user experience).

– Well-matched content on the category or product page – an attractive and substantive description, photos, promotional materials, video presentation, etc. will make the client consider your offer.
– UX will make sure that the layout of the content and the navigation on the website are friendly enough so that the “pros and cons” analysis is favorable, and the process of adding a product to the basket and then finalizing the order is convenient and fast.

You may also find useful in this step:
– Ads in the Google search network – customer expectations are beginning to crystallize. At this stage, the phrases typed in the search engine become less general, for example, instead of “Christmas gifts”, keywords such as “drone with a camera” or “tricycle” appear. Thanks to Google Search Ads, your offer may appear on the first page of search results even if your page is not well positioned.
– PLA product ads (Product Listing Ads) – a solution that requires Google Merchant Center, which enables direct advertising of a specific product with its photo, description and price Ads are displayed both on a dedicated Google subpage and in search results.
– Customer opinions on Google, on forums and in social media – finding information about a given company, product quality and its approach to customers on the Web will take several seconds. Make sure not only that the product complies with the description, but also what your attitude is and how you deal with controversial situations – the image crisis may delay the development of your brand for years.
– Landing page – the page that the user gets directly after clicking on the link. It can be a category or product page in the store or any other subpage, but often the name of the landing page functions in the collective consciousness as a subpage created specifically for the promotion and sale of a specific item or service.
– Blog – a substantive blog will help create your brand’s image of an expert in a given industry, and at the same time it is a great source of organic traffic and sales support. Entries about a given product category give space to present the assortment with an emphasis on its advantages.
– Price comparison websites – these convenient aggregators of stores and products allow the user to quickly reach similar offers and compare them with each other. Price comparison websites are used by millions of potential customers – make sure you are present on such websites and properly present your product range.
– FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) – after a while you are able to identify certain issues in the relationship with customers that appear repeatedly. So you can prepare a list of the most frequently discussed topics and collect them in one place – thanks to this you will immediately “put your coffee on the bench” and save time – both for yourself and your potential customer.

Purchase (Acquisition)

Time to get the conversion done.

– Dynamic remarketing – is useful in virtually every step of the sales path, but it plays the most important role at this stage. Thanks to remarketing implemented not only in Google Ads, but also in social media (e.g. on Instagram and Facebook), you will remind about your existence and offer. You can also “ask” customers who registered on the website and even added a product to their cart, but for various reasons did not complete the transaction, to complete their purchase.
– YouTube Ads with particular emphasis on YouTube for Action – a special video ad format adapted to increasing conversion. It consists of a CTA, a header and – after playing – a special panel encouraging to click a link.
– Web push – notifications from websites displayed by browsers. Thanks to them, you can remind a potential customer about your offer, who is currently browsing other websites.

In addition to advertising tools, it is worth paying attention to other facilities at this step that are of great importance when converting – for example, the quick payment module, which allows you to complete the transaction almost immediately.

After-sales care (Service)

In order for the brand relationship with the customer to be durable, it cannot end up simply “pushing out” the product. For this reason, you should take care of comprehensive after-sales care after the transaction.

– Technical assistance – few entrepreneurs assume that the product may be defective or simply require some less obvious action on the part of the client, but in a certain percentage of cases such situations will arise anyway. A competent technical support department will provide the customer with assistance, support the building of an expert image of your brand and, above all, give the customer the impression of mutual feelings.
– Friendly warranty process – if the product obviously does not meet the customer’s expectations due to its defects, you must take responsibility for this inconvenience and take care of the repair or replacement of the product with a full-fledged one. If the customer sees that in the event of justified difficulties they can count on your brand, they are more likely to come back for more products.
– Additional materials, such as a FAQ containing technical issues of the product described in a friendly form – thanks to them the customer can find an answer to the issue bothering him without involving the technical support department.

Loyalty

You have successfully sold the product and met the customer’s expectations. You have built a relationship – now you have to maintain it and make the customer return to your store when the need arises again.

What will be useful at this stage?

– Dynamic remarketing – you already know your clients’ profiles and can offer them another offer. The remarketing potential is huge – thanks to this tool, customers can find your brand again, e.g. when scrolling Instagram or – thanks to the Google advertising network – even while browsing messages on various websites. If the customer is already on your remarketing list, you can send messages to them at any time – for example, when you offer new promotions on Black Friday and the customer has previously purchased products from a given category.
– Newsletter – e-mail marketing is considered an anachronism by many people, but it is still an effective and cheap tool for marketers. Thanks to the newsletter, you can send the client information about new promotions, changes in the offer or simply remind that your brand still exists.
– The loyalty program allows you to “retain” the customer for longer, because – in the most popular form of such a program – the more he spends in your store, the greater the benefits will be. These can be discounts on products or material prizes.
– Social media – thanks to social media, you can keep in touch with the customer by providing him with information about products, promotions and the brand as such. Although organic reach in leading portals is unlikely to return to the state from a few years ago, social media, even with a small advertising budget, will allow you to reach current and potential customers.

Why is it worth mapping the customer’s shopping path?

Focusing on a holistic analysis of user behavior on the website has nothing but benefits – it allows both you and advertising systems to better understand the motivations and actions of customers. The main advantage of dividing the customer’s shopping path into the stages presented above is the ability to adapt the entire advertising message (content, format, channel, graphics) to a given stage, which significantly increases the chance of conversion. The customer’s shopping path is therefore an element of optimization of your activities in all areas – paid advertising, promotion, UX or even SEO.