Marketing in the 21st century has changed drastically from what it was before technology revolutionized business strategies. Today, marketing involves social media and digital content, among many others. Most of the marketing strategies are online to reach as many audiences as possible. As a result, the consumer base has come to expect to get to know brands, patronize businesses, and contact companies all within the realm of the Internet. This demand has only continued its upward trend over the years as more consumers with the capability to spend and more gadgets with Internet access have increased. For businesses, this trend implies that consumers demand innovation.
Choosing the right system for your company among the never-ending list of marketing software platforms is the first step toward revolutionizing your business strategies. The second step involves improving it and building upon what it offers to ensure that your software is not just a cost but also a competitive advantage. If you are having trouble seeing the benefits of having what you think is the best marketing software, then it might be likely that you’re not bringing out its full potential. To help you resolve this problem and help you see why this technology has become necessary, here are the 5 strategies you can employ to improve your marketing software:
- Gauge your software’s features.
The first strategy requires you to take stock of your software’s features, looking at your company and identifying where its features can help you. Visit the website of your sales and marketing software. Jot down the features you see. And then, look at your marketing and business processes.
Where does a feature like payment systems fit? What can an admin portal or supplier portal do for your company? For each and every feature on your list, determine its role in your operations. In doing so, you’ll be able to not only identify which feature you’re not using but also use them to address any problems that you might have encountered in your marketing efforts.
- Customize what you can.
Once you have identified all the features that your software offers, you might realize that the system is capable of allowing you to customize various things. Customization is important because it helps you establish your company’s value while also inspiring trust and convenience to those who might visit your website.
An all in one marketing platform will allow you to build your own custom homepage or even personalize it in such a way that you can take advantage of your software’s multilingual abilities. If you haven’t done any customization since you got your system, then your website may be where you can start.
- Input the data your software needs.
Perhaps your software is not as valuable as you thought it would be because it doesn’t have the information it needs to respond to your demands, forward email notifications to you, or provide marketing analytics about your campaigns. While safety and security should always be a concern, your software needs data and information to function. Check what security measures your marketing platform employs. And once you’re sure that your company’s data is as secure as can be, start inputting all the information that your system needs to achieve proper automation.
- Take advantage of business analytics.
The best marketing platforms out there will have the ability to either employ artificial intelligence or initiate machine learning – two factors that, according to Smart Insights, are among the top 5 things that can positively impact your marketing activity and commercial efforts.
Look for the business analytics that your software offers. See what information you can get and the conclusions that your system can give you.
These analytics can give you insights on which supplier is performing the best, which site has been visited the most, and even how many referrals you got throughout your marketing campaigns. Don’t ignore the business analytics capabilities of your software as its insights might be just what you need to improve your business strategies.
- Talk to your vendor.
The final, and perhaps the most important, strategy that you can employ to improve your marketing software is to talk to your vendor. This strategy is particularly applicable if you find that your marketing platform is lacking some of the features that you think can improve your process.
If you need an application or software integrated and it is not readily available, talk to your vendor. If you have any questions or feedback, contact those who created the software that could potentially help increase your company’s productivity and profit. Don’t be afraid to ask questions because the answers will likely benefit both you and your vendor.
Maximizing Technology
Technology is an investment especially if you want to keep up with the rising demand and fast-paced changes that plague your market. However, this investment does not yield the best possible results without your efforts to improve it. Take a look at the strategies presented above and see which ones you might not have done. And if you think that even after employing these strategies, your software is still lacking, then it may be time to look for another that fits your company’s needs better.