Table of ContentsIntroductionHow Marketing Automation WorksMarketing Automation FeaturesFuture Development of Marketing AutomationLegal Issues in Marketing AutomationReferencesIntroductionTechnology continues to change the way businesses businesses are carried out around the world. By leveraging various technology systems, businesses can increase efficiency through streamlined operations, improve compliance with automated quality control systems, or leverage communications systems to find new ways to collaborate and launch new innovations. New best practices are emerging and archaic systems are replaced by more agile and proactive systems. The marketing industry is no different. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayIn recent years, with the massive shift to digital communication as well as access to artificial intelligence and Big Data, technology has been a game-changer. the way businesses approach marketing as well as how consumers respond. Marketing strategies have moved from mass paper mailings with general messages to much more electronic methods such as personalized emails, personalized website landing pages, mobile advertising and targeted social media messages (O'Brien , nd). In today's global economy, where businesses around the world compete for the attention of everyday consumers, having a solid marketing strategy that speaks to them in their language is essential to success. Insert marketing automation software. Marketing automation software is data-driven solutions designed to increase campaign operational efficiency by streamlining, automating and monitoring your marketing efforts. It is the missing link between a content management system (CMS), which personalizes navigation data, and an association's customer relationship management system (CRM), which creates personalization based on navigation data. its stored limbs. By leveraging marketing automation software, businesses can organize the data they already have about a specific customer or prospect and use that data to automatically send a targeted message that will resonate with that person, at that moment. more timely, which will result in a much more cost-effective program. (Nutley and Gregoriadis, 2019). According to Forrester Marketing Automation Technology Forecast, spending on marketing automation software and tools could reach up to $25.1 billion annually by 2023, and 67% of market leaders are already using this technology to achieve their marketing objectives. Businesses of all sizes can leverage marketing automation to get more leads, improve customer engagement, and improve sales revenue by consolidating all digital marketing-related workflows and channels, including e -emails, website content, social media, text messaging and online advertising, all in one centrally managed location (Alexander, nd). ). This concept of personalized messaging marketing automation is particularly relevant for trade associations. Often incorporated as a nonprofit organization, a trade association typically relies on dues paid by its members to fund its daily business operations, whichinclude defending the best interests of its members as well as promoting and assisting in the development of opportunities for growth within this business segment. Therefore, the majority of trade association marketing efforts focus on member recruitment, member retention, and event registration. As such, ensuring that concrete messages reach the right person is essential to ensuring the viability of the organization. If members feel they are not receiving the value of their membership fee, they will most likely terminate their membership. Likewise, if a member receives communications that they believe are useful, relevant and will help grow their business, they will continue to be an engaged member – opening emails, signing up for training and purchasing products. resources. According to Higher Logic's 2018 State of Marketing Automation Benchmark Report, these findings were a driving force for associations when considering adopting and implementing marketing automation platforms. marketing (Wathen, 2018). How does marketing automation work? Marketing automation software can be a single program or suite. tools that work in tandem with other technology systems (via an application programming interface or API) to allow businesses to create an automated marketing awareness campaign based on a consumer's behavior, such as clicking on a link in an email or visit a web page. Using the software in conjunction with stored user data, businesses can create and send the "right" message at the "right" time to their target, thereby driving engagement, increasing leads and ultimately , sales. Consider Amazon. After searching for a product on Amazon, a consumer may begin to see advertisements related to that product on other websites they visit or on their own social media homepage. They may receive an email reminding them that they haven't completed their purchase or a notification that the original price of the product has dropped, prompting them to purchase the item immediately. Product recommendations can be made based on the purchasing patterns of consumers in a similar demographic to increase sales opportunities. There are many different types of marketing automation solutions at varying prices on the market, from basic tools to elaborate systems built and integrated with other technologies. systems. For example, some programs simply categorize information such as contact lists, while other more robust systems allow organizations to automate all marketing-related tasks, run A/B campaign tests to compare results, messages that resulted in a better conversion rate and create personalized branding and landing. pages. Trade associations also have a choice, depending on the vendor, on how the software is installed. The most affordable plans are hosted in the cloud and typically offer free basic plans, which is a great place for a marketer to try out the services. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) marketing automation systems are hosted on the provider's server; therefore, the association is not responsible for installing updates or maintaining it. Systems hosted on the association's local service, called an on-premises marketing automation system, are the most expensive due to the complex setup process, hardware installation, and required updates.Marketing Automation Features Marketing automation software features vary by platform and software provider. To ensure that an association has the right tools to achieve its marketing goals, it is best to research and solicit proposals from multiple service providers. Below are some of the most common features of marketing automation software (Grover, 2019). Email Marketing – Compile lists from multiple sources to send targeted messages. Online Marketing – Produce, analyze and optimize personalized marketing campaigns across multiple channels. Lead Scoring – Identify marketing strengths and create messages to automatically generate and cultivate leads. Social Marketing – Generate ROI through specialized social media outreach. A/B Testing – Segment, compare and analyze alternative marketing strategies. Analytics & Reporting – Define metrics and key performance indicators to prioritize tasks, resources and create marketing campaigns. API Technology – Easily integrate with your existing infrastructure by leveraging API technology. Future Automation Development MarketingTechnological advancements are constantly emerging, expanding the marketing reach of businesses every day. Citing The State of Salesforce report, Strorozhkova (2018) states that artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive analytics will propel marketing automation programs into the future. The report's findings explained by Strorozhkova (2018) indicate that 33% of marketing organizations are increasing their investments in AI within the next 12 months, and 43% of B2B companies will invest in predictive analytics. The use of AI will allow associations to go even further in personalization by not only indicating which messages to send, at the most appropriate time and on the most appropriate communication channel. Powered by machine learning, predictive analytics will allow associations to improve their lead scoring efforts, segment them based on top-performing marketing challenges, and further adjust marketing strategies by tracking how Members respond to every action they take with your communications, whether emails or websites. , chat or social networks (Strorozhkova, 2018). By adding AI and predictive analytics to marketing automation, associations will be able to move beyond sending targeted messages to large data sets and truly focus on creating in-depth content at a which has never been possible, like the IP address of a website. visitor. Marketing automation is certainly here to stay, but it will adapt, becoming more and more intelligent, targeted and personalized. By integrating other systems into marketing automation platforms through bridges and APIs, associations will also be able to improve their targeted reach, even beyond their network contacts. system to individuals or companies with whom they do not have an established relationship before even visiting their site. For example, by using account-based marketing (ABM) platforms, associations will be able to direct individuals or businesses to personalized content and a landing page most likely to engage them (Dickey, 2018). Additionally, by integrating additional social media automation platforms that use AI, associations can create filters that will automatically search for leads andwill ask the software to follow, like, comment and unfollow accounts to help them grow their social network organically. This could prove particularly fruitful considering that a social purchasing study from International Data Corporation (2014) indicated that 84% of executive professionals use social media to support their purchasing decisions. AI-enhanced marketing automation software can therefore help associations improve their reach by delivering their most valuable content to the most appropriate audience. Marketing Automation Legal Issues It goes without saying that data is the lifeblood of any organization and its marketing automation platform because without data, how does an association marketer know who to contact, with what message and when? By leveraging various technologies, the company can now track and store our habits, interests, demographics, locations, relationships and more to personalize their outreach efforts. However, while data privacy and security concerns remain a hot topic for consumers, regulators and businesses, it is imperative that associations stay abreast of the latest privacy developments and implement internal controls to meet their regulatory obligations. regarding the tracking, storage and use of their data. There are numerous laws and regulations, such as anti-spam and data acquisition laws, that dictate minimum requirements for sending marketing materials to contacts and storing personal information. As a sender of marketing materials, it is imperative that associations ensure their marketing automation software and service providers meet their respective regulatory requirements to avoid costly fines or embarrassing PR issues. The tricky part is knowing which regulations apply to whom in your system; therefore, some associations take a more conservative approach by tackling the stricter restrictions on data acquisition and retention. Depending on your association's reach, key regulations you may need to address include the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the U.S. Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography Act, and the Act of 2013 (CAN-SPAM) and Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), also known as the Combating Internet and Wireless Spam Act. Each regulation has its own set of rules and minimum standards for sending marketing materials to contacts, including specific consent requirements, opt-in and opt-out requirements, subject line settings, the sending address and content of the email campaign, as well as any such data storage guidelines. such as the ability for contacts to correct inaccurate personal data, request erasure of their data, and restrict how their data is processed (Grim, 2018). Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized paper from our expert now. writers.Get a custom essayThe main struggle for associations at the moment is to comply with the stipulations of the GDPR. Even though a year has passed since GDPR implementation, most organizations in 2019 are less confident in their compliance capabilities than they were in 2018. According to