One cannot question the impact marketing has on a company. It was once a task that was fuelled by creativity and objective thinking. In today’s time, it has evolved into something that needs a scientific approach based on assumptions and past experiences. This has resulted in an increased demand for platforms that blend qualitative and quantitative data.

What is a Marketing and Management Platform?

A marketing and management platform is a system that monitors all marketing activities. This system is used to manage and automate the daily processes and activities within the company. From email marketing to employee management, this platform can handle it all. Although such platforms handle multiple functions simultaneously, certain management platforms specialize in only one function at a time.

The platform you choose should be according to the needs of your company rather than what is trending in the market. Some of the benefits that it brings to your company are:

1. Access to customer data
2. Streamlined processes through automated systems
3. Valuable data related to customer behavior and performance of the company

5 features to look out for in your marketing and management platform

The marketing and management platform you choose for your business should have the following features:

1. Market analytics and reporting

The most important feature you should be looking for in your management platform is its ability to analyze and provide meaningful and data-backed insights. It is better to get reports on a weekly or monthly basis so that you are updated on what is working for your business and what isn’t. Factors like geography, sales, and others should categorize analytics and reporting information.

The platform must provide optimization alerts and suggestions for improvement when needed. The data collected should sync with marketing goals and justify the expenditure allocated to marketing. Overall, the platform should assist the company in developing and implementing methods that match the benchmarks you have set for the future.

2. CRM integration

All the converted data should align with the platform in use so that potential leads can be pursued. Marketing strategies are created with the following objectives:

• Identifying customer preferences
• Understanding customer journey
• Providing feedback

The platform should be able to integrate with the existing data within the company so that you can predict the outcomes of your marketing efforts. For example, data from customer relationships and human resources can help in evaluating a company’s capabilities. Ensuring that data is seamlessly integrated with the platform saves time and provides more space for accurate reports and optimized campaigns.

3. Social media automation

Social media is the most used medium of communication between a company and its users. It is also the fastest-growing channel today. Therefore, one must use it to build scalable campaigns in order to get more market share. You should be able to control and measure the performance of all channels you use from one centralized location, i.e., the marketing and management platform.

When you automate your social media and merge it with the management platform, you are simplifying the following things for your company:

• Tracking the progress of all campaigns
• Creating advertisements suited to your customers’ tastes
• Scheduling posts and updating social media accounts
• Connecting and responding to customers’ queries

4. Lead management

Lead management is a must-have feature in the platform you use because it helps in:

• Tracking potential leads
• Identifying data-driven and positive leads
• Achieving sales outreach

Nurturing and managing leads is an inevitable component of all marketing strategies. It is the process of recognizing and converting prospects into regular customers. The goal is to improve customer retention, loyalty, and upselling.

5. Customer service

Any platform you use should have a proper customer service system, especially when it’s in use for marketing. Some of the services that it should provide are:

• Provide maximum information about the customer from the first point of contact
• Track all points of communication, from lead acquisition to sale history
• Collects data on website visits to sale history for future reference
• Keep customers in the loop about their purchases and acknowledge their inquiries.

5 tips for choosing the right platform for your company

When many options are readily available in the market, it gets challenging to select one that fits your company’s requirements. The most used all-in-one marketing platform today is HubSpot, which provides advanced marketing features even to the smallest businesses. However, the price point of using this platform may not sit down well with all companies. Fret not, for you will easily find cheaper alternatives to HubSpot that will deliver promising results once you scan deeper into the market.

Since such platforms will keep evolving in the future, ensure that you invest in the best marketing and management platform to give your business the boost it needs. The following tips will simplify your decision-making:

1. Ease of usability

It makes no sense to invest in a platform that you barely know how to operate. Ease of usage is the essential thing that defines the purpose and impact of the platform in your company. Every person who works with you in the company should be comfortable using the platform. You can also check the level of training a newbie would need to get accustomed to the platform.

2. Customizability and scalability

Once you automate the processes within your company, you are trusting the platform to make good decisions by itself. The platform you choose should be able to come up with ideas on its own, those that are for the company’s well-being and improvement. It should have the tendency to customize its functions based on the needs of certain tasks.

A SaaS model ingrained into the platform will ensure scalability in the long run. Check that the platform can be expanded to meet the ever-growing expectations. It should automatically upgrade itself to handle more users and assist business growth.

3. Varied services

Companies are inclined toward those platforms that offer all-in-solutions. Therefore, it is beneficial to have a platform that provides a broad range of features and services. The checklist could include SEO, segmentation, eCommerce, and more. Advanced services like A/B testing, tracking user interactions, and data analytics should be available. A bonus feature to look out for is API access because it will make it easy for your system to integrate with any other application in the future.

4. Cost

Cost is an important factor that one needs to consider. Setup fees, usage charges, and other miscellaneous expenses should be calculated before you proceed with the platform. Choose the features you absolutely need, chalk out a budget and go for the one that meets most of the criteria.

5. Customer support

Any software in use should have a strong customer support service backing it so that customer queries and technical issues can be resolved immediately. It would be ideal to go for a platform that provides unlimited customer support through various modes like email, direct calls, or messages.

In conclusion

Marketing methods are changing, but the need for advanced technology to keep up with the times will remain constant. If you are looking forward to investing in a marketing and management platform, the features and tips discussed above will guide you. There is no doubt that the reliability on such platforms will only keep increasing, so it’s better to go for one that combines the best tech with your business ambitions.

By B Naomi Grace