As a digital marketing agency, you probably already know how important it is to stay on top of the latest marketing trends and best practices. In order to do that, you need to be able to quickly find information about new marketing tools, services, and strategies. You also need quick access to case studies, white papers, videos and other resources.
After all, staying on top of the latest trends isn’t going to happen if everything is buried in piles of documents on your desk or stored away in an unorganized filing cabinet. You need an organized place where you can quickly find the answers you need while keeping up with the latest trends. One great way to do this is by using marketing tools and apps designed specifically for marketers like you. In this blog post we’ll look at six essential marketing tools for marketing agencies so that you can streamline your workflow, collaborate more effectively with team members, uncover hidden insights about your clients and even reduce operating costs.
Overview
Marketing has evolved rapidly over the last decade. New technologies, changing trends and new customer behaviors have had a major impact on the marketing landscape. This has meant marketers have had to adapt to keep pace with their ever-evolving roles. These changes have had a significant effect on the day-to-day activities of marketing agencies.
As marketing agencies have adapted to meet client needs, they’ve also had to adapt the way they operate internally. Marketing agencies have had to shift their focus from traditional marketing channels such as print, radio and even direct mail to digital marketing channels like email, social media, and search engine marketing (SEM). In turn, this has led to the rise of new marketing tools and technologies for marketing agencies.
Customer Data Platform
A Customer Data Platform (CDP) is a centralized database where companies can store and manage all of their customer data in one place. CDPs are designed to help marketers make the most of their entire customer data across channels and be more effective in managing their marketing efforts. CDPs are especially beneficial for marketing agencies. CDPs allow you to pull customer data from a variety of sources, including marketing automation software, CRMs, e-commerce platforms, call centre software, etc.
Once the data has been pulled, it can be organized, stored, and then used to generate new leads, create personalized experiences and target the right customers with the right message at the right time. CDPs will become even more critical as the GDPR takes effect. The GDPR is a new set of data privacy regulations that take effect on May 25th, 2018. It will have a significant impact on how you collect, store and use customer data. CDPs are built specifically to help companies manage their customer data in compliance with the GDPR.
Email Marketing Software
Email marketing is still one of the best ways to connect with customers and drive sales. However, it’s important to follow best practices and stay compliant with current regulations. For example, it’s no longer acceptable to just add someone’s email address to a “sending whenever” list and blast them with ads. You can be more effective with your email marketing campaigns by using a tool like a marketing automation software or a program designed specifically for email marketing.
You’ll be able to create segmented email lists, send automated sequences, integrate with other technologies such as CDPs and CRMs, and track your results. You’ll also be able to create email templates that can be used to create emails quickly and easily. Although most marketing automation software is designed for businesses of all sizes, email marketing software is often geared towards smaller companies.
Social Media Marketing Software
Social media marketing has become an essential part of most marketing strategies. However, it’s important to stay compliant with best practices. For example, you need to make sure your posts are appropriate, timely and relevant to the audience you’re targeting. You also need to ensure you’re following the right steps to earn social media badges and verifying your business.
You should use a social media marketing software to help manage and track your social media efforts. With the right tools, you’ll be able to publish posts on multiple social media channels, schedule posts, track results and even respond to comments and messages in real-time. Social media marketing software is often designed for mid-size or larger companies.
Smaller companies may find the features they need in a social media marketing software are limited.
Marketing Automation & Chatbots Tools
Marketing automation refers to a set of software and services that help you automate repetitive tasks, such as lead nurturing, sales follow-up and more. Automation marketing tools are designed to help you segment your leads, nurture them through the sales process and help you close more sales.
You can also use marketing automation tools to launch and manage sales or pop-up campaigns. Makes it easier for you to create a variety of marketing campaigns, such as discount sales, product launches, email campaigns or any other type of marketing campaigns you want to run. Automated marketing campaigns can help you save time and energy that would otherwise be spent manually creating and sending emails, nurturing leads and so on.
Omni-Channel Adverting Software
Omni-channel marketing refers to the idea that companies should provide a consistent experience across multiple channels and media. Consumers tend to shop across multiple channels, such as online, on a mobile device, and in-store. This means companies need to provide consistent branding and product information across all of these channels, whether it’s in person, by phone or through their website. In order to manage all of this effectively, you’ll need a marketing software that offers a variety of features and channels.
Marketing automation, social media, email marketing, and even features like web push are examples of channels you’ll find in an omni-channel marketing software. An omni-channel marketing software will allow you to create consistent branding and manage your marketing efforts across all channels.
Analytics Software
While other tools are designed to help you create your marketing campaigns and strategy, another essential marketing tool is designed to help you measure its effectiveness. An analytics software allows you to measure key metrics, such as your return on investment (ROI), sales, traffic, etc. accurately and conveniently. You can use analytics software to determine how effective your campaigns are, which leads are the most promising, where your customers are coming from and much more.
Bringing it all together
There are many different marketing channels that you can use to grow and nurture your brand. However, you need to use the right marketing tools to stay organized and effective. In this blog post, we’ve explored six marketing tools that are essential for marketing agencies. We’ve looked at why you need these tools on your side, what they do and why you need them in your marketing toolkit. Now it’s your turn. Which ones are you using?
Are there any other essential marketing tools for marketing agencies that we missed? Let us know in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you.
