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The simplest way to grasp marketing automation SaaS is to focus on each component in the concept: marketing automation and SaaS.
Marketing automation refers to marketing automation tools and technologies that are designed to automate, streamline, track, and optimize various repetitive — but nevertheless vital — marketing functions and processes, like lead generation and segmenting customers.
Naturally, marketing automation directly — and in many cases dramatically — improves overall productivity. In fact, marketing automation has been found to boost marketing productivity by 20%, and sales productivity by 14.5% (do not be alarmed: that clapping and cheering you may hear in the background is just marketing and sales professionals celebrating their liberation from tedious, time consuming repetitive tasks).
However, the benefits of marketing automation certainly do not end with internal operations — they extend all the way to the bottom line. According to various surveys:
80%
77%
63%
Now that we have covered the basics of marketing automation, let us look at the other part of the equation: SaaS.
SaaS is a component of cloud computing (the others being infrastructure as a service/IaaS, and platform as a service/PaaS). Cloud computing utilizes a distributed network of servers to host infrastructure and software, and makes them accessible over the internet — which means that brands do not need to establish or maintain an on-premise system or infrastructure. Ninety-four percent of brands currently use the cloud (and many leverage multiple cloud deployments), and between 2015 and 2022 the share of corporate data stored in the cloud doubled from 30 to 60%.
Brands that adopt marketing automation software (or migrate to marketing automation SaaS if they currently have an on-premises deployment) unlock a range of transformative benefits. These include:
With marketing automation SaaS, brands can scale resources vertically, horizontally, and automatically based on fluctuations in demand or changes in strategy, in order to establish near-uniform performance — but without having to purchase additional, expensive hardware.
Marketing automation SaaS brings app deployment closer to the users who rely on them, which can significantly improve performance and reduce latency. These gains can be enhanced with caching technologies (add-on or built-in).
Most marketing automation SaaS companies have 24/7 monitoring. When this is combined with ongoing application monitoring, the result is extremely reliable uptime standards — in some cases as high as 99.99%.
Marketing automation SaaS can reduce the time-to-value for various digital transformation projects and programs. New environments can be implemented rapidly, and the process is easier and less risky compared to on-premises deployments.
Brands that have migrated 50% or more of their processing workloads to the cloud enjoy 2-3x greater cost savings vs. brands that have shifted less than 5% of their processing workloads to the cloud.
Leading marketing automation SaaS businesses have robust security protocols and up-to-date compliance rules in place (e.g., GDPR). In addition, the cloud makes it easier for brands to embrace a DevSecOps operating paradigm, which is an approach that drives visibility, fosters collaboration, and integrates security as a shared responsibility across the entire IT lifecycle and DevOps pipeline. Ninety-four percent of brands report an improvement in security after migrating to the cloud, and 91% say that the cloud makes it simpler to meet compliance obligations.
McKinsey states that 75% of the cloud’s predicted value is not —contrary to what many people believe — rooted in optimizing IT. Rather, it is driven by innovation. Later in this article, we will look at some of the dynamic innovations and advancements linked to marketing automation SaaS, including the dynamic and exciting role of AI and machine learning.
So far in our journey, we have looked at the fundamentals of SaaS marketing automation, and highlighted the transformational business benefits. But what does this actually look like on a practical, day-to-day basis?
To answer this question, here are some examples of how brands are using marketing automation in the cloud to enhance customer experience and boost growth:
23% of subscribers who rate their onboarding experience as “positive” are more likely to browse and explore additional products. Social proof (reviews, testimonials, ratings, etc.).
97% of customers check out online reviews prior to a purchase, and 49% of customers trust online recommendations from strangers as much as from family and friends.
Research has found that the ideal time to request feedback is after customers have had an opportunity to meaningfully use and evaluate a new product or service.
Compared to other kinds of promotional emails, birthday emails have a 481% higher transaction rate and a 179% higher unique click rate, resulting in 342% higher revenue.
28% of consumers say that their top reason for a damaged customer relationship is when basic information and details are hard to find.
Up to 15% of a brand’s most loyal customers account for 55%-70% of total sales.
Shopping cart abandonment leads to an estimates sales loss of $18 billion USD a year.
A recent study found that customers who were re-acquired through successful win-back marketing campaigns and strategies spent 47% more during their second stint on the roster. In addition, the sales cycle for re-acquired customers was 70% shorter vs. new customers.
What could the future of marketing automation SaaS look like? While there is plenty to get excited about, according to Entrepreneur.com five trends are poised to set the pace and shape the narrative in the months and years to come:
Leading marketing automation SaaS solutions will continue to make massive strides capturing immense volumes of raw data such as web traffic, KPIs, and digital goals, and turning it into actionable business intelligence — ultimately helping marketers make better, faster decisions.
Omnichannel personalization is a strategic and integrated approach that delivers tailored experiences across every touchpoint — including web, social, mobile, and IoT — for improved customer engagement at every stage of their journey. At its heart, omnichannel personalization leverages technology to replicate authentic human-to-human interaction by enabling brands to actively listen to customer needs and aspirations, and respond accordingly in-the-moment.
Digital transformation is a team marketing effort, and leading marketing automation SaaS solutions will continue making it easier and more efficient for brands to collaborate across teams, such as marketing, or sales teams, product development, and customer support. Each group has a piece of the customer experience puzzle, and by sharing knowledge, resources, and best practices vs. retreating to silos, brands can develop a coherent, cohesive picture — guiding high-quality leads through the sales funnel, competitive advantage, and growth.
In recent years, data security has emerged as a top priority. Given this new normal, leading marketing automation SaaS solutions are focusing heavily on security measures to address data security vulnerabilities and risks through measures such as advanced user authentication, and secure code practices.
AI is revolutionizing the digital marketing world by enabling marketers to leverage data-driven insights, enhance customer experiences, automate repetitive and time-consuming marketing tasks, and optimize campaign performance.
The hype is real. AI is not just changing the game in marketing: it is rewriting the rules and reinventing the paradigm.
Here are some of the most popular and powerful use cases of AI in marketing automation SaaS:
AI, statistical algorithms, and machine learning are being used to analyze historical data from multiple data sources, in order to predict outcomes and trends, such as customer behavior patterns and preferences.
AI-powered recommendation engines enhance customer experience, while driving engagement and conversions. Brands that excel at personalization earn 40% more revenue from those marketing activities vs. brands that fall short in this area. In addition, personalization typically drives 10-15% revenue lift.
Machine learning is being used to analyze purchase and interaction data, in order to automatically segment customer personas based on various criteria such as demographics, location, company (for B2B engagements), behavior, and preferences. These categories are then used to create and deliver targeted, hyper-relevant content and messaging across the customer journey.
AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants are operating 24/7 and engage with customers in real-time, providing personalized support, answering inquiries, and assisting with transactions. Two-thirds of customers say that they currently use chatbots when interacting with a business, and 86% of them say that their experiences have been positive.
AI technologies like natural language processing (NLP) and generative AI are supporting content creation efforts, such as: idea generation, outlines, research, keyword research and semantic grouping, proofreading, and duplication analysis.
AI is optimizing email marketing automation by using A/B testing and analyzing customer data, behavior, and engagement metrics to personalize email content, subject lines, send times, and frequency.
AI algorithms are analyzing immense amounts of data to identify the most relevant target audiences, and optimize SEO, ad targeting and placement across digital advertising channels. AI-powered ad platforms are also leveraging machine learning to automatically change bidding marketing strategies, ad content, and targeting parameters in real-time to maximize campaign ROI.
AI is being used to analyze lead data and behavior, in order to identify and prioritize potential customers with the highest likelihood of conversion.
The marketing automation SaaS marketplace is enormous, and predicted to grow from 10.89 billion USD in 2023 to 19.8 billion by 2030 — a CAGR of nearly 9%. This means that brands shopping for a solution have plenty of choice. However, this can also be a challenge, as targeting what really matters can be difficult and time consuming.
To make the process easier, we recommend focusing on five pivotal factors when evaluating and ultimately choosing a marketing automation SaaS product:
After careful due diligence, many of the world’s most successful and growing brands choose Sitecore’s marketing automation SaaS solution for a simple reason: it clearly and powerfully delivers on all of the pivotal factors described.
Whether streamlining campaign management, delivering personalized customer experiences, nurturing leads, optimizing conversions, or engaging customers across channels, Sitecore offers endless possibilities for delighting customers, outperforming the competition, and boosting growth. In addition, Sitecore’s comprehensive security programs meet the SaaS industry’s highest standards for compliance and governance.
Sitecore is proud to lead the way on innovation and ongoing product development. One of our most recent advancements in marketing automation SaaS is the launch of Sitecore Managed Cloud.
Sitecore Managed Cloud hosts, monitors, manages, and maintains the installation and infrastructure for multiple Sitecore solutions on Microsoft Azure. Brands that tap into the power of Sitecore Managed Cloud:
Discover how Sitecore’s marketing automation solutions and managed cloud infrastructure can help your brand get closer to customers than ever before, while you boost sales, loyalty, competitive advantage, and growth.