System 03
Marketing automation machine
A system that follows customer behaviour and responds to it, rather than a newsletter sending everyone the same thing on the same day. Connected to your webshop, your CRM and your stock, so that what goes out is actually true.
Why most flows stall
Almost every company once set up a welcome flow and an abandoned-cart email. After that it usually stops, because every further flow is manual work in a tool disconnected from everything else.
The real bottleneck is the integration. Without live stock you send offers for sold-out products. Without order history you send a discount code to someone who paid full price yesterday. That is worse than sending nothing.
How the system fits together
Integrations first, campaigns second. In that order, because a flow running on wrong data does damage.
- 01
One customer picture
Order data, site behaviour, email interaction and support contact in one place, so a flow knows who it is addressing.
- 02
Segments that maintain themselves
Groups based on behaviour and value that move on their own. No lists someone has to refresh by hand.
- 03
Flows with real triggers
Responses to what happens: a product back in stock, a customer going quiet, a repeat purchase that does not come, a quote left hanging.
- 04
Reporting per flow
What each flow returns, visible per flow, so you can switch off what does nothing. That rarely happens, which is exactly why flows pile up.
How it gets built
- 01
Connect the data
Webshop, CRM, stock and email platform to each other. This is the least visible and most decisive part of the work.
- 02
Three flows live
Start with the three with the highest expected return, usually around repeat purchase, win-back and add-on selling.
- 03
Expand on evidence
Only build the next flow once the previous one has proven itself. That keeps the number manageable.
What the system does
It sends relevant messages at the right moment, based on data that is correct, and shows what each flow returns.
- Segments that move automatically with behaviour
- Flows responding to stock, orders and support contact
- Messages consistent with what is actually available
- Visibility of return per flow, so you can prune
What it costs
What an engagement costs depends on its scope and on how many systems are involved. I work with a fixed price per phase rather than open-ended billing: you know what a phase costs before it starts, and you decide after each one whether to continue.
I only quote a figure once I know what we are talking about. That takes a half-hour conversation, at no charge.
Whether this fits
This works well when
- you have enough customers for segments to mean something
- there are repeat purchases or a longer buying cycle
- your systems can be connected through an API
- someone will keep watching the flows after delivery
This fits less well when
- your customer base is still too small to segment on
- you sell one-off transactions with no repeat
- customer data is polluted enough to make segmentation unreliable
Questions about marketing automation
Do you work with a specific platform?
I am not tied to a platform. The weight sits in the integrations and the logic behind them, and those can be built on any common platform. If you already run something that works, I build on that rather than migrating you.
What about GDPR?
Behaviour-driven flows touch personal data, so it has to be right: demonstrable consent, a working unsubscribe, and a retention period you can explain. I set that up as part of the work, but responsibility for the processing stays with you; a lawyer is not a luxury here.
How many flows should there be?
Fewer than you think. In practice the bulk of the return comes from a handful of flows. More flows mostly means more maintenance and a higher chance someone notices a mistake months late.
Let's discuss how I can help your business grow
A short call is enough to tell whether there is a good fit. No sales pitch, just an honest read on what is possible.