How are automation tools revolutionizing marketing and sales?

Introduction to automation tools

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For those who are not yet familiar with automation tools, let's start by defining them.

In practical terms, an automation tool enables different online services to interact to automate tasks and processes. Automation tools allow users to define rules or triggers that trigger the execution of tasks when they are completed.

There are many automation tools available on the market(Zapier, Make, Parabola; n8n). At Silyane, our favorite is Zapier, although we keep a close eye on Make and n8n.

Why? Zapier offers the widest range of predefined connectors, while Parabola, Integromat and n8n have a narrower choice. Note that the latter allow users to create their own connectors (which can be very useful when a solution is not available in the catalog)

For the moment, all the solutions we use at Silyane are available on Zapier!

Each of these tools has its own advantages and disadvantages. It's up to you to choose the one that best suits your needs and your company's objectives.

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The benefits of automation

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Automation helps companies save time, reduce errors and improve efficiency in a number of ways:
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• Time savings: by automating certain tasks, companies can avoid wasting time on repetitive, tedious tasks. For example, they can use an automation tool to automatically synchronize data between different systems, rather than doing it manually.
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• Error reduction: automation can help reduce errors by removing human factors from the equation. For example, by using an automation tool to send notifications at a specific time, companies can be sure that notifications will be sent reliably and on time, without oversights or errors.
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• Improved efficiency: by automating certain tasks, companies can concentrate on higher value-added, more strategic tasks. This can help them to be more productive and achieve their objectives more quickly.

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Concrete examples of use at Silyane

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As you know, at Silyane we specialize in sales support. Automation is a key element in making us more efficient and ensuring that we don't miss out on any leads for our customers!

Before presenting some concrete examples, let's talk about how Zapier works. Zapier is a no-code tool, so no technical skills are required.

It works by automating repetitive tasks by creating "zaps" (or "workflows"), which are predefined scenarios that trigger an action in one application when a condition is met in another.

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Here are a few examples of the automations we have implemented with Zapier :

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Sending notifications

With Zapier, we centralize all third-party application information in Slack:
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• when a prospect asks a question on a landing page chat
• when a prospect submits a form on a landing page
• when a prospect responds to a linkedin or email prospecting campaign (the response is displayed directly in a Slack channel)
• when a prospect signs our sales proposal
• when a customer mission is about to end

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Data synchronization

We use Zapier to automatically synchronize data between our tools and those of our customers.

• when a prospect responds positively to an email outreach campaign, the deal is automatically created in the CRM (e.g. Lemlist > Pipedrive)
• when a prospect responds positively to a Linkedin outreach campaign, the deal is automatically created in the CRM (e.g. Linkedhelper > Pipedrive)
• When a prospect completes a quote request form, an electronically signable quote is automatically sent with the information provided (e.g. Google Form > Google Slides > Tilkee).
• When a company has visited our website > Send a Linkedin message to the company's CEO (e.g. Clearbit > Linkedhelper)
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Our Zapier instance is packed with other Zaps that we won't go into in this article, but we'd be delighted to introduce you to them if you'd like to find out more.

The team is constantly on the lookout for new automation solutions. The latest? Use ChatGPT3 to analyze responses to our prospecting campaigns and trigger an action based on it (e.g. positive response > automatic transfer of the lead into the CRM)
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The limits of automation

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While automation can be very useful for saving time, reducing errors and improving efficiency, there are limits to what it can do. In some cases, human intervention is required to perform certain tasks or make complex decisions.
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Some tasks, for example, require human creativity or judgment that automation cannot replace (although ChatGPT is beginning to fool us...)

Some tasks require human interaction to be carried out effectively. For example, sales or customer service will (always?) require personal interaction to respond to customers' needs and concerns.

Over-automation with the wrong settings can also have consequences for your business.

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So it's important to strike a balance between automation and human intervention, depending on the company's needs and objectives.