Everything You Need to Know About Google Knowledge Graph
Jan 29, 2021
10 min read
What if I tell you that a user can discover your online business or brand, in the Google search engine results without even searching for your actual website? Isn’t that great? This is what “Google Knowledge Graph” is all about. Let’s get started!
Running an online business is like stepping into a competitive sport, everyone is looking to enhance their brand’s visibility and is constantly improving the information they deliver to their customers. Just when we talk about ‘enhancing brand visibility’ and providing a premium search experience to users, Google’s Knowledge Graph comes into play.
The inception of Google’s Knowledge Graph took place in 2012 when Google announced this tool as a way to deliver interconnected google search results to the users. Delivering search results in a way that information like places, people, facts, etc. could be clubbed with other relevant data and can be shown to its users.
Google wanted to portray its search results as relevant answers to its users, not just some website links. With the help of Google Knowledge Graph, this idea was turned into a possibility and the online search experience was enhanced. Since then, it is helping the Google search engine in providing data to its users in a much more accessible and convenient format.
Okay, so what does this look like? Have you seen the little card on the right side of the page results? Yes, that little card is a dedicated tool from Google that provides crisp, direct, and easy information to the user.
Does Google Knowledge Graph only help the user? No, not just users, even online brands and businesses can reap the benefits of this Tool. It is a very crucial tool for businesses. A business can use this tool, optimize it and provide better information to Google so that it can understand your website’s content effectively.
Here’s the deal, when a relevant user punches a keyword/query in the Google search engine, Google shows your brand or business. This boosts your visibility and helps you to drive more traffic to your website which simultaneously enhances your SERP ranking.
How Does Google Knowledge Graph Work?
How can a business be visible on the knowledge graph? What are the parameters that are responsible for the visibility? It is based on these three major factors -
User Behavior
Google algorithm focuses on the search behavior of its users. It closely analyzes what they are looking for, what are they searching for, what keywords do they use more often, how much time do they spend on a particular webpage, etc.
These factors help Google’s algorithm to create relevant results for users that may even align with your brand’s website content. The end motive is to provide the best result that can resolve the user’s search query.
Semantic Search
To deliver relevant search results that can exactly match the user’s search intent, Google Knowledge Graph also emphasizes the semantic search for the same reason.
This usually involves the context of research, the geographical location of the user, synonyms, and other information.
Entity Recognition Or Indexing
Google catalogs all the relevant entities through a mechanism that is popularly called Entity Recognition and Disambiguation which allows it to provide factual data about every entity.
For instance, when you search for a particular restaurant in the search engine by typing the name of the restaurant, you notice a small box on the right side of the page.
If you look carefully, you’ll notice that there’s a lot of information in there. Things like some specific details of the restaurant, address, contact details, customer reviews, navigation, etc.
Can Google Knowledge Graph Help Your Brand Too?
As we said earlier, ‘stepping into the sphere of online business is a competitive sport’, because everyone is looking to improve their website ranking in the search results.
‘Ranking up’ on the SERPs is a very crucial factor in deciding the fate of your online business or brand. Here’s a simple equation, the higher the rank of your webpage is, the greater the clicks you are likely to receive, the greater will be your website traffic.
That’s not the end, you can take your website one notch higher by focusing on Google Knowledge Graph. Acquiring a place in the Google Knowledge Graph is not a cakewalk. Yes, it requires a lot of time and effort, but the results that you’ll notice in the end will be fruitful enough.
Businesses who have bagged a position in the Knowledge Graph can easily portray their business information such as their working hours, address, navigation, contact information, and much more to their users. Users can also see their customer reviews and ratings that help them to boost their brand’s credibility.
Great reviews and high ratings can attract new customers to their website who have just discovered your business. From the perspective of the user, this tool saves a lot of time because now they don’t have to click on each link and visit each webpage to find out the information they are looking for.
Source: Unsplash
What Are The Benefits Of Using The Knowledge Graph?
There are multiple benefits of using the Google Knowledge Graph, many people across the internet aren’t aware of these benefits. Let’s discuss them quickly.
From Basic Details To Relevant Information
The knowledge graph is a tool that constantly improves with time. Once you are listed on the Knowledge Graph, it will provide the users with some basic information about your business, but as we said, Knowledge Graph evolves with time, therefore after some time, it will start showing more relevant details to the users and optimized search results based on searches.
Enhances User Experience
The Knowledge graph card on the right side of the page is quite significant in enhancing the user’s search experience. It provides a lot of relevant data to the user based upon their search query.
You get to see relevant photos, places, facts, etc related to your search query. This card delivers a lot of information in a small box which makes it convenient for the user to read and find what they have been looking for.
Boosts Your Website Traffic
Remember what we said at the beginning? ‘That a user can discover an online business or brand, in the Google search engine results without even searching the actual website.’
Knowledge Graph interconnects the user with the brand before even making the user click on that particular website. Features like ratings and reviews help in building trust among the new users. They learn more about the brand. Positive reviews and ratings can easily convert them into high-value customers.
How To Ace A Place In The Knowledge Graph?
Since we have discussed how Knowledge Graph works we must understand the process behind acquiring a place in the Knowledge Graph.
Create A Google+ Account
Initial steps towards acquiring a place in the Knowledge Graph involve creating a Google+ account for your business. A Google+ Account will help you in providing important information about your business to the Google graph. One must ensure that their brand name must match their Google+ account name so that potential users can reach out to them.When you create a Google+ account, you have to fill out basic details that are often related to your business such as what kind of business you have, what products or services do you offer, etc.
After these steps, you must customize your public profile, promote your page and optimize it further to make the process of lead generation effective.
Ensure Your Business Is Listed On Google
While we talk about greater visibility on Google SERPs, Maps and attracting more customers to your business, we must understand that claiming your Google listing is very crucial.
A user searches for a business like yours and your business pops up in the search results, this is possible through Google My Business.
Create Your Accounts On Social Media platforms
If you look into the Knowledge graph panel, you’ll notice a dedicated section for social media profiles, this indicates what kind of social media presence or status your brand has.
In case you have your business page on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc you will notice three icons at the bottom. This helps your customers to discover your business on various social media platforms that are responsible for social media engagement.
Always Use structured data
It is very important to code your website with structured data. This enables search engines to crawl your website and analyze its content. Well coded websites will always have an upper edge over poorly coded websites because data provided by these codes help Google in creating snippets.
Customer Reviews Are A Must
As we had discussed earlier, features like ratings and reviews help in building trust among your new users.
They learn more about your brand. Positive reviews and ratings can easily convert them into high-value customers. So, customer reviews can drive more traffic to your website.
You must encourage your previous customers to write reviews about your business on review websites. As per customer behavior studies, it can be seen that consumers tend to choose brands with high positive feedback. The purchase intent is greater when the reviews are good.
Develop Quality Backlinks
Having quality backlinks from eminent websites and publications adds value to your website. Quality backlinks are a significant factor in deciding your Google Rankings. Enhanced rankings in SERPs can get you listed in Google Knowledge Graph.
Make Your Wikipedia page
Wikipedia is among the world’s largest websites. Google Knowledge Graph considers content and information from Wikipedia. A major portion of data is taken from Wikipedia on the Google Knowledge Graph.
How Can You Optimize Google Knowledge Graph For Your Business
When we talk about optimizing Google Knowledge Graph, we must talk about humanizing the content. What do we mean by ‘humanizing the content’? One must treat their users with valuable content rather than just focusing on the search engines. Optimize your content as per your audience, choose keywords that are relevant for them so that it boosts your visibility too.
While optimizing your page, you must place keywords, titles, introduction, images, descriptions, URLs, more naturally rather than just stuffing them. Focus on delivering content that adds value to their life.
Ensure that your website content is interesting, engaging, and organized to capture the attention of the user. Yes, sales are important but you can’t sell them directly if you can’t hold their attention. Ensure your articles or blogs are in a proper format. Design and write your content by using headlines, subheadlines, headings, sub-headings, bullet points, call-to-action, and conclusion.
Conclusion
From boosting brand visibility, improving Google search rankings, to driving more traffic to your brand’s webpage, Google Knowledge Graph helps you in accomplishing several things amid your online business journey.
It will bring your potential customers closer to your business by providing them relevant information and other details. If you want your online business to flourish and reach your desired business growth then implement these techniques right now or connect with Saffron Edge to take care of all your worries.
How Can A Legal Firm Avoid Digital Marketing Blunders?
Online marketing has been the talk of the town nowadays, and it's because the businesses that are investing in it acquire the attention of their target groups. Digitally reaching out to your potential customers via different sources and strategies is called Digital Marketing, which has grown its roots all over the globe. Primarily in today's world, when a pandemic struck everyone, the need for digital marketing solutions skyrocketed. As a result, the weekly usage of digital screens has grown tremendously! Before establishing a firm, its marketing becomes essential to pre-inform the target audience about its arrival time. It helps the business to create hype in the market potential and quickly capitalize on that opportunity in the initial phase. Digital marketing can be defined as a set of online practices that come in handy in connecting with prospective customers and influencing them to buy your product/service. Today businesses can target millennials very quickly; for instance, 84% of the millennials are likely to get affected to purchase a product if they see user-generated content that promotes the product. As per a study, almost 82% of consumers search the internet before buying a product or a service locally. Source: Pexels Since people from various countries across the globe are fetching their purchase actions from the internet, we can say that every business has changed its marketing approach and has adopted the fundamentals of digital advertising. The ever-growing business world has always considered marketing a never-ending process, which helps you connect with people at the right time and provide a product/service to fulfill the need. And as people are always up on the internet, it is better to find them there and influence your business supremacy. Even one-third of the total clients go to the internet to start their search for an attorney. Mobile devices account for 59% of total organic searches on the internet. Digital marketing has various methods to help your business grow- such as email marketing, social media trends, blogging, content and pay-per-click advertising, etc. Your business can take up a suitable digital marketing method to attract your target group. For example, suppose you have a legal firm and want to attract a new customer base - how would you do that? Legal firms require utmost accurate marketing practices to ensure no ineffective gaps compromise their business operations. For a legal firm, it is essential to adopt suitable marketing drives and run online campaigns to create a customer-engaging ambiance and provide satisfactory services to thrive in a cut-throat market. Challenges In Applying A Digital Marketing Plan Being a lawyer isn't easy - you always have to chase your clients via offline and online marketing channels and portray your best brand image to attract them to your firm. Using digital marketing methods to your benefit is a great way to establish the credibility of your legal firm. However, there are often many challenges in identifying and adopting an effective digital marketing strategy. Below are the points that depict the same - Plenty Of Marketing Practices - A legal firm has specific target groups and mainly focuses on acquiring their attention by connecting them from ads, phone calls, etc. But, with the introduction of prominent marketing mediums, lawyers sometimes tend to use the same marketing strategies to that demographic of their target groups that might not be able to access it feasibly. For example, a potential client might not be much tech-savvy if aged, and since you continue to advertise your services via online ads, you might lose the opportunity to draw their attention. Source: Pexels Time-consuming Content Updation Process Your online website always requires updated content and information which the customer can access anytime. Since it calls for a constant check on your blog/website, failing to do so might represent your webpage as static and idle. It is one of the significant challenges in digital marketing that your legal firm might face, and updating every small detail could be daunting too. Source: Pexels Adhering Social Media Trends - It is observed that maintaining an active social media account is quite helpful for every business. They are successfully able to connect with their customers and share blog posts about their products/services. But, it seems a bit strenuous for a lawyer to run after social media profiles, create online content for blogs, or take up a live session. Suggestions To Avoid Digital Marketing Mistakes For a successful legal digital marketing drive, it is imperative to develop a practical framework of strategies that could be altered for each demographic and used to avoid any digital marketing blunder. The key to preventing any possible marketing blunders should include - Set Your Target Groups Accurately First, develop your potential customer's characteristics and use various tactics to refine the profile. As a law firm, you can geo-target your clients and be specific to what services they require. You can create the web content based on the service area you'd operate it, and as a result, you'll receive cases. Research about the type of lawyer your target audience wants, what services they would inquire for, etc. Based on the information available to you, your firm can prepare strategies to identify the right consumer for your business. Optimize Your Website When customers visit your website, they should feel intrigued by the available content. They must feel engaged with what they're getting on the website to ensure a great user experience. As a law firm, you can create content for your website that is also mobile-optimized, so there remain multiple ways for your prospective customers to reach out to you. Construct your web pages so that they load pretty fast, information is visible in an optimized way to ensure conversion rates. Choose Right Keywords Keywords are an essential element of attracting your target customers. Once they put a search query related to your keyword, they'll be routed to a Google SERP that provides them website links that include those relevant keywords. Keywords used with a hiring intent often promise more conversions. For example, your law firm can use progressive hiring keywords like "need an attorney," which may be similar to what customers might search for. You can also take advantage of online keyword research tools to get more information and ease your selection of keywords. Use Search Engine Optimization Enable Google My Business to increase your law firm's visibility on the search engine result pages so your target customers can find you easily. Include firm name, contact numbers, and physical address to enhance brand credibility. To avoid digital marketing blunders for your law firm, develop your website with effective backlinks, relevant content text, and incorporate positive customer reviews to convince mass clients. Source: Pexels Often law firms require external assistance to overcome these digital marketing challenges as they fail to cope with these problems and their core operations. We at Saffron Edge are your digital partners that'll aid your marketing concerns with our years of expertise and varied services. Our team consists of online marketing professionals who will strive to comprehend your target market and strategize your marketing plan. In addition, we aim to provide you with an array of dedicated services to enhance your profit levels by working with a tailored approach and a range of online solutions. Contact us today to learn more! ...
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Comprehensive Guide to Social Media Analytics
Where billions of individuals are actively engaged on social media platforms, businesses must seize the opportunity to connect with their target audience. The sheer magnitude of over 4.5 billion social media users worldwide underscores the significance of establishing a robust social media presence. However, the key to success lies not just in mere existence on these platforms, but in leveraging the power of social media analytics to drive meaningful outcomes. According to Statista, 92.1% of U.S. marketers in companies larger than 100 employees use social media marketing, allocating $80.6 million to social media advertising in 2022. With 4.62 billion people using social media, a significant percentage rely on it to discover products (26.3%) and find inspiration (27.7%). To stay ahead of competitors, businesses must harness the power of social media analytics to understand its impact and drive meaningful results. In the following article, we will explore the transformative potential of social media analytics, examining how businesses can leverage this valuable tool to elevate their social media presence, connect with their audience on a deeper level, and ultimately propel their success in the dynamic digital landscape. What are Social Media Analytics, and Why Do You Need Them Social media analytics plays a crucial role in understanding and optimizing your marketing efforts. By utilizing social media analytics, you can gain valuable insights that directly contribute to your business's success. Here are some key reasons why social media analytics is important: Audience Understanding: Social media analytics helps you develop a deeper understanding of your target audience, including their demographics, preferences, and online behavior. This knowledge enables you to tailor your content and messaging to resonate with them effectively. Platform Optimization: By analyzing social media data, you can identify which platforms receive the most traffic and engagement from your target audience. This allows you to focus your efforts and resources on the platforms that yield the best results. Content Performance: Social media analytics allows you to measure the performance of your content in terms of conversions, engagements, and other key metrics. By understanding what type of content performs best, you can optimize your strategy and create more engaging and effective posts. Audience Engagement: Through social media analytics, you can uncover the types of posts that have the highest reach and resonance with your audience on specific platforms. This insight helps you craft content that captures their attention and encourages interaction. Campaign Evaluation: Social media analytics provides valuable data on the success of your campaigns and ads. By analyzing this information, you can assess what is and isn't working, make data-driven adjustments, and optimize your future campaigns for better results. Strategic Planning: Utilizing social media analytics allows you to develop a comprehensive and data-backed social media strategy aligned with your business's specific goals. It enables you to make informed decisions and allocate resources effectively to drive marketing, sales, and service efforts. What Should You be Tracking? Measuring the impact of social media marketing on a business's bottom line is a top priority for most marketers. Understanding whether social media efforts positively influence business outcomes is essential for making informed decisions and optimizing strategies. While platforms like Facebook and YouTube provide social media analytics for advertising campaigns, analyzing the effectiveness of organic social media marketing can be more challenging. However, various metrics offered by social networks offer valuable insights into audience growth, demographics, content reach, and engagement. Tracking the growth of your audience over time provides valuable data on what contributes to increased followers and identifies factors that may result in a loss of followers. Understanding the demographic makeup of your audience is crucial, ensuring that your content resonates with the right target market. This becomes particularly important if your business caters to specific regions or demographics. Evaluating the reach of your content helps gauge brand awareness, allowing you to identify the types of content that generate more impressions and wider audience exposure. Engagement metrics such as likes, shares, and comments offer insights into the types of posts that not only reach your audience but also encourage active participation and interaction. Monitoring competitors through social media analytics tools allows you to assess their performance, identify active and engaged audience segments, and understand the content that resonates most with your target market. While metrics related to audience growth, demographics, and content engagement may not directly reveal the specific tactics that drive leads or sales, they provide valuable indicators of whether your marketing messages are reaching the intended audience and influencing them. In the absence of an audience, misalignment with your ideal customer demographic, or lack of engagement with your content, it becomes evident that your current social media marketing approach is not meeting business goals. This realization highlights the need for a strategic shift and a refined approach to social media marketing. Low impressions and limited engagement indicate that your target customers may not receive your marketing messages or progress through the sales funnel as desired. These insights signal the need to reevaluate your content strategy and optimise your approach to captivate and convert your audience effectively. How Can You Leverage Social Media Analytics? 1.Get SMART With Your Strategy Setting SMART goals is essential to drive meaningful insights and maximize the impact of your social media strategy. By following this framework, you can align your goals with clear objectives, track progress, and optimize your approach efficiently. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you create and achieve SMART goals for your social media analytics strategy. Specific Objectives: To begin, identify the insights you aim to gain from your social media analytics. Determine what key data points you want to uncover to assess the effectiveness of your marketing tactics, such as understanding which posts and campaigns resonate best with your audience and drive engagement. Measurable Metrics: Next, define the metrics that will enable you to track your progress and evaluate the success of your social media efforts. These metrics could include parameters like reach, impressions, engagement rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, or any other relevant indicators that align with your specific goals. Attainability: It's crucial to set goals that are realistic and attainable. Assess your available resources, technology tools, and team capabilities to ensure that you can gather and analyze the necessary data effectively. Consider identifying a reasonable number of specific data points that you can realistically track and analyze within your given resources and time frame. Relevance: Ensure your goals align with your overall social media strategy and support your broader marketing objectives. The chosen data points should provide valuable insights that help you measure success, identify areas for improvement, and optimize your social media strategy accordingly. Time-bound Deadlines: Assigning a specific time frame to achieve your goals adds a sense of urgency and accountability. Define a timeline for when you aim to identify the chosen data points. For example, you could set a target of one month to gather and analyze the data, allowing sufficient time to derive meaningful insights and take actionable steps based on the findings. 2. Know What Metrics To Track Effort can only achieve their true potential when they are well directive and have forethought behind them. This is why it is vital that you know what exactly you need to track and focus your energy on. While metrics can vary across platforms and analytics tools, there are some universally applicable metrics that can provide a comprehensive overview of your social media performance. Here are the key metrics to consider when tracking your social media analytics: Reach refers to the total number of individuals who have seen your content. It provides an indication of how far your content has reached and the potential audience size. Engagement encompasses various interactions with your content, including likes, shares, comments, and clicks. Tracking engagements helps gauge the level of audience interaction and the effectiveness of your content in driving engagement. Impressions represent the number of times your content has been displayed on someone's feed or timeline. It indicates the potential visibility and exposure of your content. Mentions occur when audience members or other companies reference your business and brand on social media. Monitoring mentions allows you to understand how your brand is being talked about and mentioned in the social sphere. Social ROI (Return on Investment) provides insights into the impact of your social media marketing efforts on key business metrics such as customer acquisition, sales, brand awareness, and customer loyalty. It helps assess the effectiveness of your social media investment. Social listening involves monitoring conversations about your business and brand on social media. By listening to what customers and audience members say about your brand, you can gather valuable insights, identify sentiment, and respond effectively to customer feedback. Likes indicate when an audience member shows their appreciation for your social content by tapping or double-tapping on it. Likes signify audience engagement and positive sentiment towards your posts. Retweets, shares, and reposts occur when audience members reshare your published content on their own profiles. These actions extend the reach of your content and amplify your brand's visibility. 3. Measure and Track Once you have implemented your social media analytics software, you gain the ability to measure the success of your social media efforts accurately. To effectively evaluate your performance, you need to utilize the features provided by your analytics tool. This may involve creating customized reports and dashboards or extracting specific details about the data points that are most relevant to your business. Alongside utilizing your analytics software, it is essential to reflect on the following questions to assess your success further: Have you successfully accomplished your SMART goals? Assess whether you have achieved the specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound goals you set for your social media campaigns. Analyze the data to determine if your efforts align with your intended objectives. Have the selected metrics provided valuable insights for your business? Evaluate if the metrics you focused on have provided a meaningful narrative about your social media performance. Consider whether the chosen metrics have offered actionable information to enhance your strategy, drive engagement, and achieve your desired outcomes. Has the implemented software or tool met your business needs? Evaluate if the social media analytics software or tool you implemented has effectively supported your business requirements. Consider factors such as ease of use, data accuracy, reporting capabilities, and the ability to generate actionable insights. Determine if the tool has provided the necessary features to measure and optimize your social media performance. In Conclusion By effectively tracking and leveraging social media analytics, you can significantly enhance your audience reach and achieve improvements in key ROI factors such as engagement, conversions, and customer loyalty. To maximize the benefits, it is crucial to identify the best tools and software for your specific needs and establish a robust system for monitoring and analyzing social media analytics. If you're looking to optimize your social media strategy, consider hiring a social media expert who can provide invaluable insights and guidance tailored to your business goals. They can help you navigate platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Linkedin advertising, enabling you to target and engage your desired audience effectively. To take your social media efforts to the next level, partner with a trusted agency like Saffron Edge. As a leading provider of digital marketing solutions, we offer expertise in social media advertising, including Twitter, LinkedIn,Facebook, and Instagram ads. Our team of specialists can help you create impactful campaigns that drive results and maximize your ROI. Contact us today! ...
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10 Best CRM and Automation Tools: Streamline Your Business in 2024
In today's quick-moving business environment, handling marketing and customer relations smartly is essential. Customer relationship management software is an essential asset in tracking and closing deals. These tools help companies organize their tasks better, make customer interactions smoother, and get more done. This guide will cover the best CRM and marketing automation software options in 2024. We'll discuss why these all-in-one systems are beneficial, what to look out for when choosing one, and take a closer look at nine top choices. Plus, we'll share some advice on picking the right CRM automation tool for your business needs. What are the benefits of a CRM with automation? An automated CRM can help you by handling tasks so your teams can avoid doing repetitive work. For example, regular email synchronization ensures that your business's most recent email communications are archived in your CRM and categorized under the appropriate contact profiles. Furthermore, you can configure automation to send follow-up reminders to team members when their assigned deals are in danger of being lost. With your automated CRM taking care of the majority of the workload, your business can experience the following benefits: Reducing the sales cycle allows your marketing and sales teams to dedicate more time and effort to high-value tasks, such as negotiating mutually beneficial deals, instead of being tied up with repetitive clicking tasks. Improve customer satisfaction by enabling your teams to address customers' needs promptly. Generating higher revenue by securing more deals (including higher-value ones). In conclusion, an automated CRM with marketing automation services streamlines tasks, enhances lead management, and personalizes marketing efforts. This results in higher conversion rates and better customer retention. Leveraging CRM and marketing automation optimizes campaigns and tracks interactions, providing a competitive edge. What features should I look for in a CRM with automation? To effectively manage your sales pipelines and increase deal closures, the best CRM and marketing automation software for your small business should have these features: Recording Customer Interactions A good CRM should consolidate all customer interactions in one place, whether via email, SMS, video call, or other channels. This organization helps keep track of communications, especially when multiple team members are involved or conversations span an extended period. Contact Segmentation Your CRM should offer flexible contact segmentation to tailor your sales efforts to different groups. For instance, creating a segment for high lead score contacts can help prioritize closing those deals. Lead Scoring Scoring leads according to their engagement with your business facilitates identifying high-potential deals. Ensure your CRM allows you to define events that impact lead scores and adjust these scores automatically using machine learning, as seen in tools like Hubspot. Incorporating this into your marketing automation strategy enhances efficiency and effectiveness. Sales Pipeline Management A robust CRM should offer a dashboard to track sales across various pipeline stages and automate sales processes, such as assigning deals, sending follow-up emails, and marking deals as closed. Customer Service Integration Integrating customer service with your CRM is essential. Look for features like a shared inbox for managing support conversations and automation tools such as chatbots and intelligent ticket assignments based on team members' expertise. Analytics and Reporting A CRM should provide various reports to measure marketing and sales effectiveness and allow for the creation of custom reports to meet your business's unique needs. Data Sync Ensure your CRM integrates seamlessly with other apps you use, consolidating data within one platform. This integration might include pulling emails into contact profiles or connecting with your eCommerce store. Email Marketing Combining CRM with email marketing automation is beneficial. Your CRM should include or support email marketing features and marketing automation to: Send welcome emails to new leads Deliver drip campaigns to nurture leads Send automated emails for onboarding or referrals Add tags to contacts for segmentation and personalization CRM and marketing automation are different, but they also have similarities. If you are considering using an automated CRM for email marketing, look at all the marketing automation features it offers. Want to reduce your CAC to half? Book a strategy call Top 10 CRM with automation tools 1. Salesforce Salesforce is a CRM powerhouse offering diverse tools for businesses of all sizes. Its extensive automation capabilities include lead assignment, task creation, and complex workflow rules. Salesforce's AppExchange marketplace provides numerous integrations and add-ons to extend functionality. Key features: Einstein AI for predictive analytics and intelligent automation Customizable dashboards and reports Robust mobile app Extensive third-party integrations Industry-specific solutions Pricing: Salesforce offers various pricing tiers, starting from $25/user/month for the Essentials plan. Higher-priced plans provide more advanced features. 2. HubSpot HubSpot offers a user-friendly all-in-one platform that combines CRM, marketing, sales, and service hubs. Its intuitive and powerful automation features make it a great option for small to medium-sized businesses seeking to expand their operations. Key features: Free CRM with basic automation Visual workflow builder Landing page and form builders Built-in SEO tools Content management system (CMS) Pricing: HubSpot provides a no-cost option with essential features, and its premium plans begin at $45 per month for the Starter plan. 3. ActiveCampaign ActiveCampaign excels in marketing automation, offering advanced features like predictive sending and deal win probability. Its strong CRM capabilities suit businesses focused on email marketing and customer engagement. Key features: Machine learning-powered automation Site tracking and event tracking Robust segmentation options Split testing for automation Conversation intelligence Pricing: ActiveCampaign's pricing starts at $29/month for up to 1,000 contacts, with higher tiers offering more advanced features. 4. Zoho CRM Zoho CRM , is a part of a larger suite of business tools, offering seamless integration across various functions. Its automation features are comprehensive, including workflow rules, macros, and assignment rules. Key features: AI-powered sales assistant (Zia) Canvas design studio for customizing the interface Gamification features to motivate sales teams Social media integration Advanced analytics and forecasting Pricing: Zoho CRM provides a free plan for up to 3 users and paid plans beginning at $14 per user per month. 5. EngageBay EngageBay is a comprehensive, user-friendly platform integrating CRM, marketing, sales, and service modules. Its robust automation capabilities and affordability make it ideal for small—to medium-sized businesses aiming to enhance their growth and efficiency. Key features: Provides essential CRM functions with built-in automation. Visual Workflow Builder to create and manage workflows. Anyone can create landing pages and form builders It has Built-in SEO Tools Craft and automate email campaigns to engage your audience Offer excellent customer support with helpdesk and live chat features Pricing: EngageBay offers a free plan with essential features, and its premium plans start at $12.99 per month for the Basic plan. 6. Pipedrive Pipedrive is known for its intuitive, visually driven interface, which focuses on moving deals through the sales pipeline. While not as feature-rich as some competitors, its automation tools are well-designed and easy to use. Key features: Visual pipeline management AI sales assistant Two-way email sync Custom fields and activities Web forms for lead capture Pricing: Pipedrive starts at $14.90/user/month for the primary/essential plan, with more advanced features available in higher tiers. 7. Freshsales Freshsales is a part of the Freshworks suite and offers a clean, modern interface with powerful automation capabilities. Its AI-powered assistant, Freddy, helps with lead scoring and deal insights. Key features: Built-in phone and email Behavioral segmentation Auto-profile enrichment Territory managemen Predictive contact scoring Pricing: Freshsales offers a free plan with basic features, with paid plans starting at $15/user/month. 8. Keap Keap is designed specifically for small businesses. It offers a blend of CRM and marketing automation features. Its campaign builder is particularly strong, allowing for complex, multi-step automation. Key features: E-commerce integration Automated follow-up sequences Appointment scheduling Invoicing and payments Lead scoring and segmentation Pricing: Keap's pricing starts at $79/month for 500 contacts, with higher tiers offering more advanced features and contact limits. 9. Ontraport Ontraport provides a powerful and smart platform for managing the entire customer lifecycle. Its automation features are particularly robust, allowing for complex, branching workflows. Key features: Visual campaign builder Membership site management Affiliate program management Detailed performance reporting Automated split testing Pricing: Ontraport starts at $79/month for up to 1,000 contacts, with higher tiers available for growing businesses. 10. Drip While primarily focused on e-commerce businesses, Drip offers powerful CRM and marketing automation features that can benefit various industries. Its personalization capabilities are powerful. Key features: Visual workflow builder Advanced segmentation Revenue attribution Multi-channel campaigns (email, SMS, social) Personalized product recommendation Pricing: Drip's pricing is based on the number of contacts, starting at $39/month for up to 2,500 contacts. Want to reduce your CAC to half? Book a strategy call How do you choose the best CRM automation tool? Choosing the right CRM and marketing automation software for your business is crucial. Here are key factors to consider during your evaluation process: Time to Value Look for a solution that offers quick implementation and a user-friendly interface. The faster your team can adopt and use the system effectively, the sooner you'll see a return on investment. Consider factors like: Intuitive navigation Availability of training resources Quality of customer support Ease of data migration Time to Value Look for a solution that offers quick implementation and a user-friendly interface. The faster your team can adopt and use the system effectively, the sooner you'll see a return on investment. Consider factors like: Intuitive navigation Availability of training resources Quality of customer support Ease of data migration Reporting Features Advanced analytics and reporting capabilities are essential for making data-driven decisions. Evaluate the tool's ability to provide: Customizable dashboards Real-time data updates Advanced filtering options Export capabilities for further analysis Simple Setup A complex setup process can delay implementation and frustrate users. Prioritize solutions that offer: Consider factors like: Guided setup wizards Pre-built templates for common use cases Clear documentation Responsive technical support Team Productivity Features Look for tools that improve your team's efficiency and collaboration. Key features might include: Task management and reminders Internal chat or commenting systems Document sharing and version control Calendar integration Customer Experience Features Ultimately, your CRM should help you provide better service to your customers. Consider tools that offer: 360-degree customer views Personalization capabilities Omnichannel support options Customer feedback collection Total Cost of Ownership While the initial price is important, consider the total cost of ownership over time. Factor in: Subscription fees Implementation costs Training expenses Potential need for additional integrations or add-ons Integrates with Your Tech Stack The best CRM and marketing automation software should work seamlessly with your existing tools. Evaluate: Native integrations with popular business software API availability for custom integrations Compatibility with your current data storage solutions Ease of data syncing across platforms Mobile Sales Management Look for a solution that offers quick implementation and a user-friendly interface. The faster your team can adopt and use the system effectively, the sooner you'll see a return on investment. Full-featured mobile apps (not just mobile-responsive web interfaces) Offline access to key data Mobile-specific features like click-to-call or GPS check-ins Free Trial Always take advantage of free trials to get hands-on experience with the tool. During the trial: Test key features relevant to your workflow Evaluate the user interface and assess its ease of use. Assess the quality of customer support Ask for feedback from team members who will be using the system Conclusion Choosing the appropriate CRM and marketing automation software is essential for improving your business operations, customer connections, and insights to drive growth and productivity. Before making a decision, test out these CRM automation tools for yourself! Signing up for their free plans or trials is simple, so take advantage of this opportunity to experience the platforms' capabilities and see if they align with your sales processes. Contact us today to learn how Saffron Edge can modernize your customer relationships and marketing efficiency approach. ...
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