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We have developed our own system for collecting and storing analytics. It quickly processes large amounts of data, immediately calculates and displays analytical reports. You will receive the necessary information for any time period without delay. 14 summary reports and 13 data sets are available for you.

Any audience in the platform can be automatically synchronized with the external database according to the set schedule. We have implemented this function on request from our customers. It simplifies the life of the marketing department and developers.

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Advanced and functional HTTP API in Altcraft Marketing will satisfy the needs of developers. API supports JSON and XML formats. It is possible to use queue servers (such as RabbitMQ) to import large numbers of client profiles in real time.

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Create a theme for the form by choosing the appropriate color scheme. Change the style and color of the text. Add photos and YouTube videos to the form. To do this, insert additional code into the required tag.

Design to your taste

Find out what your customers want through questionnaires and surveys. Getting feedback on time will work in favor of your business. If you respond quickly to customer feedback, you will increase their trust and brand loyalty.

High-quality customer feedback

You can customize the logic of the form so that respondents go to different pages depending on which answer they select. This will make your survey or questionnaire more targeted. Before submitting the form, select the «Actions» tab. If the form is completed successfully, the data are automatically imported into your database.

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Create forms and surveys in minutes

Questionnaires, customer satisfaction surveys, feedback forms — in Altcraft Platform you can design both simple and complex forms. Any form element can be made mandatory, so you can be sure that the user fills in the required fields.

Work in an easy-to-use visual form builder

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An event registered on the platform can be redirected to an external system. This provides endless opportunities for integration. Connect external BI, DMP, CRM and other tools.

<Img
img="/uploads/how_to_send_an_email_blast_665202bc02.jpg"
alt="How to Send an Email Blast"
/>

Wondering how to send an email blast? Need to know what an email blast is? Trying to figure out how to create an email blast?

If you want to make the most of email blast marketing, you’re in the right place! Mail blasting is a proven way to get your message to potential customers quickly. Once you know how to do email blast, you’ll find mail blasting an easy and effective email marketing approach.

Whether you know it or not, you have probably seen an email blast example in your own inbox. Now, let’s explore how to leverage them for your business.

## What is an Email Blast?

An email blast is an email marketing tactic also known as an email broadcast.

When you send email blast, you’re sending a message to a large group of contacts at once. For example, if you have an existing email list with three segments – leads, customers, and past customers – an email blast would reach all of them. However, you would still [**personalize**](dynamic-content) the message with custom fields.

Some email blast examples include announcing a new product, a new feature, or a limited-time offer.

## When to Use Email Blast?

The best time to use an email blast is when you need to get the word out about a new business or offering fast.

If you can commit to doing A/B/n testing but you still need to make contact with potential buyers quickly, the email blast is the way to go. You can make the most of your customer data platform and get fresh eyes on your message right away, when it is at the peak of its relevance.

It is important not to overuse the email blast. If you send out an email broadcast for every little thing, you might lose subscribers. Plus, an email blast should only be sent to people you already have a relationship with.

The best email blast examples are enticing and add a lot of value even though they aren’t hyper-targeted!

## How to Create Email Blast

Here are the seven steps to create an email blast:

**1. Make Sure Your Email Database Is Clean**

Before any email blast, check your deliverability statistics and your [**email database**](how-to-build-an-email-database). Get rid of outdated entries that are causing emails to bounce. Also make note of any recent email messages with low deliverability so you know what to avoid in your email blast. These steps help you avoid being marked as spam in the future.

**2. Warm Up Your IP**

Warming up your IP establishes a good seller reputation and makes it less likely ISPs will automatically block your email messages. It is essential to warm up your IP if it is new or if you have not used it for an email campaign in the last 30 days. You must gradually increase the volume of emails you send over a period of several days. You can learn more about how to [**warm up your IP**](how-to-inbox) successfully.

**3. Determine Your Message Goals**

What do you plan to accomplish and what are the key metrics you need to monitor over time? Do you have a specific target for sign-ups or sales? Do you need to drive traffic to a particular page? This guides messaging and helps you set a baseline to know whether subsequent emails are trending in the right direction.

**4. Find the Right Marketing Automation Software**

The goal of your campaign, the size of your email list, and the messaging features you want to use will all come together to influence which [**marketing automation software**](https://altcraft.com/en) meets your needs best. Be certain whatever suite you select [**integrates**](/features/integration) with your Customer Relationship Management so you can keep all data in one place.

In Altcraft Platform, you can send a broadcast in a few clicks. Just choose your target audience, message content, and launch day:

<Img
img="/uploads/how_to_send_email_broadcast_in_altcraft_platform_4153415a62.png"
alt="How to send email broadcast in Altcraft Platform"
/>

**5. Create the Email Message**

On the surface, an email message seems simple enough: It’s a subject line, body, images, and a call-to-action. But each element must be fine-tuned to your intended audience. Craft the subject line with care, as well as the first 30 characters of the message, which are visible in the preview used by most mobile email clients. Altcraft Platform comes complete with its own [**drag-and-drop email builder**](/features/email-template-editor) to make this process easier.

<Img
img="/uploads/Visual_editor_96859a19ed.gif"
alt="HTML Drag-and-Drop Builder"
src="HTML Drag-and-Drop Builder in Altcraft Platform"
/>

**6. Embed Personalization in Your Message**

The cardinal rule of email marketing is this: No matter how many people you’re really talking to, your message should read like one-to-one communication. [**Use the data**](data-driven-marketing) you already have on your subscribers to build out custom fields with relevant content. First name personalization is a terrific place to start.

<Img
img="/uploads/facts_about_personalization_eecce752f8.jpg"
alt="Why personalization is important"
src="Facts About Personalization"
/>

**7. Use Your Subscriber Data to Improve Your Results**

By using audience segmentation, you can send a more personalized message even though you may be talking to thousands of people at once. The thrust of your message may be the same for everyone, but you might tweak the wording for leads, current customers, and past customers.

**8. Conduct A/B/N Testing to Refine Your Messaging**

Rome wasn’t built in one email. After 3-5 days, take a look at your [**data**](/features/analytics) so you’re equipped with lessons learned for the next email blast. Open rate, click-through rate, and unsubscribes are especially important to keep an eye on. If you’ve been [**split testing**](/features/mvt) so far, determine your winner and document the results.

<Img
img="/uploads/how_to_do_an_email_blast_the_right_way_1f71ed0166.jpg"
alt="How to do an email blast"
/>

## Conclusion

Done right, an email blast accelerates results from any promotion. With the tips above, you’ll be ready to create an email blast whenever your marketing plans call for it.

If you have any questions about how to send a broadcast, please [**contact us**](mailto:sales@altkraft.com).

Once you know how to do email blast, you’ll find mail blasting an easy and effective email marketing approach.

medium_how-to-send-an-email-blast.jpg

small_how-to-send-an-email-blast.jpg

thumbnail_how-to-send-an-email-blast.jpg

how-to-send-an-email-blast.jpg

Mail blasting is a proven way to get your message to potential customers quickly. Once you know how to do email blast, you’ll find mail blasting an easy and effective email marketing approach.

Email Blast: What Is It and How to Send It

How to Send an Email Blast

<Img
img="/uploads/promote_yourself_on_social_media_e6793f5fa1.jpg"
alt="How to promote yourself on social media"
/>

According to Statista, nearly 4 billion people, over half of the global population, are engaged in some form of social media. Furthermore, approximately 40% of those internet users interact in social media for self-marketing and business purposes.

Social media offers countless opportunities to present your activities or business initiatives to the public or other businesses. To develop your self-marketing techniques successfully, the essential objective should be to employ a strategy that conveys a consistent, accurate message, generates positive consumer awareness, and encourages interaction with prospective clients.

To optimize [**brand awareness**](povyshayem-uznavayemost-brend-ustanavlivayem-avatar-email-otpravitelya), however, you will need specific data and metrics to:
- recognize how online viewers are responding to your message
- understand why they may be interested in your story
- determine the reason why they may be moving on instead of acting

<Img
img="/uploads/daily_active_social_media_users_2032b83cdd.jpg"
alt="Daily active social media users"
/>

## Why You Should Develop a Social Media Presence

Social media offers almost limitless opportunities for self-marketing or increasing awareness for your products and services. With the potential to be far more focused and targeted than with more traditional media efforts, even individuals and the smallest companies can now afford to tout their products and strengths effectively in a broad spectrum.

One popular marketing concept that applies to effective self-marketing in social media is the Funnel Theory. This concept defines the [**journey of a prospective client**](stroim-customer-journey-map) from the point of not knowing who you are to total acceptance, trust, and conversion. While some prospects may click through early due to a lack of interest, others should be drawn further into the closing stages of your funnel. The job of a self-marketer is to maintain the momentum needed to lead prospects further and further into the funnel, eventually consummating a lead conversion.

But the key to a higher conversion rate will depend on what percentage of your prospective audience is attracted in the first place.

Finding a [**marketing automation tool**](/en) with the functionality to set up your unique marketing campaign to launch quickly on Telegram, WhatsApp, Instagram and other social media can be your best course of action. Let marketing automation platforms send emails, SMS and push notifications to your target audience as you focus on other value-added elements of your business.

As importantly, [**ongoing analysis**](https://altcraft.com/features/analytics) of your marketing campaign performance on the various social media platforms is a key to successful self-marketing. Altcraft Marketing can monitor how many people read or click-through your content, allowing you to adjust your content to enhance your success.

<Img
img="/uploads/most_popular_social_networks_worldwide_8d94d717b6.jpg"
alt="Most popular social networks worldwide in 2021"
/>

## How to Promote Yourself on Social Media

Here are 5 effective ways to promote your content using social media.

### Adopt the 80/20 Rule for Social Media for Self Marketing

One of the most important concepts to remember about brand development is that people will soon get weary of reading only about your strengths and value-added services. Just as at a live cocktail party or other social gathering, people will quickly begin to drift away from your space when they learn that your favorite topic happens to be yourself.

Many social media marketers employ the 80/20 Rule to avoid blatant self-promotion. The concept suggests that 80% of the content you post on social media should be informative and valuable, hopefully reliable enough to establish yourself as an expert on the topic.

The other 20% of the material should clearly define who you are and what you offer in a positive, consistent manner. Most importantly, demonstrating your expertise on a specific topic will go far in creating a loyal following.

Therefore, always remember to avoid monotonous content.

### Become recognized as an expert on your topic

The best way to draw attention to your brand is to present material that is useful, actionable, thoughtful, and solves a problem, where applicable.

Write all social media posts carefully and research the content in-depth before posting. Doing this will support your primary objective of developing trust and facilitating brand loyalty.

Since [**customer trust**](customer-trust) is the basis for any long-term relationship. Providing truthful information and expert insights on pertinent subjects that help your readers meet their goals will usually create the desired connection.

### Be consistent

With your website, Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms, maintaining a consistent image is essential. Many companies even employ a media guide that defines posts and website components to specific logo usage, fonts, colors, tone, and, most importantly, tone and message. To avoid confusion on a crowded platform, always remain consistent with your postings so that your audience will never be confused about who you are and what you represent.

### Encourage interaction

The most unmistakable sign that your content is drawing interest is from queries, comments, and other forms of interaction. Commentary and discussion allow you to respond immediately with explanation and clarification that can invoke further conversation.

Continued interaction enhances your conversion success.

### Encourage user input

The ultimate sign of success in your self-marketing effort is inspiring others to comment on your brand or related topics. Prospective clients today love to learn from others about their experiences and, as your reputation grows, this can create a &laquo;snowballing effect&raquo;.

<Img
img="/uploads/personal_branding_tips_for_social_media_32660cf438.jpg"
alt="Personal branding tips for social media"
/>

## Conclusion

Individuals and businesses today use social networks for their marketing or branding strategies for their growing companies. Social media accounts are one of the most effective ways to reach more people for less money, boost sales, increase repeat purchases, brand awareness and customer loyalty. However, as the number of users on social platforms is growing constantly, business owners are having a hard time engaging with their clients. For the best results, many marketers work with marketing automation software, because such tools allow them to collect and unite all data into a consolidated customer profile that provides ongoing feedback on their performance.


Find out how to promote your business using social media platforms: increase repeat purchase, customer loyalty and brand awareness.

medium_promote-yourself-on-social-media.jpg

small_promote-yourself-on-social-media.jpg

thumbnail_promote-yourself-on-social-media.jpg

promote-yourself-on-social-media.jpg

Social networks are an effective way to promote your business. Read our article to learn how to brand yourself using social media platforms.

Self Promotion: How to Market Yourself on Social Media

Self Marketing: How to Promote Yourself on Social Media

<Img
img="/uploads/what_is_marketing_automation_1200_630_bb9965c4c3.jpg"
alt="What is marketing automation for business"
/>

Today, various businesses are actively implementing marketing automation into their businesses. According to Cision PR Newswire, the marketing automation industry will reach $8.42 billion by 2027. This suggests that automation will become an important part of brand promotion in the market. In other words, without it, companies will no longer be able to be competitive. 

In this article, we'll explain in detail what marketing automation is, what opportunities it gives to your brand, and how you can implement it in your business.

## What is Marketing Automation and Why Do You Need It

**Marketing automation is the use of software to automate marketing processes in order to save labor force and time resources.** Companies use marketing automation to send automated messages to customers via email, social media, and other communication channels.

By automating repetitive processes — emails, social media posts, ad campaigns, and more — you are able to promote your brand faster. This increases your sales as you engage with customers in the regular shopping process. The efficiency of the employees work also increases: this means they have enough time to solve more complicated problems, and the number of errors is greatly reduced.

The software helps marketers to attract leads and influence customer retention by delivering useful content on time. Let’s imagine John Doe goes onto your website and subscribes to the newsletter. From now on, the system starts automatically sending him letters with information he is interested in. If John opens the messages and follows the links, it’s most likely that he will take the targeted action you need, for example, a purchase.

Another indisputable plus of marketing automation is [**personalization**](https://altcraft.com/features/personalization). Let's go back to our John Doe. To create a personal offer for him that he cannot pass by, you need to know not only his personal data but also what he does, what he dreams of, where he works, etc. This is where automation comes in handy. With the help of automation, you will be able to quickly collect the necessary information about the consumer, process it and use it for a unique offer. This will happen with all clients, even if you have thousands of them.

**According to SharpSpring, nearly 90% of brands consider their marketing automation strategy to be successful.**

<Img
img="/uploads/research_on_the_success_of_marketing_automation_strategies_bff652e9ac.jpg"
alt="SharpSpring research on the success of marketing strategies across brands"
/>

## What Does Marketing Automation Do

So why is marketing automation useful for businesses?

### 1. Implements complex strategies

An important point in marketing automation is tracking marketing communications. You need to make it clear when and what interactions with customers and potential buyers are most effective.

Usually, companies use drip marketing. In other words, they send people a chain of letters, created in advance that take into account the actions of subscribers. However, there are business automation tools that allow marketers to work on more complex strategies.

For example, on the marketing automation platform Altcraft Marketing, there is a special tool for automating marketing processes and creating [**Customer Journey**](stroim-customer-journey-map) in digital environment — scenarios. You will be able to build a customer journey and set different conditions for running scenarios based on audience engagement. These conditions include an abandoned cart, a registered goal on the website, and others.

<Img
img="/uploads/Onboarding_ecom_en_3892c6f53b.png"
alt='First Purchase Scenario in Altkraft Marketing Automation Platform'
src="Example of First Purchase Scenario in Altkraft Marketing Automation Platform"
/>

### 2. Targets email marketing

Divide your subscriber database into segments. It's easy to do with the right software. Segments will increase the chances of your content and product offerings hitting the target. As a result, each lead will receive the information that will allow him to make a purchase decision faster.

In the [**Altcraft Marketing**](/en) platform, you can segment your audience by various parameters: by geolocation, by the history of subscribers' actions (opening email / SMS, any click in email / SMS, etc.), by subscriptions (email, SMS or push). You will also have the opportunity to segment data from your CRM / stores and billing systems without placing it on the platform.

### 3. Identifies qualified leads

Automation allows marketers to assess the likelihood of a potential customer making a purchase. For example, the sales team uses the platform to monitor the actions of a potential buyer towards your brand. If he opens all emails, subscribes to some events and visits the pricing page on your website — this is a "warm" option. If a potential client rarely opens emails and does not visit your site, this is a "cold" option.

<Img
img="/uploads/potential_customers_56dc2513e3.jpg"
alt="Warm and Cold Leads"
/>

### 4. Accumulates, processes and protects client data

Some companies store data on different systems. This means that the information is in parts in unprotected places. When a large amount of information accumulates, employees begin to get confused. In addition, a data leak can occur that will not even be noticed, or it will be noticed, but too late. With marketing automation in [**CDP**](https://altcraft.com/features/cdp), data is stored in a single platform, which allows you to keep it protected and controlled.


### 5. Provides analytics of ongoing communications

The platform provides [**analytical data**](https://altcraft.com/features/analytics) to measure performance. With the help of this data, you will be able to make a decision on further actions. For example, you can decide to improve your marketing campaign or predict future customer behavior.

### 6. Saves time and resources

Marketing and sales automation will save your company's workforce. The employee will set up a marketing strategy once and then it will be automated in the platform. All you have to do is regularly check the analytics and, if necessary, make adjustments. In addition, in today’s world, people are looking for products and services 24 hours a day. The software always works and will provide consumers with your offer on time.

## What Marketing Processes Should Be Automated

When you come to the decision to automate your marketing, consider your business goals. Smart workflows for different functions can help you to achieve the results you want.

### 1. Newsletters

The first thing you have to do is automate your mailings. If you are still sending email to clients through Outlook, you have absolutely no analytic data. Did the client open the letter? Did they click on the link? Did he perform the actions the company desired? Without tracking customer actions, you don't understand the result of your strategy and therefore you are wasting your time. The platform not only automates mailings but also provides you with analytics, thanks to which, you will increase your marketing efficiency over and over again.

Let's say you want to send a welcome email when someone fills out a sign-up form on a blog page. When a visitor clicks the "subscribe to the newsletter" button, he will immediately receive a welcome letter or a confirmation email.

Let's take another example. If a customer does not complete a purchase from your online store, you can send him a reminder email. Just create an abandoned cart scenario once and your customers will be reminded when they stop halfway through a purchase.

### 2. Ad campaigns

Use marketing automation to launch targeted digital ads across multiple platforms, such as search engine contextual advertising or social media ads.

Another thing you can automate is [**retargeting**](https://altcraft.com/features/omni-channel-marketing). Retargeting allows you to attract leads or remind people of the products they viewed on your site. This way, you will help them to find their way back to your store and make a purchase.

Altcraft Marketing platform synchronizes audiences for retargeting from VK, Yandex.Direct or Facebook. It is also possible to customize any platforms you want.

### 3. Social media posts

Always keep in touch on social media. Publishing posts manually is a long and tedious process, especially if you post them through multiple communication channels or you have a lot of content. With automation, posts can be scheduled at the perfect time in a single platform.

### 4. Mobile marketing

According to DataReportal, in January 2021, there were 5.22 billion active mobile users. So mobile marketing is very relevant in today’s world. First of all, we recommend automating push notifications to your mobile application. [**Push notifications**](ak-push) are a cheap channel for communicating with customers on a mobile device, which saves on SMS costs. It is also important to process and store the events that the client commits in the mobile app. In the future, you can use this data to target your audience and personalize offers.

Altcraft Marketing platform has a [**push notification editor**](updates-rich-push-i-formy) where you can create push message templates for different OS. You are able to notify a customer about any action, talk about promotions or sales, share news and trending articles. Thanks to push notifications, you will be able to achieve the following goals: increase sales, inform people about upcoming events, help customers complete a targeted action.

## How to Implement Marketing Automation

As we already discussed, creating campaigns through a variety of tools and managing your digital marketing strategy in a single platform will simplify the life of your business. However, this process takes time and training.

Here are a few recommendations to consider when implementing marketing automation:

### 1. Set your goals

What can you automate to save time and improve efficiency? What strategies will increase your ROI? How will automation improve these strategies through all stages of the marketing funnel?

Once you've identified your goals, decide on your marketing budget. If you don't have a marketer, it's time to find a qualified specialist, because he will be the one who will develop a great marketing strategy for your business.

### 2. Get to know your audience

What do your customers dream about? What do they lack that they need to improve their quality of life? Build a customer persona before implementing marketing automation workflows.

### 3. Track the customer journey to purchase

Customer satisfaction is an important factor. If you don't know what is stopping a customer from becoming your client, there are clearly gaps in the strategy. Plan the buyer's journey and make sure the automation simplifies the work steps.

### 4. Prep your content strategy

You should decide on content at different stages of the customer journey ahead of time. This way you will know exactly what tools and methods to use in your marketing campaign.

### 5. Plan your solution deployment

Consistency is the key to implementing automation into a business. Think about the actions in plenty of time so that you have enough time to test them.

### 6. Check implementation results regularly

Analyze workflows every month, quarter and year. Your automation needs to change with your business.

<Img
img="/uploads/results_of_marketing_automation_implementation_884584b953.jpg"
alt="Results of the implementation of marketing automation into businesses"
/>

## How to Choose the Right Marketing Automation Software

Before implementing a solution, you should make sure that the chosen tool is suitable for the business. Please note a few points before purchasing.

### Functionality

Ensure that the platform has the required functionality before implementation. Here are some of the features you shouldn't be without:

- automation of all mailings in a single platform (Email, SMS, Push, Telegram, etc.);
- combining customer data from different sources;
- tracking customer actions in all communication channels;
- flexible audience segmentation based on collected data;
- [**Customer Journey**](customer-journey-automation) automation;
- [**A/B/n testing**](https://altcraft.com/features/mvt);
- detailed analytics.

### Integrations

The software should simply [**integrate**](https://altcraft.com/features/integration) with the tools you already use. Perhaps you have a program that you want to integrate with the new platform. For example, if you connect a platform to a transactional data warehouse, you will gain tangible benefits.

### Training

At first glance, it may seem that the chosen platform is easy to use. However, your team will still need training to get up to speed with the tool and start using all the features. This is an important point, because in order to unleash the potential of the platform, your specialists must feel at home with it. Ask the vendor for a detailed [**demo**](https://altcraft.com/setupDemo) and provide the necessary materials for further training.

### Tech support

The software provider should provide you with support. If a company only has email support and you have to wait for a response for a few days, take your time choosing such a platform. Just think, you may go unanswered at the worst possible time. That’s why, you’d better give preference to a vendor with support via online chat without a long wait.

### Scalability

Choose a marketing automation solution that adapts to your growth. The fact is, platforms have limitations, for example, a limit on the amount of data collected or campaigns sent. This is a signal that at some point you will not be able to download information or send a new message. The best choice is a platform with unlimited downloads and customer communications.

### Cost

The [**cost of the solution**](https://altcraft.com/prices) is no less a decisive factor than everything else. Think about this: you can choose a solution based on the number of customer profiles or the number of communications. If the number of your profiles is less than 500 thousand, pay attention to a cloud solution, or Private Cloud. There are platforms like Altcraft Marketing where you will pay for the amount of data you store but have unlimited amounts of sendings. Accordingly, the more profiles you have, the higher the price.

If you have more than 500 thousand subscribers, put your mind to an [**on-premise solution**](on-premise-or-saas) without restrictions on the number of stored profiles and communications. Of course, the cost of such a tool is higher than the cost of a cloud one, but all of the data and the whole process will be under your control.

## Examples of the results after marketing automation implementation

Today it is difficult to argue with the value of sales and marketing automation in the digital space. A well-thought-out strategy and well-chosen software will help to take your sales to the next level. We invite you to check the experience of implementing the CDP platform. Take a look at the following cases.

### [**How Altcraft Marketing Helped AlfaStrakhovanie Group Increase Repeat Online Sales by 49%**](case-how-altcraft-platform-helped-top-insurance-company-increase-sales)

Our client's objective was to implement a marketing automation platform to operate with large amounts of data within the company's Intranet. Altcraft Marketing, in tandem with the CDI system, creates micro-segments and launches triggers using known customer information. This made marketing campaigns personalized and maximized customer engagement.

One year of collaboration brought the following results:

- A combination of machine learning, segmentation and micro-personalization created effective advertising campaigns templates.
- High rates of micro-personalized communications performance were reached: OR — 42% and CTR as high as 36%.
- The rate of contract renewals increased by 49%, that meant more frequent subsequent purchases.
- Revenue for products sold online increased by more than 30%.

<Img
img="/uploads/kejs_alfastrahovanie_776_517_21b0968b89.jpg"
alt="Case study on the implementation of marketing automation in Alfastrahovanie"
/>

### [How Otkritie Broker JSC Has Automated Communications with Clients Using Alcraft Marketing Platform](how-otkritie-broker-JSC-has-automated-communications-with-clients-using-Altcraft)

The company was looking for a tool for marketing automation to centralize all communications in a single platform and work with large amounts of client data within the corporate network. And Altcraft has provided Otkritie Broker with this opportunity.

Using the platform, the company launched triggers based on client data and personalized email messages. After sending the first full trigger, Otkritie Broker received the following results:

- the indicators of micro-personalized communications have increased: Open rate increased to 75%, Click rate - 27%;
- traffic via email channel increased to 27%;
- 26% of clients were reactivated via emails.

Thanks to the use of the built-in email template editor, Otkritie Broker was able to create more than 20 email templates that could be changed when new products appeared. In the end, we managed to achieve great results:

- Open rate — 75%;
- Click rate — 49%;
- more than two readings of the letter per client.

<Img
img="/uploads/kejs_otkrytie_broker_1f98a167dd.jpg"
alt="Case study on the implementation of marketing automation in Otkrytie Broker"
/>

## Conclusion

Process automation greatly simplifies marketing management. It saves time, resources and money, and helps you to make your life and the lives of your customers happier.

Good automation takes into account the changing needs of potential customers, their behavior and interactions with you across all communication channels. Using behavioral factors from social media or specific page views provides marketers with information that helps them better understand leads.

Effective marketing automation uses a variety of media to communicate, so the success of your campaign depends on all the channels that influence the buyer's decision.

If you want to dive deeper into the topic or learn more about the Altcraft Marketing platform, write to our [**mail**](mailto:experts@altcraft.com). We will be happy to answer your questions.

Find out all the details about marketing automation: what it is, how to implement it into your business, what processes should be automated

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Nowadays without marketing automation, companies will no longer be able to be competitive. We will tell you what opportunities brands get by implementing automation into their business.

The Role of Marketing Automation | Develop Your Business

Marketing Automation: What It Is and How It Affects Business Development

![Customer loyalty.jpg](/uploads/Customer_loyalty_b322b70cb8.jpg)

One of the most important indicators in business is customer loyalty. A company that has a lot of loyal customers spends less money on advertising and, at the same time, gets a high income. To make customers more loyal, it is necessary to regularly examine their relationships with the brand. In this article, we will tell you in detail about customer loyalty: why it is so important, how to retain and measure it.

## What is customer loyalty and why do we need it

Customers’ positive attitude towards a brand, company, or business is considered loyalty. The more loyal customers you have, the higher your profit and the [**trust**](customer-trust) of other buyers will be. But these are not the only reasons why customer loyalty is so important.

**First**, customers who love your products will come back again and again.

**Second**, they will recommend you to their friends and acquaintances, thus attracting new customers.

**Third**, regular customers will not spend time searching for alternative products.

**Fourth**, these customers almost do not respond to competitors ' advertising campaigns, because their needs are met.

**Fifth**, they are more likely to leave positive reviews and feedbacks that have a positive impact on business development.

Sometimes people confuse brand loyalty and customer loyalty. Here's brand loyalty definition. It is the commitment of consumers to one brand and the willingness to buy only its products, regardless of comfort and price. Customer loyalty is the desire of customers to buy and interact with a brand over and over again. Compared to customer loyalty, brand loyalty is more about emotional connections and an attachment to your brand.

## Why is it so important to increase customer loyalty and retain loyal customers

Customer loyalty retention means that you are able to maintain good relationships with existing customers and to sell your products to them regularly. Let's look at the statistics to understand why you need to keep loyal customers. Business.com provides the following examples:

- If you increase the customer retention rate by 10%, the value of the company can be increased by 30%;
- A regular customer spends (on average) up to 67% more money than a new one;
- Increasing customer retention can increase profit by 25-95%.

This data clearly demonstrates that it's really worth paying attention to customer loyalty.

Customer loyalty is tracked in several ways.

## What metrics are needed to measure customer loyalty

### 1. Customer Retention Rate (CRR)

This parameter shows what percentage of buyers remained loyal to you over a specific period of time. If the retention rate is low, then you have few loyal customers and vice versa. 

To calculate CRR you need three reference points: the number of clients at the beginning of the period measured (CS), the number of clients at the end of the period measured (CE) and the number of new clients during a given period (CN).

<Img
img="/uploads/CRR_485006ae45.png"
alt="CRR"
src="Formula for calculating CRR"
/>
### We offer 5 techniques to increase CRR:

**1. Take a realistic look at your capabilities.** If you promised your clients something and didn't fulfil it, they are unlikely to come back to you.

**2. Play ahead of the curve.** By analyzing you can predict your customers' needs and offer them the right products or services on time. This way, customers will feel the attention and care from you.

**3. Set key performance indicators for your team and track them.** This way you can improve your customer service.

**4. Make use of social networks.** Interact with customers in social networks: keep a close watch on comments, read reviews. All this will help build trust with customers and increase loyalty.

**5. Conduct interviews.** This information will highlight problems in working with customers, as well as a quick solution to keep customers for a long time.

**According to Gartner, the increase in customer loyalty is influenced by increasing product value. 82% will remain loyal to the brand if the usefulness of goods and services increases.**

![Poll.png](/uploads/Poll_5ac60d915d.png)

### 2. Customer churn rate (Churn Rate - CR)

With this metric, you can calculate the number of clients lost in a certain period of time. If CR is low, it indicates high customer loyalty. If it is high, you should be more serious about customer retention.

<Img
img="/uploads/CR_d28fa0a50b.jpg"
alt="CR"
src="Formula for calculating CR"
/>

### 3. Lifetime Value indicator (LTV)

This metric shows how much money a consumer spends in your store during their life cycle. When a customer is loyal, he makes you a good profit, increasing LTV. To calculate LTV, you need to multiply the amount of money that a customer spends on average a year in your store by how long they actually stay active. 

By this indicator, you control whether the cost of attracting customers does not exceed your income.

<Img
img="/uploads/LTV_b222be9655.png"
alt="LTV"
src="Formula for calculating LTV"
/>

### 4. Repeat Purchase Rate (RPR)

Each of us strives to ensure that the customer returns to us again and again after making a purchase. The effective metric for assessing customer loyalty is the Repeat Purchase Rate (RPR).

To calculate this indicator, you need to divide the number of customers who have made several purchases over a certain period of time by the total number of customers for the same period. 

<Img
img="/uploads/RPR_7eaf86a0c1.png"
alt="RPR"
src="Formula for calculating RPR"
/>

### 5. Upselling and cross-selling

Loyal customers are more likely to buy additional products that are offered to the already selected one. And if a customer looks into your store, buys the expected product, and then also buys products from a completely different category — this buyer is definitely loyal to your company. Upselling and cross-selling are usually combined to maximize revenue.

To determine the upselling indicator, you need to divide the number of customers who bought additional products by the number of customers who bought a single product.


### 6. Net Promoter Score (NPS)

To know NPS a single question should be asked: How likely is it that you would recommend our brand or product to your friends, relatives or colleagues? The scoring for this answer is often based on a 0 to 10 scale. Buyers who answer 9 or 10 are considered «promoters»; those who mention 7 or 8 are «passives»; and those who respond with a score less than 7 are considered «detractors». This survey is a very useful indicator in evaluating loyalty, as a loyal customer is more likely to recommend you to your loved ones.

<Img
img="/uploads/NPS_e6b4511a44.png"
alt="NPS"
src="Formula for calculating NPS"
/>

## What Altcraft Marketing offers

With the help of [**Altcraft Marketing**](/en) platform you will be able to implement any client loyalty program scenarios: generate promo codes according to a specified format, assign points, arrange email quizzes, and more.

Our team has added to the platform a special data collection service  - the Forms. Using the Forms you can design a survey or quiz, send it to your clients, and find out how loyal your audience is. 

[**Altcraft Marketing**](updates-rich-push-i-formy) will also automatically calculate lifetime value if necessary. LTV is determined by the results of all client activities. 

<Img
img="/uploads/LTV_Altcraft_Marketing_9e4119222c.png"
alt="LTV-Altcraft-Marketing"
src="LTV calculation in Altcraft Marketing platform"
/>

## Summary

Here are six metrics for measuring customer loyalty: 

1. Customer Retention Rate (CRR).
2. Customer churn rate (CR)
3. Lifetime Value indicator (LTV)
4. Repeat Purchase Rate (RPR)
5. Upselling
6. Net Promoter Score (NPS)

If you have determined during the calculation that your performance is high, do not relax. You should constantly support loyal customers: give gifts, attract them with promotions and discounts, and offer reward and loyalty programs. Using these metrics, it will be easier to retain existing customers and turn new customers into regular customers.

What is loyalty? Customer loyalty is his desire to come back to the brand for shopping. In this article, we have analyzed what a person's loyalty is, how to maintain and track it.

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In this article we will tell you in detail about customer loyalty: why it is so important, how to retain and measure it.


What Customer Loyalty Is | Six Ways To Measure Brand Loyalty

Customer Loyalty: What Is It and How to Calculate It

![автоматизация_cj_en.jpg](/uploads/avtomatizacziya_cj_en_a539794cfa.jpg)

The second part of the article [**"How to better understand the customer"**](stroim-customer-journey-map). In the first part, we talked about the customer journey map (CJM): why you need it, what sources you should take information from, and what data you need to put on the map. In the end, we built the CJM based on our own checklist for illustration purposes. Today we are telling you how you can use scenarios in the marketing automation platform to build a customer journey.

Scenarios are a special tool for automating marketing processes and creating a digital customer journey. The Artkraft Marketing platform has different conditions for running customer journey scenarios:

-   When a specific event occurs like an abandoned cart, an abandoned product view, a registered goal on the site, and others.
-   According to the specified schedule for the selected audience.

We share with you a couple of customer journey map examples that will help you increase sales, attract and retain customers.

## Welcome scenarios

Welcome emails are primarily required for double opt-in confirmation of subscription by the user. Welcome scenarios help increase customer engagement from the moment of registration. Using these scenarios, we gently and unobtrusively form brand loyalty and accompany a customer on the way to purchase. Thus, the company manages to grow a regular customer.

Features of the welcome workflow:

-   Automates the email subscription confirmation process.
-   Assigns welcome bonuses and promo codes.
-   Sends requests to the sales department for inactive users.
-   Reminds you to register via SMS, push, or custom channels like social networks or messengers.

![EN_welcome_цепочка.png](/uploads/EN_welcome_czepochka_dd7a15ebce.png)

## “First purchase” scenarios

The customer is introduced to the product through the automated “First purchase” scenario. The customer journey helps them understand the benefits and value of the brand. You engage them from the first letter and lead them smoothly to the conclusion of the transaction.

Features of the "First purchase" workflow:

-   Runs the scenario after the target action is completed.
-   Reactivates the customers who did not show interest in the email or opened a website but did not make a purchase.
-   Assigns promo codes for a private sale or promo goods.

![EN_первая_покупка.png](/uploads/EN_pervaya_pokupka_5aa07da7e4.png)

## “Customer loyalty management” scenarios

A type of scenario aimed at increasing customer engagement and loyalty. In the Altcraft Marketing platform, you can check loyalty using order data, average receipt, or the number of accumulated points.

![EN_лояльность.png](/uploads/EN_loyalnost_634457b353.png)

## “Customer reactivation” scenarios

You can set up regular customer activity checks in the platform. If activity drops, an automatic reactivation scenario is triggered.

![EN_реактивация.png](/uploads/EN_reaktivacziya_94ae7fadc2.png)

## “Payment reminder” scenarios

The reminder model is suitable for financial organizations, banks, streaming services, insurance companies, and online universities. Using this scenario, it is convenient to remind customers of the loan repayment date, service or subscription renewal.

The dynamic segment in the platform selects only current data at the running the script. Then a series of payment reminder emails are sent to customers. After each notification, the platform checks whether funds have been received on the account.

![EN_Напоминание_об_оплате.png](/uploads/EN_Napominanie_ob_oplate_b4a88cedc3.png)

## Cross-sell scenarios

Cross-selling is a method of increasing the average receipt by selling related products or services. The customer journey of this type is effective for all areas of business. Let's take an example: the email workflow used by banks.

![EN_cross-sell.png](/uploads/EN_cross_sell_287e202c50.png)

## Upsell scenarios

This automatic scenario helps to increase the average bill. A series of upselling emails help you build stronger and more lasting customer relationships. Use the right approach in upselling. Make sure the user is happy with the brand, focus on customer benefits, and be discreet.

![EN_допродажа.png](/uploads/EN_doprodazha_9503f36d02.png)


For your convenience, we have compiled all the customer journey scenarios into a single file. You can download it [**here**](https://altkraft.com/blog/en/8_main_mailing_scenarios.pdf).

## Conclusion

An automated customer journey is an automated workflow of emails that can make a marketer's life easier. You can use them to manage customer loyalty, increase their engagement, and build long-term relationships. In this article, we have collected the most basic scenarios that will help you achieve your goals. They are easy to implement, but if you feel hesitant about a particular step, please contact us. Together, we will figure out which customer journey you need.


How can a well-built Customer Journey boost your sales, attract and retain customers. Read in our article.

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The second part of the article ”How to better understand the customer”. We figure out how and why you need to automate the customer journey on the example of 8 main mailing scenarios.

Customer Journey — What It Is, How to Build and Automate

How to Better Understand the Customer, Part 2. Customer Journey Automation

![marketing_automation.jpg](/uploads/marketing_automation_2ec7d45137.jpg)

Marketing automation has become common practice. Since 2011, the number of B2B companies using automation has grown 11 times. By the end of 2020, another 58% of companies plan to implement it in their business. This trend is due to the fact that automation increases sales by 14.5% and reduces marketing costs by 12.2%.

In short, marketing automation is a technology that helps companies simplify and track marketing tasks and workflows. Special platforms analyze user actions and automate key marketing processes. With this technology, companies can simplify their main marketing tasks, increase their efficiency, and increase their revenue.

Marketing automation is suitable for almost all types of online business. It is important to remember that each area has its own specifics, which means that the tools for solving problems will differ.

Business areas that can and should use marketing automation:

-   b2b
-   eCommerce
-   real estate
-   training resources
-   SaaS
-   sales of frequently repeated services — beauty salons, medical centers, and so on

If you are not completely sure whether your business needs this technology, then highlight the main tasks that you face. Below we will tell you if marketing automation can handle them. But first, let's identify the main difficulties and consider options for solving them.

## Possible difficulties

At the beginning of the marketing automation process, your company may encounter some difficulties. We will try to consider all of them and tell you in advance about the solution options.

**Spoiler alert**: These difficulties are easy to overcome.

1.  **Complexity of the platform.** Sometimes marketing automation services can't provide software with an intuitive interface. In this case, marketers will spend most of their time studying the functionality, rather than building effective strategies. Therefore, it is important to choose a system with a clear interface and a set of those functions that are necessary for effective work. Ask your platform provider to help you with training and to keep you up to date.
2.  **Lack of content for marketing automation channels.** You understand your target audience, their interests and desires better than others, so prepare in advance all the materials necessary for distribution. After launching your first automated ad campaign, analyze the results and use them to make changes or start preparing new content. Do not forget to evaluate the effectiveness - the materials should not only like subscribers, but also bring the expected results.
3.  **Integration with other systems.** Not all marketing automation platforms have compatibility with other systems. This makes it difficult to import and export new subscriber data. Before buying a platform, find out if it has integration with other services through the API.
4.  **Lack of strategy.** It's not enough to buy a platform and set up scenarios for automation to start yielding results. It is necessary to define goals and objectives in advance, prepare tools for their solution. There is no one size fits all strategy - don't try to copy your competitors.   

You can avoid these and other difficulties if you plan everything carefully in advance.

## Marketing automation features

The main task of any business is to earn more money. You can solve this problem by attracting new customers and increasing the loyalty of regular customers for repeat sales. From experience, we can say that only 20% of users are ready to make a purchase immediately and without hesitation. The remaining 80% must be nurtured, that is, prepared for sale. Marketing automation can handle all this. You can use it to develop relationships with customers who are not ready to buy.

Automation preserves and expands customer relationships. The user noticed the ad, evaluated your offer, and made a purchase. It seems that after the sale has taken place, your relationship should be completed. In fact, you will get more value if you can hold it after the first trade. Offer the client more options that may interest them. Keep track of customer loyalty to the company, keep their attention and engage them in a dialogue with you. This approach to marketing requires more actions than a simple monthly newsletter or social media updates. You will have to track users ' reactions to a specific action and adapt to them. You can't do without a comprehensive approach.

*The marketing automation concept is that the right user will receive the right offer at the right time.*

That’s why this technology is considered advanced and so popular. Among its main features:

-   optimization of email, push and sms
-   unified customer profile
-   ready-made scenarios for marketing strategies
-   detailed analytics across all channels

Optimization of email, push and sms notifications

It is not enough just to send information on the status of an order by mail or to report once a month about new promotions or special offers. The secret to good newsletters is personalization and consistency! Contact your customers directly, offer what they are interested in and be always in their sight. This can be done by optimizing notifications for all channels: email, push and sms.

How do I know that it's time for you to switch to marketing automation?

1.  If you send bulk mailings and you can't build a dialogue with a client.
2.  You set up campaigns manually for a long time.
3.  Your email campaigns are isolated from push and sms.
4.  Targeting and segmentation are inaccurate.
5.  You don't respond well or at all to subscriber triggers.
6.  You cannot understand whether the mailings bring you income.

Email newsletters are considered the most important channel in marketing in their own right, and this is not surprising. With their help, you can contact the user directly, offer more products of interest to him, give personal discounts and promotional codes. By doing so, you will nurture him and increase brand loyalty. In combination with a single platform, push and sms mailings, detailed segmentation and detailed analytics, the effectiveness of this channel will increase significantly.

We back it up with facts:

-   Push notifications increase user engagement with the app by 88%. Customer engagement triples.
-   52% of marketers who use email newsletters note that emails help businesses grow and increase user engagement with delusions.
-   SMS notifications are opened by 98% of users.

If all three channels are combined together, their effect will increase significantly.

In the automated marketing platform, you can set up sending trigger notifications. These messages will not have a schedule or limit, but will wait for the event that triggers them. For example, a user has registered on a site and the platform will automatically send them a confirmation email. Or another case: the customer left products in the basket, and you can remind them about it using push notifications. You can read about how to configure them correctly here.

With the help of data on opening, reading and transitions in previous mailings, you can optimize the further communication process. In our Altcraft platform, such information is stored in databases.

## Unified customer profile

What can you say about your target audience? Surely you know its approximate location, gender, age and preferences. But do you know every client? With marketing automation platforms, you can track each user: where they came from, which pages on the site they visit, which products they look at, which emails they open, and which ones they stubbornly ignore. So, from the general data about the target audience, you form an idea about each person. After personal acquaintance with clients, you can build communication. Offer the product that interests a particular person, advise them or remind them of incomplete purchases. Become friends.

In the unified customer profile, you can combine data from all sources, from CRM, CMS to Database. This is done for convenience — all the necessary data for building an effective marketing automation strategy will be in front of your eyes.

This is how the customer profile looks in our platform:

![Unified_customer_profile.png](/uploads/Unified_customer_profile_5a04c96c8e.png)

Customer profile information is collected and updated automatically. You don't have to put in any effort to do this. Data import can be organized in several ways depending on the size of the customer base, the principle of handling new subscribers and the technical capabilities of the company.

In addition to the unified customer profile, there are subscription resources in Altcraft Marketing. They combine all subscriptions to certain content across all communication channels. For example, a client can subscribe to advertising email campaigns, push and sms notifications. It is not convenient for them to receive this content through sms, and they unsubscribe from them. The user continues to receive notifications about promotions in email and push channels - unsubscribing from sms mailings did not affect other subscriptions in any way.

Tracking helps to get information about the subscriber's actions in messages. It analyzes the message reading time, the number of clicks on links, viewing images, and unsubscribing. AK Pixel collects information about the user's actions on the site. These tools help you keep your data up-to-date in the unified customer profile.

## Ready-made scenarios for marketing strategies

Marketing automation workflows, or scenarios, are another marketing automation tool. You can use them to set up mailing lists based on events, motivate subscribers to perform targeted actions over a certain period of time, and run advertising campaigns. Scenarios work to increase customer loyalty and save you time.

In the Altcraft platform, the following scenarios are executed:

-   Individually for each client when a certain event occurs.
-   For a specific group of clients in a specific scenario. 

*Example of a welcome email scenario:*

![welcome.png](/uploads/welcome_1f1ebefb35.png)

## Detailed analytics across all channels

In addition to optimizing mailing lists, a unified customer profile, and ready-made scenarios, analytical reports are available in the automated marketing platform. They allow you to monitor the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns in real time. There are 9 types of reports available in Altcraft Marketing. Here are some of them:

 - **Summary report**
![summary.png](/uploads/summary_1e94d8ced3.png)

 - **Cohort analysis**
![cohorts.png](/uploads/cohorts_a0aa3bc163.png)

 - **Conversion funnel**
![Conversion_funnel.png](/uploads/Conversion_funnel_fff9c9d07d.png)

It is important to be able to evaluate the benefits of a particular step. In the course of work, our platform collects data, which shows progress and weaknesses. Detailed statistics help you make the right decisions on the further development of your marketing strategy. For example, a conversion funnel analyzes the sequence of steps your customers take. The report shows the number of users who have moved to the next stage. By observing the dynamics of movements, you can strengthen weaknesses to increase conversion at certain stages of the marketing automation strategy.

## Still, is automation needed?

Yes, if:

-   Your task is to increase the number of customers, increase customer loyalty and raise revenue.
-   You already have a large customer base, and all your marketing is not personalized and does not bring results.
-   Many of your subscribers are not ready to buy from you. We still need to work on their cultivation.

Automation is not a solution to all difficulties. It is impossible to set up scripts once and wait for high results. This is a tool that will partially relieve the marketing department and give them more time to find an individual approach to each client. You will be able to show your product from the best side, make additional sales and build trust with users. Ease and convenience in communication with you will encourage the client to come back again and again.

Need help with marketing automation? We are always happy to help, just write to [**us**](mailto:sales@altkraft.com).



Let's talk about the difficulties faced by online businesses in marketing automation. You will also find out what advantages an automated business brings to you.

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Talking about marketing automation and share tips on how to avoid difficulties in the implementation process.

Marketing Automation | How to Overcome Difficulties

Everything You Wanted to Know About Marketing Automation: Difficulties and Features

![CJM.jpg](/uploads/CJM_fe16dcd093.jpg)

A customer journey map (CJM) contains detailed information about all customer actions: from the first thought of buying something to purchasing it. While our team is preparing a detailed guide on creating and automating a customer journey map, we are sharing with you the tools for its design.

### Customer journey mapping tools

[**Google Sheets**](https://www.google.ru/sheets/about/)

A simple but convenient tool for visualizing the customer journey. You write out the stages at the top, vertically — the characteristics of the buyer. On the plus side of Google Sheets, every team member can access and update them quickly. This product is free and it is also a big plus.

![google_sheets (1).png](/uploads/google_sheets_1_2aa101b637.png)

[**Figma**](https://www.figma.com/) or [**Sketch**](https://www.sketch.com/)

If you need to show all the details and visualize the customer journey, these tools are for you. With their help, you can create a bright and colorful CJM. Such a map will look impressive in presentations. But there is a disadvantage — you can't quickly update the map without a designer.

<Img
img="/uploads/Sketch_1_6427133448.png"
alt="Sketch"
src="A customer journey map template. Source: www.behance.net"
/>

[**Сanvanizer**](https://canvanizer.com/)

A free tool to create CJM templates. A simple and uncomplicated service will help you quickly illustrate the customer journey.

<Img
img="/uploads/Sanvanizer_1_8f9c98cda1.jpg"
alt="Сanvanizer"
src="A customer journey map template. Source: canvanizer.com"
/>

[**Miro**](https://miro.com/)

Free access for one team member. Simple interface and management of a customer journey map. There are ready-made CJM templates.

<Img
img="/uploads/miro_1_07298a8383.png"
alt="miro"
src="A customer journey map template. Source: miro.com"
/>

[**Touchpoint Dashboard**](https://www.touchpointdashboard.com/)

A completely paid service with advanced features. The number of participants is unlimited. You can add images, metrics, and other useful elements to your map.

<Img
img="/uploads/Touchpoint_Dashboard_1_ae5b1bf20a.png"
alt="Touchpoint_Dashboard"
src="A customer journey map template. Source: touchpointdashboard.com"
/>

The Altcraft Marketing platform can automate a customer journey map. The next article will show you how to do this.



Let's talk about the available tools you can use to create an effective customer journey map. Read in our article.

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While our team is preparing a detailed guide on creating and automating a customer journey map, we are sharing with you the tools for its design.

What Are the Tools to Visualize a Customer Journey Map

Customer Journey Map Visualization Tools

![AlfaStrakhovanie.jpg](/uploads/Alfa_Strakhovanie_8c51bf8e38.jpg)

AlfaStrakhovanie group is the largest Russian private insurance company featuring a universal set of insurance products: complex business-oriented programs and a wide range of products for individuals. They have been automating their business processes since when the company was founded in 1992. For the last year CRM-automation has been implemented with the help of Alckraft Marketing platform. Currently more than 500 triggers are configured, providing thousands of message variations for email, push and SMS channels.

Analyzing their experience can advise you how to increase subsequent sales rate.

## Objectives

AlfaStrakhovanie group builds communications with tens of millions of their customers, based on personal and behavioral data, processed by machine learning. It's quite a large amount of business data — and it just cannot be exported to external services. Thus, the task was to find a software platform that can operate in tandem with the company's internal CDI system while processing no data in cloud services. The software had to be flexible in order to fit the group's changing requirements while business and marketing continue to scale up.  

## Work done

Client communications with micro-personalization were implemented. The internal CDI segments customers into micro-segments for every contact point with the customer by the following aspects: active products, contracts made, insured events, steps of online purchase etc. Personal hyperlinks and sets of data are formed and then transfered into Altcraft Marketing platform. It performs additional segmentation and limitation. Then these requests are forwarded to corresponding channels.

The workflow here is the following:

* If a customer does not react to the email and push, they receive an SMS.
* After the message they get a robocall.
* If the customer proceeds ignoring communication, a manager from AlfaStrakhovanie group contacts the customer.

The platform allows to configure а customer journey map and manage all marketing processes in a single window of Altcraft Marketing. This strategy helps retaining your customers and engage them in dialogue with the company. Afterwards the platform registrates results and returns them to the CDI system for further processing.

All messages in the platform are made up on the basis of CDI data. 10 product types and 10 customer psycho-types are combined for the messages like «Automated purchase». This makes 1000 combinations for just one message. And for 50 products it will make 25,000. Getting such a message last thing that a client can do is to wonder its timeliness and click the «Purchase» button. At the same time it is possible to note in the same message to get this offer later because a customer is interested in another product. The platform saves the answer, activates the corresponding triggers and forwards data to the CDI system.  

![psychotype.png](/uploads/psychotype_7321fd5906.png)

## Results

Our client's objective was to implement a marketing automation platform to operate with large amounts of data within the company's Intranet. Altcraft Marketing in tandem with the CDI system creates micro-segments and launches triggers using known customer information. This made marketing campaigns personalized and maximized customer engagement.

One year of collaboration brought the following results:

* A combination of machine learning, segmentation and micro-personalization created effective advertising campaigns templates.
* High rates of micro-personalized communications performance were reached: OR — 42% and CTR as high as 36%.
* The rate of contract renewals increased by 49%, that means more frequent subsequent purchases.
* Revenue for products sold online increased by more than 30%.

![schedule.png](/uploads/schedule_faf7e84208.png)

The plan for 2020 is to migrate the remaining online products and to further explore the existing points of contact with customers.

Dmitriy Leonov, AlfaStrakhovanie group CRM-marketer:

>We were looking for a marketing automation service, that could run within our network, sharing no sensitive data with cloud services. [**Altcraft**](updates-rich-push-i-formy) Marketing, I would say, is the only omni-channel platform that can adapt to meet our business needs and operate in sync with other services within our intranet. Now all business data is safely stored in one place and it's not processed in any cloud services. We use Altcraft Marketing for additional segmentation and for building micro-personalized communications.

## To sum it up

During a year AlfaStrakhovanie group implemented micro-personalized communications for every step of a customer lifecycle. Around 500 triggers were configured with thosands of content variations. Beside that, subsequent purchases increased 49% and revenue — 30%. As well, the customer journey map was defined with various marketing scenarios — and all within a single window of Altcraft Marketing.   

Looking where to start with marketing automation? Write [**us**](mailto:sales@altcraft.com) — we're always glad to help.

From our article you’ll learn how AlfaStrakhovanie Group, using the Altcraft Marketing platform, automated business processes and improved performance several times.

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In our new article we describe how marketing automation and Altcraft Marketing platform helped AlfaStrakhovanie group increase subsequent sales by 49%.

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