Marketing automation is a robust topic. While it may cause some confusion to new marketers, marketing automation does have a wide-reaching set of uses for your marketing strategy. And, thus, many marketers are employing some type of automation even if they don’t fully understand the topic.
Whether you are currently using automation or wanting to get started, it’s possible you’ll encounter many words and phrases you may not be familiar with. For quick reference, we’ve compiled a list of the most common marketing automation terms you should know.
A/B testing
An experiment in which your audience is split to test variations of a campaign and determine which performs better. Often used with copy, email subject lines, landing pages, etc. Can also be referred to as split-testing.
Account-based marketing (ABM)
A focused growth strategy in which marketing and sales collaborate to create personalized buying experiences for a mutually identified set of high-value accounts.
Attribution
The identification of a set of user actions that contribute to a desired outcome, and then the assignment of a value to each of these events.
Behavior-based marketing automation
An automated set of actions aimed at promoting and selling products based on users’ interactions with your ads, website, emails, social media pages, chatbots, etc.
Buyer’s journey
A buyer’s path to purchase involving five steps or stages: awareness, research, evaluation, activation, maintenance.
Conversion
The point at which a lead, prospect, or potential customer performs a desired action, such as making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or subscribing to a service.
Conversion funnel
A marketing model that illustrates the theoretical customer journey toward the purchase of goods or services.
Customer relationship management (CRM)
A technology for managing all your company’s relationships and interactions with customers and potential customers.
Cross-platform marketing automation
A strategy of automating a campaign (or steps in a campaign) across multiple channels, such as social media, email, and web.
Call to action (CTA)
Any design element used to prompt an immediate response, e.g., a button in an email or web page that directs the viewer to take an action, such as downloading content, viewing another webpage, or submitting a form.
Days to close
The amount of time (measured in days) that a campaign takes to turn a prospect into a customer Double opt-in – an additional step to the email subscription opt-in process, requiring a user to verify their email address and confirm interest. Double opt-ins generally signify a higher level of user interest.
Drip marketing
A pre-written set of messages that are automatically sent to customers or prospects over time.
Gated content/offers
Online materials, such as white papers, articles, and videos, that require that users to fill out a form before they can access them.
Inbound marketing
Marketing that attracts customers by creating valuable content and experiences tailored to them.
Known visitor
The visitors of a web page who that have identified themselves through a login and have graciously provided you with a complete profile.
Landing page
A standalone web page, created specifically for a marketing or advertising campaign.
Landmark (email)
An email designed to be sent to a customer at a significant moment, such as an anniversary, birthday, or loyalty achievement .
Lead scoring
The process of assigning values, often in the form of numerical “points,” to each lead you generate for the business.
Lead/demand generation
The initiation of consumer interest or enquiry into products or services of a business.
Lead/prospect
An individual or organization with an interest in what you are selling.
Loyalty program
A marketing strategy designed to encourage customers to continue to shop at or use your products or services.
Marketing Automation Platform (MAP)
Technology that manages marketing processes and multifunctional campaigns, across multiple channels, automatically. Examples of MAPs are Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Marketo, HubSpot, etc.
Marketing qualified lead (MQL)
A potential customer who has been reviewed by the marketing team and satisfies the criteria necessary to be passed along to the sales team.
Multichannel marketing automation
An automated process of interacting with customers using a combination of indirect and direct communication channels.
Nurture campaigns
A time-based campaign that sends emails or ads out to your audience with the goal of motivating them to take some sort of action over time.
Outbound marketing
A marketing strategy in which a company initiates the conversation with a lead or prospect.
Progressive profiling
A technique for gradually building up a profile of your customers each time they interact with your product; can use a series of forms or emails over time to slowly gather data and complete a user’s profile.
Permission-based marketing
A form of marketing whereby marketers request their audiences’ permission to send them marketing material.
Persona
A fictional character or organization created to represent a user type that might use a site, brand, or product in a similar way; used as a key target in your audience.
Personalization
The act of tailoring an experience or communication based on information a company has learned about an individual.
Segmentation
Aggregating prospective buyers or customers into groups with common needs and who respond similarly to a marketing action.
Single opt-in
A one-step process that requires a person to enter their email address one time to immediately be added to an email list or newsletter.
Smart lists
A contact list within a CRM that automatically updates depending on specific criteria.
Static lists
A contact list that retains exact record IDs that matched to criteria that was set at the time it was created and will not update beyond that time.
Trigger
A rule or action that causes a marketing message to be delivered. A trigger can be time-based or activated by a specified set of events, behaviors, or interactions.
Workflow/automated program
An approach to making the flow of tasks, documents and information across work-related activities perform independently in accordance with defined business rules. For example, an automated workflow can segment contacts and deliver pre-designed content automatically based on behavioral or time-based triggers.