The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Right Workflow Automation Software for Your Marketing

As marketing has transformed into a fast-moving, real-time, digital world, marketers are less concerned with flashy ad campaigns or very long blog posts – the need tends to be far more for speed, accuracy, and scale. It’s why, nowadays, marketers rely on the workflow automation software to help supercharge their marketing efforts. But what kind of workflow automation software is available, and how do you decide which is right for you?  

This article from the Aproove team will help to guide you through the steps to decide just that. 

1. Understand Your Needs and Objectives

It’s essential to define what you care about in a workflow automation software before you start looking at all of your options. Ask yourself:

• What specific marketing processes do you want to manage with automated workflows? 
   

• Do you want to make managing marketing content easier? 
   

• What are your primary goals? (e.g., improving efficiency, reducing errors, scaling operations, enhancing collaboration)  

By defining your needs and requirements upfront and aligning them with your marketing objectives, you can further specify your criteria for workflow automation tools and filter out non-essential features.  

2. Assess Key Features

Different workflow automation tools offer various features. Here's a breakdown of some must-have functionalities: 

Drag-and-Drop Interface: Simplifies the creation and adjustment of workflows. 

Integrations: Does the software connect well with your existing tools? 

Templates: Pre-built workflows can save time and provide a foundation for building. 

Reporting and Analytics: Powerful reporting features allow you to track the performance of your automated workflows. 

Scalability: The workflow management software must scale up with your operation, accommodating larger volumes and more complex tasks.  

3. Evaluate Usability and User Experience

Just as important is having features that are simple enough that they make a tool unusable. Consider these:

Ease of Setup: How quickly can you get your new workflow automation tools up and running? 

User Interface: The tool's interface plays a crucial role in its usability. Is it intuitive and user-friendly, or does it require extensive training to navigate? 

Support and Training: Does the vendor provide adequate training resources and customer support? 

When you buy new workflow automation tools for your team, run an internal trial first: Play with the tool and learn how to use it. If your teammates get it right away, how do they use it? It's probably not the right tool for your needs if they don't.  

4. Check Integration Capabilities

Your workflow automation software should seamlessly integrate with your existing marketing stack. Check for: 

API Availability: This allows for custom integrations. 

Native Integrations: Pre-built connections with popular tools. 

Data Sync: Ensure data can flow smoothly between systems without manual intervention. 

5. Consider Customizability and Flexibility

Every business is unique, and so are its processes. The right tool should offer: 

Custom Workflow Creation: The ability to tailor automated workflows to your needs. 

Conditional Logic: Advanced features that allow for more sophisticated automation rules. 

Flexible use of triggers and actions: the ability to create processes based on a wide range of triggers and actions. 

6. Review Security and Compliance

Information that is sensitive and pertains to a customer’s data is not a gamble – it’s safe-keeping and conformance to law needs to be iron-clad. The software must:  

Adheres to Industry Standards: Compliance with GDPR, CCPA, or other relevant regulations. 

Offers Data Encryption: Both in transit and at rest. 

Provides Role-Based Access Control: To ensure only authorized personnel can access sensitive data.  

7. Analyze Pricing and ROI

While cost shouldn't be the only factor, it's an important consideration. You should look at: 

Pricing Models: Subscription-based, usage-based, or one-time payment. Does that payment cover technical support, infrastructure, upgrades etc. (Any hidden costs?) 

Value for Money: Does the best workflow management software for you actually deliver everything that’s needed, for the quoted price?  

ROI Potential: Determine the ROI potential as a result of saved time, improved accuracy, and potential revenues.  

8. Seek Reviews and Testimonials

Leverage the experiences of other marketers. Look for: 

User Reviews: Check online for product reviews. 

Case Studies: Vendors such as Aproove typically offer case studies that attempt to demonstrate the benefits that another company received from using their software.  

Peer Recommendations: Ask for recommendations from your professional network.  

9. Vendor Support and Community

Good support can make a significant difference in your experience regarding workflow automation tools. Consider: 

Customer Support: Live chat, phone, and email support are available. 

Online Resources: Availability of tutorials, webinars, and documentation. 

User Community: An active user community can provide additional support and insights. 
 

Before deciding on which is the best workflow management software for your marketing efforts, you need to think about your needs, the features of the tool, its ease of use, integration, and value. This guide from our team should help you pick the right workflow automation tools and put them to use for the benefit of three essential aspects of your marketing: your efficiency, your results, and the way you want to scale.