As a guy who loves to use software to automate things, this post pains me. But it’s real.
Marketing automation platforms aren’t perfect. Automation users – even less so.
Software platforms such as Ontraport and Active Campaign are complicated. They have many moving parts. For the new user this can be overwhelming. Even for me as an experienced user sometimes bad stuff happens.
I’ve personally seen a system send out hundreds of emails in a matter of seconds. Emails that shouldn’t have gone out for months. I’ve also seen people not get emails that they should have. I’ve also heard of other users who had thousands of emails send that weren’t supposed to go out. These have all be software errors.
Software isn’t perfect. It’s probably happened to every email service provider at one time or another.
Now add in user error.
Every system has its own way of doing things. They aren’t always obvious. Even scouring help forums doesn’t always make it clear. What you think is correct might not do what you had planned. Resulting in errant emails or unhappy customers.
I’ve even called help desks to be told the wrong answer to my problem. Causing more frustration for myself and my customers.
With all these issues, is automation worth it? Yes….but….
You need to be aware that automation isn’t always a straight line. Just like most things in business, it takes time. It might even take a painful lesson or two.
The best way to have a great experience is to start with a clear plan. Changing things in your system is usually when bad things happen. By mapping out your system in advance and knowing exactly how all the parts work together you’ll increase your chances for an error-free set up.
If you need to make changes after the fact, make sure you understand how your changes will affect your current system.
I’m not going to stop automating, even though some days (like today) I want to walk off a ledge. This too shall pass.
