How can iPaaS assist your digital advertising?

If you need one thing for your digital marketing toolbox, it's efficiency. You need access to real-time data so you can make the most effective decisions quickly and convert those important leads into paying customers.

You can start with deploying iPaaS or Integration Platform as a Service. It's a little difficult to understand at first, but don't worry. I'll break it down for you. First, let's look at some of the ways iPaaS works.

What Is iPaaS?

Before we dive into iPaaS, let's clarify a few terms.

You may already be using different apps or software as a service (SaaS) in your company. Statistics show that small businesses use an average of 40 apps and larger businesses use a lot more.

SaaS examples are Monday, Trello, Salesforce, and Gmail. Typically, you need to switch between these SaaS applications to get tasks done, whether you're assigning a project to someone in Trello or replying to a customer in Gmail.

The problem? It is time consuming and inefficient to constantly switch between these different systems. With over 82 percent of customers expecting almost instant solutions to their problems, you can't afford to waste this time.

How does iPaaS help? It's easy. iPaaS integrates your SaaS applications and cloud services. In other words, it brings all of these different apps together so that they can be accessed from one place.

IPaaS lets you read a prospect's email in Gmail and instantly assign someone a follow-up task for Trello. You can track inbound and outbound marketing in real time and quickly update the status of a lead in Salesforce.

From a marketing perspective, the most important thing is why iPaaS can work for you. Here's what you need to know:

The Benefits of iPaaS

Regardless of the size of your company, iPaaS offers three main advantages:

1. Savings measures
2. Business efficiency
3. Security and Compliance

Let's go through these one by one.

You can save money with iPaaS

If you want to optimize your IT budget, iPaaS might be a good option for you. Here are three specific reasons for this.

flexibility by iPaaS

First, it's flexible. It's pretty easy to customize your services to suit your specific business needs at any time without breaking your IT budget.

For example, if you have high seasonal demands, you can quickly scale your iPaaS platform to handle the volume. You can ramp up marketing campaigns and manage a large number of leads without losing speed or efficiency.

How does this flexibility help you to cut costs? Again, it's easy. The more agile your company, the faster you can acquire new customers and the less resources you waste in the meantime.

autonomy by iPaaS

You don't have to worry about scheduling software updates as iPaaS will manage these updates for you. Automatic updates:

• Minimizes your maintenance costs
• Improves the reliability of your system

Put simply, automated updates indirectly reduce downtime. More than 17 percent of small businesses have lost customers to downtime and 37 percent have lost revenue. The result? Automation protects your bottom line and your customer base.

simplicity by iPaaS

Many companies find the whole concept of adopting an iPaaS platform daunting.

My advice? Do not be so. iPaaS solutions are easy to use. They are specially designed for beginners, so you don't need special IT skills to set up the integration.

Since you don't have to hire an outside developer to provide the service, you can save money in the short term.

• You only have access to a cloud-based service. Little technical installation is required.
• You can quickly install or delete app integrations without spending additional money.
• You also don't need system permissions to make changes. Everything is designed for cost-effective efficiency.

The best part? Because it's easy to use, you'll spend less money training people to work with the service.

Your Business efficiency can increase with iPaaS

Efficiency is a real selling point for these platforms. Here are the main reasons for that.

First of all, did you know that 80 percent of customers expect consistent information when speaking to different members of your team? iPaaS makes this possible through:

• Automatic cross-system data synchronization
• Access to data on the go
• Centralized communication between departments
• Optimized campaigns
• Improved access to real-time data for critical decisions

This means that you are simultaneously improving your customers' experience with your company and increasing operational efficiency.

This makes it easier for you to see exactly what is going on in your company at all times. Whether you are pursuing weekly goals or evaluating customer behavior, everything you need can be accessed from one simple interface.

Deploying iPaaS typically takes much less time than installing all of the software tools separately.

iPaaS can help with security and compliance

Did you know that cyberattacks cost the average business $ 200,000? One of the best ways to avoid costly data breaches is to improve your cybersecurity. Here's how iPaaS can help.

• Automatic security updates protect your data and infrastructure.
• It's easier to protect data because it's all stored in one central location.
• iPaaS solutions generally include advanced security tools for finding threats such as fraud detection and intrusion alerts.
• You can quickly terminate an employee's user profile if they leave the company. This means that there is less chance that he will still have access to sensitive data.
• iPaaS security tools provide the protection you need to meet many cross-industry compliance requirements.

In essence, iPaaS is great for cyber-secure functions and connectivity, as it makes everyday tasks easier and enables seamless communication across your company. Above all, iPaaS enables you to comply with various industry security standards.

After we cover the benefits of iPaaS, you may think that this is the right option for your business. One important question remains: How do you choose the right iPaaS solution for your company?

Choosing your ideal iPaaS solution

Choosing the right iPaaS integration comes down to these two things.

1. Understand your company's specific data needs. For example, some iPaaS tools are best for automating contact and lead management, while others are best for automating daily workflows.
2. Find a suitable iPaaS platform for these needs at the right price.

The Gartner Magic Quadrant is a good place to start your iPaaS provider research. Before you begin, here are some things to do first.

• Identify what you need from iPaaS, whether it's customer analytics, employee management, enhanced security, or something else.
• Set a realistic price. How Much Can You Afford For iPaaS? Think carefully about your iPaaS budget, which we'll cover later.

Once you have considered these key topics, it is time to choose an appropriate iPaaS integration for your specific marketing and business goals. Here is my step-by-step guide.

Make sure your favorite apps can be integrated with iPaaS

Let's start with something simple: not all iPaaS platforms work with every app. With that in mind, the right solution for you should work with most (if not all) of your daily apps.

First, list all the apps you are currently using and decide which ones you want to integrate. This allows you to narrow down your research so that you only focus on compatible tools.

To narrow your search even further, you need to think in the medium to long term. What apps do you plan to integrate as your business grows? What is important for your marketing strategy?

Your iPaaS solution doesn't just have to work for you in the years to come.

Decide what to do with data in iPaaS

A piece of raw data alone doesn't say much. Sure, you may have some customer analytics and some employee reviews, but if you don't translate that data into information, you can't use it to improve your marketing efforts or grow your business.

Remember, that's the whole point of iPaaS: Integrate data from across your organization so you can turn it into useful information. Once you've confirmed which apps you're using and which platforms are compatible, it's time to start thinking about where your data will fit.

• Determine what data you have, whether it's names, promotional tickets, emails, reviews, or something else.
• Confirm what data you need to integrate to meet your business goals, as again not every iPaaS can integrate all types of data.
• Identify which apps contain this data as these apps must be compatible with the iPaaS.
• Check which iPaaS tool is easiest to migrate this data.

Make sure the iPaaS is easy to use

This is important. Some iPaaS solutions are easier to use than others. It is therefore essential that you take into account the IT skills of your employees.

• The more training your team needs, the longer it will take to get the system up and running.
• Without proper training, your employees could accidentally damage or delete important data. If there is no contingency plan for the learning curve (e.g. cloud or hard copy backups), this can lead to permanent data loss.

The actual problem? Steep learning curves can affect productivity, which has an impact on customer service and day-to-day workflows. So, consider the technical expertise of the staff before deciding on a platform.

If you're looking for an easy-to-use tool to help evaluate your recent marketing efforts, check out my A / B test calculator.

Find out about iPaaS security and updates

Sure, iPaaS is pretty secure overall. However, it is not that easy. Therefore, please note the following.

• Check the service provider's track record. Are the customers satisfied with the service? Does the provider have the experience to manage your industry-specific compliance requirements?
• You should also check the provider's record for downtime and data loss. If it is an unreliable platform, your data can be compromised and performance can be affected.
• Confirm how often updates are installed and make sure they are applied automatically.

Security is extremely important. So don't be afraid to ask questions.

Find out your iPaaS price

iPaaS is a business investment so you need to get it right.

• Get back to your IT budget and validate what you can afford.
• Find out about the options in your price range. List the pros and cons of each platform.
• Decide whether you want to pay a fixed monthly or annual fee or whether you are looking for a more flexible pricing structure. The same provider can sometimes offer different programs at different prices depending on your needs.

Many iPaaS platforms offer free trials. So it's worth trying a trial for around 30 days before committing. However, if it's a complicated platform, installing and learning for a free trial can be more difficult financially than it's worth it.

iPaaS tools

Still wondering where to start? Let me leave you with a few examples of popular iPaaS tools to choose from.

Zapier

With Zapier, companies of all sizes can design customized and optimized workflows. You also do not need any technical knowledge, as you can choose from numerous ready-made templates and integrate them according to your wishes.

For example, you can send notifications to Slack from other apps:

You can also quickly generate tasks without opening each app individually:

The best part? Zapier is wallet friendly and there is even a basic free version.

Oracle Integration Cloud

If compliance is a priority for you, see Oracle Integration. It has iPaaS templates for many industries, from financial services to healthcare:

It's also easy to track leads from one platform at any stage of the process:

You can pay as you see fit or choose a custom pricing plan.

Jitter bit

Jitterbit is designed to unify your workflow so that you can easily track everything from marketing performance to customer loyalty from one location. It's also compatible with popular services like Salesforce and Microsoft:

You can request a free trial or contact Jitterbit for custom pricing plans.

Conclusion

iPaaS is an excellent way to optimize the flow of data in your company, monitor conversions in real time and improve the speed of your customers' reactions. It's a solid addition to any digital marketing toolbox.

Remember, however, that what is right for a company may not work for your company. This is why it is so important to spend time researching vendors and asking as many questions as you need before entering into a service contract.

One last thing: if you need help getting traffic to your website and tweaking your content to improve conversion rates, don't forget to visit my consulting services.

Have you already deployed iPaaS in your company?

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