Getting someone to visit a website is one thing. Giving them a reason to come back is another.
Agencies invest considerable effort in that first interaction, from website design and search engine optimization (SEO) to paid advertising and conversion optimization. But once someone has submitted a form, booked an appointment, or made a purchase, there's still an opportunity to build on that relationship. Someone who booked a service may need it again, a previous customer might be interested in another product, and a visitor who requested information may still be considering their options.
Marketing automation helps businesses act on those opportunities through timely, relevant communication. With Duda's Marketing Automation, agencies can create email and SMS1 campaigns connected to their clients' websites, Bookings, and eCommerce activity, making customer reengagement a natural extension of the website experience.
Marketing automation uses software to send messages and manage campaigns based on customer activity, preferences, and previous interactions with a business. Rather than manually tracking when someone last booked an appointment or purchased a product, businesses can create workflows that respond to those events.
A fitness studio could reconnect with previous class attendees, while a pet grooming business could remind customers when it's time for another appointment. An online retailer might recommend complementary products after a purchase. These campaigns can run through email, SMS, or a combination of both, with waiting periods, conditions, and audience segments helping businesses tailor their messages.
For agencies managing multiple clients, the challenge is often less about understanding the value of automation and more about delivering it efficiently. Separate tools for websites, contact management, and marketing campaigns can make even straightforward workflows difficult to maintain. Duda brings these capabilities into the same web presence platform agencies already use to manage their clients' websites.
Once visitors arrive on a website, the focus usually shifts to conversions: form submissions, bookings, and purchases. But those interactions can also provide useful context for future marketing. A previous customer may be interested in a related service, someone who booked an appointment might need another in a few weeks, and a visitor who requested information could be interested in an upcoming promotion.
For eCommerce businesses, even incomplete transactions can indicate interest. Research from the
Baymard Institute puts the average online shopping cart abandonment rate at approximately 70%. Some shoppers are browsing, while others encounter problems or postpone their purchases. Not every abandoned cart can be recovered, but businesses can improve the shopping experience and, when they have the necessary contact information and permission, reconnect with interested shoppers.
The broader opportunity is to make better use of the relationships a business has already started, rather than treating every new campaign as an effort to reach an entirely new audience.
Businesses that rely on repeat appointments are particularly well suited to marketing automation. Lawn care companies, fitness studios, pet groomers, and other service providers often have customers who return on a relatively predictable schedule, yet many still depend on customers remembering to book their next visit.
Consider a lawn care company whose customers typically need their grass cut every two to four weeks during the growing season. With Duda's integrated Bookings and Marketing Automation, an agency could create a workflow that waits a few weeks after a booking and sends a personalized email encouraging the customer to schedule another service. The message could be as simple as a reminder that the grass might be ready for another cut, paired with a booking link.
Different services could follow different schedules. Customers who booked routine mowing might receive a reminder after a few weeks, while those who scheduled seasonal yard maintenance could hear from the business several months later. Duda's Marketing Automation supports multi-step workflows, waiting periods, conditions, and audience segmentation, giving agencies flexibility to match campaigns to the services their clients offer.
Because Bookings connects directly to Duda's built-in customer relationship management (CRM) system, agencies can create campaigns using appointment activity without manually transferring customer information between platforms.
Previous purchases can provide valuable clues about what customers might want next, particularly when those purchases are connected to recurring needs or important occasions.
Consider a floral arrangement business. A customer orders a bouquet for their wedding anniversary, selecting the occasion during checkout. Nearly a year later, the florist sends a friendly reminder that the anniversary is approaching, along with a link to order another arrangement. It's a timely message that helps the customer remember an important date while giving the florist an opportunity to earn another sale.
With Duda's Marketing Automation, an agency could create this annual reengagement campaign using purchase information and an anniversary date captured in a custom field. The workflow could send a reminder shortly before the following year's anniversary, giving the customer time to place an order.
Other retailers could take a similar approach. A skincare business might remind customers when they're likely to need a refill, while a sporting goods retailer could recommend accessories related to a previous purchase. Duda's eCommerce checkout activity connects with Marketing Automation through its built-in CRM, allowing agencies to use purchase information, audience segments, and custom fields to create campaigns based on customers' interests and shopping history.
Of course, bringing customers back is only part of the equation.
Baymard's checkout research shows that usability problems remain common across online stores. Agencies can improve the purchasing experience while helping clients maintain relevant communication with previous shoppers.
Not every website interaction results in an immediate purchase or appointment. Someone might download information, ask about a service, or submit a form to express interest in an upcoming event. They may be interested in the business without being ready to act, making occasional follow-up communication worthwhile.
A real estate agency, for example, could send neighborhood updates to people who previously requested property information. A fitness studio could share upcoming classes with visitors who signed up to receive its schedule. Rather than sending everyone the same message, agencies can organize contacts into segments based on their interests and previous interactions.
Duda connects website forms directly to its built-in CRM, making submitted contact information and relevant activity available for segmentation and automation. Agencies can then create email or SMS campaigns that reconnect with those contacts when there's something useful to share.
It's important to distinguish between known contacts and anonymous website visitors. Marketing automation can reengage visitors whose information has been captured appropriately; it doesn't automatically identify everyone who browses a website.
Marketing automation creates an opportunity for agencies to extend their services beyond the initial website launch. Clients need ongoing communication with previous customers, seasonal promotions, and campaigns that encourage repeat business. Agencies can provide these services through monthly campaign management, automation setup, audience segmentation, and performance optimization.
This can create a more predictable source of recurring revenue while giving clients continued support with their marketing. Instead of offering automation as a standalone technical feature, agencies can build services around specific business needs, such as appointment rebooking, post-purchase communication, or customer reengagement.
Duda also makes these services more practical to deliver across multiple clients. Marketing Automation connects with existing website projects, reducing the need to maintain separate integrations between forms, booking tools, eCommerce systems, and contact databases. Agencies can use Duda's Copilot to help generate email campaigns, landing pages, and automation routines, then adapt those materials to each client's business.
Automation saves time, but relevance determines whether a message is useful. A reminder to schedule another lawn mowing makes sense after the grass has had time to grow. An anniversary flower reminder is helpful when it arrives before the occasion, giving the customer time to order. Agencies should consider timing, frequency, and what customers actually want to hear before putting any campaign into motion.
Customer reengagement can also include review requests after a completed service. The
Federal Trade Commission's guidance on soliciting online reviews explains why businesses should seek genuine feedback rather than selectively requesting positive reviews.
The most useful automated messages arrive at the right time, offer something relevant, and make the next step easy.
A website can attract visitors, generate bookings, and support purchases. Marketing automation helps businesses build on those interactions, whether that means reminding a customer to book another service, reconnecting around an important occasion, or sharing relevant information with someone who previously expressed interest.
With Duda's integrated forms, Bookings, eCommerce, and Marketing Automation, agencies can turn these opportunities into ongoing services without adding disconnected tools to their workflow.
Explore Duda's Marketing Automation to see how you can create email and SMS campaigns that keep your clients' customers coming back.
¹SMS launches later this year in the US & Canada.
