Process Automation vs. Marketing Automation?

Spoiler: It’s All the Same System

I recently missed a contract with a potential client.

Why? Because I said: "I work in process automation, I help companies streamline and structure their workflows."

And the answer I got was:“Oh no, sorry, I’m looking for someone who does marketing automation.”

At first, I nodded politely.

Then I walked away thinking: Wait... why?

Because here’s the truth: the hardest part of what you’re asking for isn’t marketing.

It’s not even process.

It’s automation.

Let’s break it down:

Process automation is typically used for internal workflows: things your team does day-to-day to complete a task. Think approvals, document handling, reporting, staff coordination, etc.

Marketing automation is about guiding a prospect through a series of actions that (ideally) ends with them becoming a customer. Think email sequences, lead scoring, event triggers, follow-ups, etc.

But the system behind both? It’s the same.

It’s about mapping workflows. It’s about defining what happens when X occurs. It’s about designing the “if this, then that” logic of your business.

Whether you're onboarding a new employee or nurturing a lead, you need to:

Same architecture. Different audience.

It doesn’t matter if you’re using HubSpot, Airtable, Make, Procore, or Google Sheets.

The fundamentals are identical.

That’s what I do at Romulus Technology, whether we call it "process" or "marketing" is just semantics.

Call it:

But most of all: Call it the part of your business that no one has time to fix, but everyone complains about.

That’s where I work.

If you’re not sure whether you need “process automation” or “marketing automation,” ask yourself this:

What outcome do I want to automate, and who’s involved in it?

Once we know that, we can build the workflow, regardless of the label.

At Romulus Technology, we make automation human, logical, and actually useful, not just jargon you pay for.

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