Getting Successful with Marketing Automation - more than technology

Getting Successful with
marketing automation -
more than technology
BROUGHT TO YOU BY

Percussion provides Web Content Management (WCM) software that helps businesses increase
traffic, drive conversion, and improve social interaction. We deliver advanced functionality that
provides the content owner with control over their content, while giving them the flexibility to take
advantage of “What’s Next” on the web.

When it comes to content management and marketing automation Percussion recognizes that these
two go hand in hand. Your website is “the face of your brand” enabling you to reach people who you
do not know, and marketing automation helps you pull those visitors through your sales funnel.

getting successful with marketing automation - more than technology

go beyond software
Would you buy a Ferrari and then keep it in the garage? That’s what happens when
companies purchase marketing automation without a strategy or plan for using it.

While there are important differences With limited investment in these areas, you
between marketing automation can usually get good (but not great) ROI
platforms, success is often primarily from marketing automation. And as we “I’ve seen over and over where a company
determined by three things: saw in Part Five, the more you invest, the will be unsuccessful with their marketing
higher you move up the curve, and the
1. Your strategy and process better your return on investment. automation strategy and they blame the
2. Your content and lead flow
The key is to “think big, start small, and
technology; they blame the platform. They
3. Your people move quickly”. In other words, the best say, ‘Well, we need to switch to a new
results usually come from getting started
with what you have today, and then platform because this just isn’t working
incrementally investing over time to move out.’ And in my observation, 9 times out of
up the curve.
10, it’s not the technology’s fault; it’s the
fact that the strategy, if it exists, is flawed
and is not executed well.”
– Matt Heinz,
Marketing Automation Expert

3


strategy and process
As Bill Gates famously said, “The first rule of any technology used in a business is that
automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is
that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.”

Don’t just automate your old processes Some of the processes that your company
when you are introducing marketing should examine as it thinks about
automation into your organization. New marketing automation include:
technology requires new ways of doing
things. When it comes to automating Sales and Marketing Alignment Measurement and Metrics Data Quality
marketing, the most important thing to
understand is that you “still have • What defines a sales-ready lead? • What key metrics do you report on a • Do you have dirty data full of
to think.” weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis? duplicates and bad records?
• How does your lead qualification
team prioritize their time? • How do you measure campaign ROI? • Missing or incomplete data?

• How will you implement lead nurturing • What key performance indicators • How will your data get cleansed – and
for leads that are not yet ready? (KPIs) will you use to determine if your maintained – to ensure your marketing
“Start with a process. Marketers
revenue processes are on track? automation doesn’t suffer from
typically work off of intuition, • How will you recycle sales leads “garbage in, garbage out”?
that don’t move forward? With marketing automation, marketers can
but defining processes is critical look beyond traditional metrics (clicks, Quality data is an essential
• What service level agreements (SLAs)
to successful marketing will you have for lead follow-up?
opens, etc.) and starting measuring (and underpinning of any successful
forecasting) what executives really care marketing automation implementation.
automation strategies and helps about: current and future pipeline,
Marketing automation can drive the most
you achieve quality, results when a company uses it as an
revenue, and profits.

consistency, and collaboration.” opportunity to realign its entire revenue
engine around the modern customer’s
new buying cycle.
– Eric Dukart, COO, Sundog

4


Content and lead generation
If marketing automation is the rocket, then content and lead flow are the fuel.
Read on to learn how to fill your tank to full.

Content Lead Flow
Having enough content is often the most Some companies have too many leads
underestimated challenge for successful and need to score them before handing
“You have to remember you need
marketing automation. Simply put, over only the highest-quality sales-ready capabilities to manage the marketing
content is a must-have for consistent leads. Other companies, especially new
lead generation and nurturing. Ideally, and small businesses, don’t have enough automation, which includes people and
this is based on a solid understanding of leads. Marketing automation can help processes in addition to the technology.
your buyer personas, so that your leads flow through the funnel more
content and messages resonate with efficiently, and done right, it can nurture That is the key for success.”
your audience. Without this, even the leads to make them sales-ready. But if you
most finely crafted marketing automation have nothing coming into the top of your – Matt Johnson,
programs can fail to deliver results. funnel, you will have nothing to nurture. VP Chief Strategy Officer, Innoveer
Ask yourself: If you don’t have enough sales leads, put a
plan in place to get more – with content
• Do you have a defined marketing, social media, trade shows, and
content calendar? promotions – anything that will help to get
prospects into the top of your funnel.
• Do you have content for each stage
of the buying process, by persona?

If the answer is not yes, then you’ll need
to make progress in this area, or risk
limiting your long-term marketing
automation success.

5


people
Your internal employees as well as external service providers
are the most critical aspects of success with your marketing platform.

Some important skills for success are:

• Business process design and • Technical aptitude. Marketing is “Success of marketing automation is not just
implementation. Can your team increasingly becoming a technical about the technology. That’s the easy part.
envision demand generation and profession that includes proficiency
lead-lifecycle processes that align to with technology solutions. This This is all about change management and
today’s modern buyer? Can they work represents a huge shift in the job
cross-functionality to implement description of a marketer, which
adjusting the way the company thinks about
across the organization? previously required little to no the customer experience. It requires support
technical abilities. Although today’s
• Analytics. Do you have someone marketing automation platforms are and alignment by key stakeholders, a
who can absorb, visualize, and
discuss large amounts of data and
much easier to use than previous commitment to developing better processes
systems, users still need to be
complex concepts, and make comfortable using technology. Basic (not doing it the way they have always done it
decisions to solve problems based on levels of technical acumen are a must;
available information? but with automation) and defining clear use
having a “marketing technologist”
on staff is even better. cases on what problems they want to solve
You’ll need to evaluate the skills of your
and how they will use the technology to solve
team. If you don’t have the right skills the problem – this all drives marketing
on-staff, you’ll need to augment your
current staff with training, external automation adoption and success.”
consultants, and/or additional hires.
– Jeff Pedowitz, President and CEO,
The Pedowitz Group

6


dream big. Start small.
get fast wins. Build from there.
All of the factors discussed here are critical … If you dream big, you’ll position … If you win small victories quickly, Overall, be realistic about what
for marketing automation success, but yourself to achieve the grand—albeit you’ll show results in a way that your resources you’ll require to achieve your
don’t let not having all of them keep you granularly articulated—vision of what you organization values —whether it’s a new objectives, but don’t let the “perfect be
from getting started. want success to resemble. Depending on lead generation campaign or a basic the enemy of good.” Get started. See
your organization, this end goal may take system for lead scoring. These small wins value. Then, evolve.
The best marketing automation the form of a full RPM transformation. It will cultivate stakeholder buy-in across
implementations adhere to the adage, might also be more modest. your organization, and increase your
“think big; start small; most quickly.” chances for success over the short and
… If you start small, you won’t get stuck long term.
in analysis paralysis, or feel the need to
wait until all of your content is created. You
won’t need to map out every single
campaign, or get your website perfect.
Slow and steady wins the race.
More Effort,
great roi

some Effort,
good roi

Revenue
traditional demand integrated performance
marketing generation pipeline Management

7

Thought leader Snapshot:
david lewis, President & CEO,
demandgen international, inc
David Lewis is an early pioneer in Internet people with strong analytical sense, and DL: Customer base. A large and need, and you’ll have missed
marketing, marketing automation, and technical resources on the marketing team strong base of customers that are “like opportunities to use that functionality in
CRM systems with over 22 years’ far beyond the webmaster. you” is important to demonstrate that the the meantime.
experience in marketing and selling vendor platform has broad appeal, and
technology. In 2007, David Lewis founded Process. Prior to marketing automation that it has been significantly tested by a Ease of use. Look not only at overall
DemandGen International, Inc. a global almost all campaigns were on the “one wide range of customers using it for ease of use, but at the consistency of
consulting firm helping companies deploy and done” model: it was all about lead different applications. ease of use across the application. You
and utilize marketing automation and CRM generation. Now Marketing is a formal, want to make sure that the solution is
systems. DemandGen has become the integrated, repeatable process: it’s about CRM integration. Marketing automation easy to use not only in core areas like
trusted advisor to the world’s leading understanding your B2B buying process, is only half of the solution: CRM and email and landing page development,
marketing and sales teams combining and moving from static lead generation marketing automation together represent but also in more sophisticated areas
superior service, business process, and campaigns into lead management in a a completely integrated sales and such as lead scoring, nurturing program
technology expertise. logical, automated manner. marketing solution to the same data set. design, and reporting.
Keep in mind that the MA needs not only
Marketo interview with David Lewis Systems. Choosing the right systems for to integrate with the CRM you’re using Scalability. Your business will grow;
your business is paramount—and every today, but also to provide the “hooks” into will your marketing automation platform
MKTO: What are the most important business’ choices are unique. Select with any CRM you might use in the future. Be grow with it? Make sure the system you
things you have to keep in mind in order to care, and keep integration top of mind. The sure to look at the add-ons that an MA buy can handle the size of your
be successful with marketing automation? right marketing automation system for your offers in terms of adding functionality to database and volume of your
business also needs to integrate the CRM. campaigns now and into the future;
DL: Three words: people, seamlessly and completely with your how will performance be impacted if
process, systems. CRM, your website, and your other Commitment to innovation. Does the your business grows significantly?
marketing tools and systems such as platform keep getting new functionality on
People. Your organization must be content management, event marketing, a regular basis that expands what its Pricing. Look for a pricing model that
culturally aligned, with the right leaders and analytics platforms. offering? Or is it trying to play catch-up supports growth. Be sure the vendor’s
across Sales and Marketing who view with other leading systems in terms of overall pricing model will enable you to
marketing and sales as one integrated MKTO: What are the most important ease of use or functionality? If you choose grow and be successful without
process. Within your organization, you things to look for in a marketing a “catch-up” system, you might save penalizing you with exorbitant fees.
need team members who are skilled in automation vendor? some money in the short term, but you’ll Ensure that the solution pricing model
lead management and associated lose in the long term: those systems will and contract won’t result in you getting
systems: such as marketing operations never catch up to the others that already a surcharge for achieving your planned
provide the functionality you’ll eventually growth mid-contract.
8

Thought leader Snapshot:
david lewis, President & CEO,
demandgen international, inc
MKTO: What should you focus on when Focus #2: Factory thinking. Putting a
selling marketing automation to your marketing automation system in place
executive team? What are some things enables you to define your processes
that might resonate with a CEO, CFO, “from click to close,” establishing the
or Sales? touch points needed to help prospects
become educated on and evaluate your
DL: Focus #1: You’ll get more done product. The experience of implementing
and increase your output. When you marketing automation forces your
think about the shape of the demand organization to think these processes
funnel, it’s widest at top and narrowest at through, which enables you to establish
bottom; yet the number of resources you and automate them. This kind of “factory
have to address demand are typically in thinking” engenders higher and more
an opposite ratio. consistent output.

Most companies have more salespeople Focus #3: Marketing and
at the bottom where the funnel is Sales alignment. Because these
narrowest, and fewer marketers to systems are used by both Sales and
support the top of the funnel. This Marketing, the process of implementing
common situation speaks to the need for and using your marketing automation
a solution that can automate many of the system essentially forces these two
touch points throughout the demand groups to become one integrated
funnel. Such a solution allows you to organization with a tighter relationship
focus marketing resources on strategies and better communication. In short,
to create demand, while your marketing working together will produce better
automation system automates the results for your company.
process of converting this demand into
prospects for Sales.

9

Getting Successful with Marketing Automation - more than technology

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