With all the buzz about marketing automation lately, you may be wondering if this new technology is right for your company’s online marketing needs. Because marketing automation suites offer a many features in one central interface, most are flexible enough benefit a variety of companies. Here are a few questions to help you decide if marketing automation is a the right fit for you:
- Does your product or service have a long, multi-touch sales cycle?
Marketing automation works well for companies who need to track prospect interaction over time since you can track all activity, even pre-conversion actions, throughout the sales cycle. Lead nurturing capabilities can automate the education process as prospects move through the sales funnel. - Do you currently use your website for lead generation, or would you like to?
Marketing automation tracks prospect activity on your website. It can also help you design and deploy forms and landing pages to convert visitors into prospects. Companies that see the most benefit are often those that have a variety of desirable content on their website, such as white papers, videos or other education materials, that will provide conversion opportunities. Contact forms to request further information or view a sales demo also work great for lead generation. - Do you currently use email marketing, or would you like to?
These days, most marketers are using some form of email marketing, whether its an internal program or third-party sponsorships. Marketing automation systems can help you design, build and send your emails, track the actions of your recipients and also provides statistics like click-through and open rates. You can use the system to send email blasts, set up automated drip marketing campaigns or trigger emails based on your prospect’s actions. - Are you looking to improve the hand-off between the marketing and sales departments?
In many companies, sales and marketing butt heads when they should be working together. Marketing automation can help bridge the gap between your sales and marketing team. Marketing benefits from easier campaign management, clear cut ROI data and the ability to nurture leads until the are sales ready. The result is more qualified leads being passed to the sales team. Not only are the leads more qualified, they also come complete with a prospect profile that gives the sales team valuable insight into the interests and intentions of their new lead. Gone are the days of junk-filled CRMs and disgruntled sales reps, the two departments can now work together with a common vision.
Marketing automation is a sophisticated tool with many customization options, so there are plenty of additional ways it can benefit your company. Considering the questions above will help you begin to determine if you’re ready to jump in and get started with a marketing automation program.
