There are so many marketing automation tools available on the market that researching each of them can make a CMO's brain hurt just thinking about the best strategy to select and then effectively implement a solution that will empower their digital marketing plan.
We've shared articles that span the digital marketing process from strategy through detailed implementation tactics. Since your questions could span from a simple description of marketing automation, to the benefits of them, and lastly, why do some businesses fail to achieve success, we thought we would write about marketing automation and include excerpts of other useful articles with links to the detailed posts.
This first article is by James at Wishpond. They are one of many marketing automation companies, and if you ignore their solicitations, he does a very nice job of offing a simple definition of marketing automation. The Wikipedia definition is "Marketing automation refers to software platforms and technologies designed for marketing departments and organizations to more effectively market on multiple channels online (such as email, social media, websites, etc.) and automate repetitive tasks."
Marketing Automation Made Simple
Marketing automation shouldn't be scary. Perhaps the terminology sounds like it's beyond you: lead profiling, interruption-based marketing, email drip campaigns, workflows - but it's not. Seriously. The guy who wrote this article (me) has an English degree and can't seem to keep CSS from coming in one ear and flying out the other. And yet I can do it. It's easier than learning HTML. Easier than Facebook Ads. Easier than designing a visually-appealing infographic or (god knows) the black hole of Google Analytics. Let me show you. This article will break marketing automation down into simple, un-intimidating terms and then show you a few ways you can use it. First, let's define it… Marketing automation is a broad term referring to ...
At Bristol Strategy, we use and recommend Hubspot for all of our clients. The reason is it is both efficient and effective at enabling marketing teams to execute their inbound marketing strategies and plans. The next article by Larisa at Waypost does a sensible job of highlighting this point and many more. In essence, there are many moving parts when implementing digital marketing, inbound marketing, social media marketing, content marketing, email marketing and ... "name your marketing," that having a unified tool just makes sense. If you are in the process of making this decision, ask me what it was like when I had many tools versus one! In the meantime, enjoy Larisa's perspective in this next article.
Why Do We Use Hubspot for Marketing Automation? And Why Are You Paying for It?
You’re not only thinking about investing in digital marketing, but you are also considering doing it the inbound way, and that requires a budget and a long-term commitment. It's natural that you should wonder about the costs, and most importantly, why you should pay for Hubspot’s marketing automation tool when you can technically attain the same results using much cheaper tools. So, why do we use Hubspot?
Here’s the answer. Because it’s efficient. And here’s why:
Inbound marketing is not cheap, but what makes inbound so expensive is not the tools and software we use in the process—it’s the human resources (skill, talent, experience) and the most expensive resource there is: time. Software is only a means of ...
Every business makes choices about where to invest their precious resources each and every day. Most of the time, investments focus on increasing the top line sales and ways to bring qualified opportunities into the sales pipeline. The next article by Marinda at Salesforce.com outlines the important considerations B2B companies are dealing with based on the 2016 state of marketing research report. Enjoy Marinda's article. Keep in mind that the benefits boil down to how digital marketing (and the marketing automation tools that enable it) provide value to generating top line business.
Top 5 Benefits of Marketing Automation for B2B Companies
When it comes to marketing, B2Bs face unique challenges. What methods do you use to grow your customer base? What about developing those critical customer relationships? What about budget, and headcount? One solution to these and other problems, is marketing automation.
The 2016 State of Marketing Report surveyed over 400 B2B marketing leaders and identified the top challenges they faced in managing their marketing strategy. The top five: budget constraints, quality of leads, keeping pace with customers, new business development and customer acquisition are all areas where marketing automation shines. So how does it help?
I love this next article by Meredith over at Sensible Marketing. The most important point she makes is that marketing automation alone will not produce results without the right strategies and execution. I also reinforce her point that when developing a marketing strategy you must have alignment between marketing and sales. That is one of Bristol Strategy's specialties. Enjoy Meredith's article and when you plan to implement marketing automation, be sure to work with a certified business that can help you plan and execute your digital marketing plan.
5 Reasons Your Marketing Automation Platform Isn't Producing Results
If you’ve decided to get on the digital marketing bandwagon then you may also be considering investing in a marketing automation platform. Any why not! Anything that can help your organization to more effectively market on multiple channels online (such as email, social media, websites, etc.) and automate those tasks is worth the time and money.
We're big proponents of marketing automation software here at Sensible Marketing - specifically HubSpot. We use HubSpot each day to help drive leads for our customer - and our own business - through blogs, emails, lead nurturing, social media, SEO, and premium content offers. And while we like to share the successes we've had using automated marketing we also make sure the people we talk to unde...
My reason for including a second article about marketing automation mistakes is that it is better to learn from the mistakes of others than to make them yourself. This next article by Izzy from Santiago Chile is a simple but direct message about common mistakes. Izzy provides five examples that are all avoidable. Two points he makes in the story are 1) focus on solving problems when creating content for your target buyer and 2) consider human behavior when constructing your lead nurturing funnel. Nowadays, since the buyer is in control of the sales process, funnels are no longer linear but there are many entry (and exit) points. Please enjoy the article by @iiizzy.
5 COMMON MARKETING AUTOMATION MISTAKES TO AVOID
How frustrating can it be when you buy a brand new powerful and stylish car, you hit the road to test the fury that lies under the hood and, after a few blocks, the engines dies? Well, that could be the same feeling when your company invests in a brand new marketing automation platform to boost sales and, after some weeks, nothing happens.
The global market has already proved that marketing automation is a powerful tool to boost sales and strengthen business performance, but isn’t a magic solution that solves any problem, in any circumstances. For proper implementation and positive results, a company must meet several conditions to assure correct functioning and, of course, to achieve the...
So now that you have gotten through these five articles, be sure to download the eBook "25 Must-Haves for driving traffic, Leads and Sales" If you would like some free advice, we enjoy helping people create effective digital marketing programs and automating them, please reach out to us.
Bristol Strategy is a full funnel inbound marketing agency and inbound sales agency offering the full complement of services to enable our clients to surpass their business objectives by transforming the way they engage with their buyer on-line. Reach out to us to learn more about how our experience and capabilities can help your business grow.
