PURSUING THE PERFECT MARKETING AUTOMATION SOFTWARE

Transcription

1 PURSUING THE PERFECT MARKETING AUTOMATION SOFTWARE

2 2 PANNING FOR GOLD marketspheremarketing.com

3 When marketing moved online a decade or so ago, the relationship between sellers and buyers began to change forever. Most notably, buyers could search easily in a nearly endless stream of online information for details and opinions about products, instead of waiting for information to come to them. Sellers were forced to do things differently. They had to figure out how to get buyers to find them, instead of looking for buyers. In 2008, the economy declined and buyers became value conscious. They searched longer through more potential sellers and required robust information to verify buying decisions so they could be sure they weren t wasting their money. It took longer for buyers to come to a buying decision, and it was more necessary than ever for marketers and sales people to understand where each prospect lay along the spectrum of buying stages. Sometimes, it became necessary to put prospects who were not ready to buy into a holding pattern, engaging them with useful information until they were readier to buy. Finally, with the advent of social media, it became possible for buyers to instantly consult others about the pros and cons of a product rather than engaging directly with the seller or manufacturer. The result was a watering down of communication between buyer and seller and less control over the buying process. Consumers rarely went down to the corner store anymore to purchase goods from someone who knew them well and who had the time to nurture a relationship. Marketing automation software is an outgrowth of changes in the way people purchase products and services. It is a tool for nurturing genuine relationships between sellers and buyers in a market overflowing with options and prospects. This guide will help you understand how marketing automation works and determine the best provider for you and your organization. WHAT IS MARKETING AUTOMATION SOFTWARE? Before you purchase marketing automation software, it s important to understand exactly what it is and what it can do. Then you can begin to align your organization s goals with capabilities of the software and determine the buying criteria you should use to choose a vendor. Simply put, marketing automation software 1) captures information about leads, 2) scores and categorizes leads based on their readiness to buy, 3) automatically communicates with prospects according to the buying stage they are in, and 4) notifies the sales team when they are ripe for the picking through a sales call. The system uses rules marketing and sale departments set up together. In fact, a marketing automation system provides a non-threatening reason for the two traditionally-at-odds departments to discuss and define buying stages together, taking into consideration all steps of customer engagement and the sale. They end up understanding each other better and coordinating efforts. Marketing provides better leads, and sales knows exactly what to do with them. Most marketing automation software measures internal and external activity and generates reports on the results of marketing efforts, including ROI, rates of engagement and more. It helps prove the value marketspheremarketing.com PANNING FOR GOLD 3

4 A GUIDE TO PURSUING THE PERFECT MARKETING AUTOMATION SOFTWARE of marketing investments and demonstrates accountability. Most systems integrate with a company s existing CRM, social media, website and other third-party services. In the end, automated marketing helps organizations formulate and clarify goals, improve effectiveness of campaigns, streamline marketing implementation, and test effectiveness to help plan process improvements. It saves time and money, as well as increasing revenue and eliminating headaches. These days, it s hard to argue with the value of automated marketing. HOW TO FIND A GOLD NUGGET IN THE MURKY STREAM OF MARKETING AUTOMATION OPTIONS As the need for marketing automation has grown, software programs have popped up everywhere, creating a cloudy view of the options. Each possible system includes some of the basic services needed by any marketer. However, the way those services are implemented varies widely. Early programs sometimes cobble together add-on services to address evolving marketing needs, and they don t have the depth, agility or detail of newer programs. Robust programs might come with so-so support, and systems that sound good on paper might be glitch-heavy when used daily. Your job as buyer of marketing automation software for your organization is to sift out the sludge and reveal the gold nugget the one system that shines best because it fits your marketing style, its features align with your goals, and its inner workings smoothly carry your product to the next level of success. Because the options are ample, finding that gold nugget of a marketing automation system probably is easier said than done. The following three steps will organize your search for the perfect software. If you take time to follow these suggestions carefully and thoughtfully, we are confident you will hit pay dirt. Step 1: Understand your marketing and sales operation A marketing automation system should be a tool to advance existing marketing systems, not take you back to square one. For that reason, do not go shopping for software until you have acted as a team to define what works with your current marketing and sales processes and what doesn t work. Questions to ask: > How do we implement marketing and sales now? What tools do we use? > What marketing processes are working and what could work better? > How do we obtain and qualify leads? What do we define as a quality lead? What customer actions put them into what stages of readiness to buy? > Who is involved in working with leads and at what stages do they become involved? > What are our priority KPIs, and how do we track them now? > How do we envision marketing automation helping us? 4 PANNING FOR GOLD marketspheremarketing.com

5 Step 2: Review potential providers and determine which ones align best with your goals Using what you just learned about your current marketing and sales processes, create a spreadsheet with names of vendors down the side. Across the top, list your goals for marketing automation software, as well as the following basic features considered standard in quality marketing automation systems. Fill in the squares with details, including pros and cons, as you learn more about each vendor. Standard features of marketing automation software: > Automatic lead management, including flexible rules, lead scoring, lead assignment and easy ways to make ongoing improvements in the system with access to real-time support > Integration and synchronization with existing CRM and third-party services: mapping, updating capabilities, API management, user interface > creation, auto responders, personalization, brand coordination and deliverability > Creation of and integration with forms, landing pages and social media as trigger actions for lead scoring and advancement of leads through the stages > Measurement and reporting of KPIs, including lead activity, analytics, SEO, campaign ROI and ongoing testing > Step 3: Schedule live demonstrations of your top two or three vendor choices You won t know for sure how well marketing automation systems fit your needs until you see them in action. Seeing live software demonstrations can help assure you of a system s quality and give you a sense of how robust the features are, how well they work, and how smoothly they integrate with each other as well as outside services such as your existing CRM. Things to watch for during and after a live software demonstration: > Look for indications of hiccups in the system, such as slow responses or confusing interfaces > Notice how easily the demonstrator works with the system difficulty could indicate a high level of complexity that reduces the system s value to non-it users > Check references from other organizations that use the same system for a similar market > Sift and sort the information you gather, asking many questions, digging into details of each program and washing out the sediment. Grey out squares in the spreadsheet representing features for which a vendor doesn t measure up. Yellow-highlight squares representing features for which a vendor shines. Highlighted squares will reveal providers that meet your goals best. Don t weigh vendors based only on number of squares also consider the importance of each square to your goals. You re ready to stake your claim in marketing automation! marketspheremarketing.com PANNING FOR GOLD 5

6 A GUIDE TO PURSUING THE PERFECT MARKETING AUTOMATION SOFTWARE marketspheremarketing.com