5 Marketing Automation Processes to Adopt for Vital Impact
Five Marketing Automation Processes to Adopt for Vital Impact Introduction Marketing automation, when used properly, can prove a vital tool for any marketing team. Yet, it is common occurrence for individuals who initially support this process to become intimidated by the array of tools available. For maximum success, it is essential to enter into this practice aware of the time investment required to familiarize one s self with these tools. Following are ways to tackle and begin the steps toward mastering five of these commonly avoided, yet helpful features. Buyer Personas If you ask a marketing team what their top priority is, lead nurturing is a common response. Quality lead nurturing is what works, and it can be broken down into a simple two-step process. First, ask yourself who your target audience is. In order to do this, sorting your audience members into buyer personas can be an effective way to categorize and understand this key component of your business. However, do not be confused. A buyer is not a job title or a role, but rather a buyer is an individual with their own designated set of needs and pains. Determining an individual s needs and pains allow one to understand what particular set of actions, or events, will drive that individual to react and take subsequent, desired action. Second, it is imperative to have an interesting and informative message. While lead buying habits vary greatly, a carefully planned and executed message is often the first step to buyer engagement. From value-based and me too buyers, to competitive and price-respondent buyers, all have a core need to feel responded to on a psychological level. It is this primal need to feel valued that can be addressed and fulfilled through a combination of lead nurturing and engaging content. A buyer persona exercise can aid in learning more about the people behind the purchase. The end result is a meaningful and more intimate relationship with audience members. Lead Scoring It is common knowledge that the more targeted your prospects, the shorter amount of time it takes to convert them into valued and loyal customers. The process of lead scoring 2 2013 LeadMD. All rights reserved.
allows a marketing team to rank prospects in order of likelihood of conversion. However, lead scoring remains one of the most underutilized features of marketing automation. Perhaps the general fear in marketing of passing along fewer leads to the sales department is to blame. Quantity does not always outweigh quality, as demonstrated through proper lead scoring. Accurate marketing automation will mean that fewer leads will be gathered initially. More leads equate to more follow up time invested by the sales team, which reaches a point of diminishing returns. Since many of these leads will not convert into business, the sales team, a rather expensive resource, will burn through leads as well as resources. Marketing automation is an alignment tool to get marketing and sales to agree on what defines a quality lead. Ultimately, reasonable thresholds can be set in order to determine when interest is at its peak. All marketing automation platforms have automatic data collection systems that assign lead scores based on a series of collected data ranging from basic demographics to how a lead interacts with your website. Setting up the lead scoring system can be time consuming, and often a point of contention between sales and marketing teams. However, the benefits from such systems easily compensate for the time and energy invested. Once you ve properly set up personas (and keep in mind that you shouldn t be using marketing automation software if you ve skipped this initial and crucial step), then you have what you need in order to score leads on a deeper level. Personas are the roadmap to determining additional scores beyond the basics. Some personas begin with a higher lead score than others, based on their needs. Observed behaviors can then be added to the lead s assessment. For example, leads may gain points if they download a whitepaper, or equivalent, which moves them further along the nurture track. Yet, it is not until the lead spends time on your blog, signs up for emails and joins a webinar that they are passed along to sales. HINT: A lead scoring system should consist of a rating scale HINT: A lead scoring strategy should consist of a rating system beyond a scale of 1 to 10. beyond one to ten. Don t be afraid to give your lead scoring system some depth. 3 2013 LeadMD. All rights reserved.
Campaign ROI Reporting Another commonly overlooked market automation tool is campaign ROI reporting. Desired in almost every industry, executives look for a way to track the success of their marketing efforts and rely on metrics. This feature is often a smooth and accurate process yet many companies are still missing out. In the past, marketing professionals have rarely had a quota to fill (unlike sales), so it can be an intimidating thought. Many of us rationalize that the system will solely expose our shortcomings. Yet, this is the opposite of how this useful tool should be viewed. This is a chance for marketing teams to get due credit for the sales they ve been driving. It is standard for salespeople to receive commission, but campaign ROI reporting makes it possible to reveal how many of those sales were driven initially by successful marketing. For operative campaign ROI reporting to succeed, your CRM and Web analytics must be completely assimilated. Another reason more professionals are not on board with this feature is because a stable, foundational element is critical for success. For operative campaign ROI reporting to succeed, your CRM and Web analytics must be completely assimilated. It s not enough to know how many new hits you have on your website as a result of a marketing campaign you need to know who those people are and be able to track which of them became leads or even customers. This is called closed loop reporting, and it is crucial. Once this is secure and functioning, one can easily determine the campaigns that are thriving and which campaigns need to be reworked. Metrics allow marketing specialists to measure their tangible worth, and effectively increase Metrics allow marketing specialists to measure their tangible worth, and effectively increase their marketing budgets for continual growth. clearly demonstrate your value on the corporate scale. their marketing budgets for continual growth. Marketing has evolved from a catch all for wandering souls to a career path that requires a definitive skill set of aesthetics, conversation, and science. By being proactive and presenting definitive metrics you will Lead Nurturing through Diversified Content It is important to generate lead nurturing through content, beyond emails. This element is perhaps the easiest to incorporate and capitalize upon because it is almost entirely automated. Simply put, prospects want to be educated. Trust is established by learning 4 2013 LeadMD. All rights reserved.
more about a company s solutions, something not possible with one-dimensional content. Many companies are unsure of what content to use or are unable to produce enough content for the desired effect and reach. While you should strive for excellence, there is no magic formula for guaranteed success regarding content. Begin by stockpiling a variety of different content such as videos, blogs and landing pages. Then work toward creating new content at regularly scheduled intervals. If you are unable to handle this internally, there are outside content marketers available to help. The rest can be left to automation, which is the ultimate goal. Revenue Modeling It s easy to create a basic funnel diagram, sprinkle in some meaningless numbers, and call it a day. But this is no way to produce deep business insight. Too many marketers continue to engage in this meaningless ritual. Not only is this impractical, but this will Marketo in particular allows for working revenue models to be created that are able to dictate not only the lifecycle of a lead, but can also provide velocity insights. also hurt you in the long run. Proper revenue modeling is something that needs to be wholeheartedly embraced for optimal marketing automation. All systems differ, but Marketo in particular allows for working revenue models to be created that are able to dictate not only the lifecycle of a lead, but can also provide velocity insights. This exercise also allows the entire organization to gain clarity. To start, define your segments. Categories such as Marketing Accepted Leads, Marketing Qualified Leads, Sales Accepted Leads and Sales Qualified leads ensure alignment occurs naturally within your organization. Harmony between all departments through agreed upon definitions and a unified revenue model create a streamlined process and invaluable insight into your business. Sales and marketing Service Level Agreements (SLAs) can (and should) also be established, so that each role in the process is defined. A revenue modeling exercise will overcome 90 percent of the reasons for poor marketing and sales alignment and pave a clear path to revenue. Make time to explore and truly understand these processes, and have patience. Experts will tell you different ways to maximize your marketing automation efforts, but the underlying truth is that every feature can help you if you take the time to learn the platform. So roll up those sleeves, and get your hands dirty in marketing automation. 5 2013 leadmd. All rights reserved.
About LeadMD LeadMD is a different kind of full service marketing and sales consulting firm specializing in conversational marketing and revenue performance management. A team of doers, LeadMD helps businesses make sense out of marketing automation and increase revenue through both strategy and execution. With deep expertise in Marketo, Salesforce.com, integration, and in how to shape a strong working funnel - LeadMD can develop, streamline, and maximize any lead generation program. Check us out on Marketo s Launchpoint or get started with Plans & Pricing here: http://www.leadmd. com/get-started. LeadMD 9383 E. Bahia Drive, Ste. 225 Scottsdale, AZ 85260 6 2013 LeadMD. All rights reserved.