In recent years many businesses and other organizations have jumped on marketing automation (MA) technology, and it’s easy to see why. MA allows most marketers to get more done in less time.
And here’s how. Most marketing automation platforms (MAPs):
- automate manual tasks and multi-step processes such as email and social media campaigns;
- integrate common marketing tasks and multiple tools into a single dashboard, making management easier;
- gather and consolidate data on campaign performance, website visitor behaviors, and other key metrics; and
- support cross-channel marketing communications, enabling consistent messaging across websites, email campaigns, social media, and other channels
Additionally, the shift in how the buyer’s journey has evolved brought in a new era of more adaptive marketing. Leveraging big data and machine learning, some MAPs can enable marketers to take the insights they’ve gained from social, digital behavior, and predictive intelligence and apply them to their marketing on a large scale to personalize and adapt to unique buyer journeys.
So, it’s clear that this technology has many advantages for many marketers. It is possible ‒ and likely ‒ that investing in a good automation system can help you and your team streamline your tasks, reach more solid prospects, and increase revenue. However, that is not true in every single case.
It’s not wise to blindly take the plunge and jump in to a major technology purchase based on its abstract promise and allure. This is a step that should be considered carefully. It requires some caution, research, and self-assessment. Having a well-crafted strategic plan and the necessary financial and manpower resources in place will be crucial to the success of your marketing automation investment, should you decide to purchase. In addition, you should ensure you have enough content on hand prior to launching any new MA technology.
Before buying an MA system, take a careful look at your marketing program and honestly evaluate your needs, your existing processes, your challenges, your budget, and your goals for the future. For example, do you have any employees dedicated entirely to marketing? Do you use a CRM? Do you need to produce webinars, frequent mass emailing, and content such as blog posts and infographics? Do the executives in your organization support a potential MA investment?
Sure, deciding whether you’re ready for a full-fledged MA system can be a bit overwhelming. But our quick interactive assessment can take a lot of the uncertainty out of the equation by walking you through the decision, step by step.
Take our quick quiz and find out if marketing automation is the right technology solution to add your stack.