Techssocial | Digital marketing has seen immense, exponential growth in recent years. Naturally, as software solutions for every step of one’s sales funnel flood the market, marketing automation tools thrive as well. But every solution hinges on more than merely the software’s inherent capabilities; implementation, adoption, and success strategies abound. As such, today, we’ll explore some insights on how to implement & succeed with marketing automation.
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Implement & succeed with marketing automation
First things first, let us briefly define marketing automation – and discuss its future prospects.
Wikipedia defines marketing automation as “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.” Furthermore, it divides it into 3 main categories:
- Marketing intelligence
- Marketing automation
- Advanced workflow automation
Regardless of their type and focus, marketing automation tools are indeed a subset of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software. As such, in terms of the future, there are a few statistics to pay attention to:
- CRM itself is now the single biggest software market. As more and more businesses resort to it, it’s expected to grow into an $80 billion industry by 2025.
- Similarly, Forrester predicts that annual marketing automation software spending will soar to just over $25 billion by 2023.
Therefore, we should safely assume that marketing automation is no temporary trend. It’s indeed a robust, lucrative strategy that can promise a considerable return on investment (ROI). But, as with all such strategies, success hinges on implementation. Thus, let us discuss the safest first steps on how to implement & succeed with marketing automation.
5 steps toward successful marketing automation implementation
While the exact steps will naturally vary from business to business, some standard practices have universal merit. For the sake of the text economy, we’ve consolidated them down to 5 key steps.
Know your goals
Marketing automation tools may share many features but can still differ substantially in scope, design philosophy, and functionality. Thus, before exploring the market, you should carefully consider your exact goals and criteria in advance. Set specific, achievable goals, and pinpoint which existing tools you may need to replace or integrate with your new solutions. Identify which of your current assets you will need to replace to make the most accurate, cost-effective choice.
Choose the right marketing automation solution
With goals and criteria in hand, you should make an informed choice on the optimal marketing automation solution more easily. Still, as you close in on your ideal candidates, consider the following factors:
User adoption and ease of use
User adoption remains a manageable but insistent obstacle to successful CRM implementation. Marketing automation tools don’t differ in this regard; optimal ROI hinges on actual, efficient use. Thus, you should value easy-to-use solutions with clean interfaces and relatively low user skill thresholds.
Cost and features
As with all software solutions, the cost tends to follow more extensive feature lists. You should naturally consider the price itself, but also which features you actually need. Refer to your established goals to make sure you don’t overpay for the features you may use sparingly or not at all.
Integration
Finally, all marketing automation tools you choose to use will need to integrate with your existing solutions seamlessly. Needing to replace legacy assets to use your new solutions will incur unnecessary additional costs, and poor integration will only hamper your operations.
Map out implementation and plan ahead
As you narrow down your options, you should likely already start planning in terms of implementation and execution. As a natural first step, you may begin by examining your budget and evaluating potential unforeseen costs. However, it would be best to consider holistic factors such as internal culture and how it may need to adapt. Not unlike how sales departments tend to resist CRM adoption slightly more, marketing automation may present similar struggles. Blurring the lines between marketing and sales is a rather turbulent process, after all.
Similarly, you should resort to some introspection. Consider potential skill gaps in terms of technical skills your teams may need to avoid potential obstacles. Start establishing a system of governance, as well as admins and users. Create concise plans in terms of data migration, integration, template design, and other related factors.
Seek training, support, and consultation
A final factor to consider on how to implement & succeed with marketing automation is, frankly, user adoption. This expands beyond existing skill gaps and culture, and into the fact that each platform differs from the next. In this regard, you should consider tutorials, training sessions, and future support your software solution entails. Outside of familiarization and skill acquisition, proper training can assure your workforce that you’re committing to your choice. Periodic testing can serve a similar purpose, confirming your workforce’s effective use and reaffirming your commitment.
Finally, you may consider how much support you can expect to receive and how much outside training your budget allows. You will always have the option of paid professionals such as automation consultant agencies, and it’s one that holds value. However, that’s also an additional cost to consider – perhaps best beforehand.
Establish a foundation and expand
Once you’ve finally made your choice, received training, and started implementation, you should begin by establishing a solid foundation. Every marketing automation platform will come with many features, which may tempt one to put them to use immediately. However, a prudent approach may yield better ROI; start with the goals you established in the first step before expanding. Examine how the core features augment your operations and gather insights on further applications over time. As you accrue experience with your platform of choice, you may make small, calculated steps towards a safe, profitable expansion.
Conclusion
Finally, let us note that the list above is by no means exhaustive, nor will it hold equal value for every individual case. However, we hope it has given you some useful, actionable insights into how to implement & succeed with marketing automation. From making the right choice of platform to ensuring integration and proper use, every step deserves its due diligence.
Paul Turner is a freelance web designer and author, as well as a digital marketing expert. He frequently contributes articles to moverstech.com and other publications, where he discusses the intricacies of CRM platforms and SEO best practices. In his free time, he enjoys exploring the great outdoors.