Getting Marketing Automation Right

Marketing Automation's False Start

At first sight, marketing automation is a very tempting and enticing tool. A platform that gives you the ability to reach your best prospects with the right message, at the right time, without manually having to kill yourself to do it! Seems like a no-brainer, so you sign up. However, once the system gets installed and after a few email blasts are sent, a landing page is built, and the results come back mixed (and they often do), one of two things usually happens:
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• You continue to send emails to your entire contact list with worsening results
• You blame it on the technology itself and relegate the software to that pile of failed solutions that so many organizations have

All too often resources are invested in marketing automation without the proper training and a solid strategy in place. To be successful it’s not just about doing more faster, but for marketing automation to be at its most effective an organization must create content that is written for targeted segments. And unless you have invested time defining and building out your prospect lists in your CRM system, your email messages have to remain the same, generic drips you were sending before you installed your marketing automation solution. Thus, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the results are roughly the same.

Turning the Tide, Achieving Your Desired Results
Often, organizations start with their initial goals in mind when considering what they hope to achieve with marketing automation. Rather than look at it this way, try working backward from your desired results and from the customer’s vantage point. For instance: What actions must your buyer take before they make a purchase? Or before they even know you exist?

Beginning to think more like your buyer, and even taking the time to create a flowchart of their buying journey can be extremely beneficial and will help open your eyes as to what is most important to them. It’s not so much about your product or service as it is about their desire for a solution to a problem. As such, start from who they are, what industry, what size and what role they play in the decision-making process. Add to that what problem they’re trying to solve and where they spend their time so you can target your communications appropriately. Now you are in a better position to write your content and build an effective list.

Marketing Automation will make the communications and tracking process effective and easier. However, to make efficient use of the tool your focus must change from being a general practitioner to becoming a specialist. Your content must be far more targeted, leading the reader down a knowledge path that you have created to match their buying behavior.

To find out if your marketing automation platform needs a makeover, reserve your time on my calendar for a FREE Marketing Automation Assessment.

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