Marketing automation simplifies recurring marketing tasks and makes all B2B marketing more efficient. Despite this, many companies struggle with its business implementation. In most cases, however, the problems are not only due to the complex automation process itself, but to other missing prerequisites. A poorly developed strategy and undefined marketing goals become immediately apparent during automation and hinder the entire automation process. It is just as important to use the right tools, evaluate leads and use the analysis options of the automation software appropriately. Hence, know what is essential for successful marketing automation.

Marketing automation software

In the entire automation process, the software for the automation is the fundamental basis. The minimum requirements for the technical equipment are the following:

• The software has its own CRM integrated or has interfaces to your CRM systems.
• You can use the tool to create forms, integrate them into your landing pages and use them to generate leads.
• With it you can easily and efficiently create landing pages for different campaigns.
• Your tool should be able to independently check the click, read and bounce behavior of sent emails.
• It is possible to send trigger mails for lead nurturing. After checking the recipient's reactions, the software automatically responds appropriately.
• It can also design, edit, manage, and save templates.
• The software handles some A/B tests in different areas so that campaigns can be sharpened accordingly.
• You can implement basic SEO functions with the program.
• The social media channels can be linked to the tool and analyzed accordingly and added to the workflows.

 
Marketing automation tools, like Pardot or HubSpot, only work as well as the information provided for campaigns, with certain parameters and filters playing a role, as does database segmentation. Keep in mind that your database may need to be cleaned before rolling out automation.

Campaign release

Ideally, you use a workflow when deploying campaigns as this gives you a standardized process and allows you to compare different runs later. In addition, the workflow reduces the likelihood that you will make changes again and again. Constant optimization rather tends to hinder the automation of the entire process and can later impair comparability. Lead nurturing enables you to address customers in a targeted manner using characteristic values and filter functions and to draw on existing empirical values. Apart from that, you will always find the right time to serve customers with a real-time personalization function.

An evaluation, also known as scoring, by using leads makes sense. With an evaluation, you qualify the leads more effectively and share the information throughout the company. Lead scoring is regularly aligned in two directions. On the one hand, an assessment is made of what information a lead has provided and how complete this information is. On the other hand, how a lead reacts to communication is evaluated. In this context, one speaks of explicit and implicit scoring.

For example, the position of the lead in the company plays a role in lead evaluation in the B2B area. A classification can be made according to the managing director, department head, buyer or similar characteristics. The lead evaluation makes a significant contribution to the coordination of sales and marketing which is essential for the success of marketing automation.

Analysis option

For successful marketing automation, the software should be able to analyze. The primary aim is to relate campaigns and sales to one another. A good marketing automation tool should have a program ROI that allows flexible assessment of return on investment based on various factors.

If the software for automation in this area offers flexible setting options, the analyzes are particularly meaningful. In this way, campaigns can be precisely compiled and later evaluated.

A multi-touch reporting function is also useful. By monitoring the various touchpoints, the smallest changes to the structures in the workflow can have a larger impact on the result as required. The customer journey can also be tracked precisely and used for marketing automation.

Analytical dashboards, which some tools have, make it easier to get an overview and make the connections between certain parameters and campaigns particularly clear.

An advantage of marketing automation in the analysis is that large amounts of data can be checked and evaluated. When deciding on a specific software, this aspect should also be taken into consideration.

In a nutshell, if you have clearly defined your target group and established a marketing strategy, your next step should be checking the various providers of automation tools and select the right software for your needs. Work with a clean database and a clearly defined data structure right from the start. Lead scoring helps you to structure the entire campaign and evaluate your leads accordingly. When introducing marketing automation, do not forget the legal requirements in addition to the technical and structural aspects. In particular, think about data protection.

By Daniela La Marca