Marketing Automation, who for?
A lot has changed in the past few years, as it will continue to do so when it comes to marketing technology. In the UK, a few people had heard of marketing automation, fewer had it, and even fewer knew how to use it and what it should be used for. Today, the early adopters have come and gone and the adoption of marketing automation is relatively widespread, although it’s far from being a mature market. Still though, it is important to consider that it’s not just global technology firms who are utilising a platform.
Marketing Automation isn’t, however, for everyone – if you’re in a very specialist market with only a few potential customers who are effectively nurtured in person, then you’re not going to see ROI. If that’s not you then read on, because in one way or another I would be confident that there’s a platform to suit your needs.
So having identified Marketing Automation is for the vast majority of businesses, you’re probably asking yourself “Who within my company should be using it?” The answer again here is quite simple – both sales and marketing.
Answering the question halfway through a blog may seem odd, but it’s because the true value of marketing automation lies in the skills and strategy built around the platform. This is where the real challenge lies. In short, you’ll need people who can
create the content in an optimised fashion, can schedule out both email and social campaigns after writing the copy, and technical skills to implement, manage lists, and build automated flows.
This all may sound a little daunting, especially considering you need someone to overlay a full strategy with the team. Here you really have two options. Option 1 is to start very small and employ someone with Marketing Automation experience who can help formulate the right strategy that works for you; or option 2, employ a specialist marketing automation agency to deliver a full campaign alongside your team (I couldn't resist the opportunity to plug).
Decided its for you and want to know more about launching a marketing automation strategy? You've come to the right place, I am running a webinar next week on exactly that. Click here to register.