Is marketing automation right for my company?
Mark Twain once said, “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.” The phrase “eat that frog” has caught fire in the business community to mean, do the hardest thing first.
Fast Company explains it like this:
"Every given day, you've got one major to-do that's highest priority. But when you've got the whole day stretching out ahead of you, it's easy to put it off until after you get your coffee, check your email, or go to that meeting. But just like breakfast is the most important meal of the day, the first thing you accomplish at work sets the tone for the rest of the day.”
So what does all this have to do with CRM and marketing automation?
I like to think of a new year in the same way as a new morning. So what will your frog be in 2017? What big, hard project that has been on your mind forever will you tackle first, that will set the tone for the rest of the year?
If your answer is “finally look into marketing automation”, read on.
Many organizations are exploring marketing automation and I predict that by 2018 it will be the norm for all companies of $5 million revenue and up. Tools such as Pardot, HubSpot, and Marketing Cloud have gotten better and better in the past couple years. As more users that join each platform, the more the developers will be accountable to continuing to improve user experience.
So how do you know if marketing automation is right for you? Much like researching whether Salesforce is the right CRM for you, there are some basic criteria we recommend.
1. You have lots of content already
Before you can automate, you have to have a certain level of content and strategy that you’ve been managing manually up until now. You will need to be able to send resources to your prospects, so take some time to do a content inventory (we have this handy-dandy template you can use). Maybe you have lots of marketing collateral that only exists as hard copies but could be moved online; include that too. If you have a blog, perfect. Whitepapers, even better. If you have none of this, spend a few months putting together a content strategy before you invest in marketing automation.
2. You have one solid writer and one solid Salesforce admin on your team (or consultant help)
In order to use marketing automation well, you will need to write emails and landing page copy on a daily basis. Make sure you have at least one person on your team who writes well and isn’t afraid to crank out copy. Also, you should have someone who understands the basics of how you can create lists and segment your current audience and help with integration as you connect your marketing automation tool to Salesforce. Take some time to identify a go-to resource who knows how your segmentation and data structure works, and how to pull lists. This is important because you will use Salesforce fields for all list segmentation and form fields in your marketing automation solution.
3. You have internal commitment and trust for investing in new tools
In order to have success with a marketing automation tool, you need to have the commitment of your executive team to invest budget (typically $8000 minimum per year in licensing for a tool like Pardot, plus at least $3000 in consultant fees to implement your system and get you started on the right foot). But even more important than budget is trust: you need to help your executive team to trust you that marketing automation and CRM investments are a long game. You will not see results in one month. It will likely take several months to learn how to use the tool properly, then it will be your responsibility to keep learning and trying new things to make the most of the tool.
4. You have goals targeted around either generating new leads or closing new accounts
Whether you are a development director charged with expanding your major donor base, or marketing manager in charge of bringing in new leads, be selfish when you are exploring new technology solutions. Will a tool like Pardot or Marketing Cloud help you achieve your goals that you are measured on at the end of the year? The answer is probably yes, but make sure you understand how these are connected so that you will be able to personally feel invested in getting ROI out of your new solution. If you do not have goals around lead generation, lead nurturing, or customer engagement, marketing automation may be too much for you right now.
5. You love tinkering
This is the most important of all. You should go into any technology exploration with as much curiosity as you can: be prepared to ask lots of questions of your consultant as you are going through the implementation process, and once you have some baseline knowledge, be ready to tinker. No two technology solutions are created equal, and you will undoubtedly have to adapt, iterate, test, and try again over and over on a daily basis with your marketing automation tool. If this thought gives you a cold sweat or you have more of a “set-it-and-forget-it” mentality toward your technology tools, then it’s possible marketing automation is not right for you (or you will need to invest more in consultant support for daily management).
If you have all five of these criteria then that is an excellent sign that marketing automation could be your frog in 2017! Check out our “Mass email to marketing automation” infographic to learn more about what your path could look like.
