Gone are the spray-and-pray emails of old – marketers are now expected to deliver highly personalised, targeted campaigns that are customer-centric. But MA is not just about automated emails. True MA allows marketers to market to multiple channels, automate tasks and deliver insight into the customer journey. So why is it not being used to its full advantage?
The barriers to excellence
According to research from B2B Marketing’s report, written in conjunction with Protocol, How to realise the potential of marketing automation, two-thirds of marketers said ROI was in line with their expectations, but have marketers set the bar too low for what can be achieved?
The first step to improve your ROI is to assess whether your platform is right for you. Almost half (47%) of our respondents are looking to review and make improvements to their platform in the next 12 months, with almost one in 10 investing in a total platform overhaul. Only 44% of marketers felt their platform is working well for their needs. When looking to make changes, marketers must assess their needs. If you haven’t reviewed what you want to get out of the platform and how it fits in with your specific needs, you not only might pick the wrong platform, but you also may not design your campaign architecture properly to make the best use of it.
Make your marketing automation go the distance
Second, it’s worth assessing your current platform against the following criteria, making sure it matches well to your objectives. While Mailchimp might be a great platform for small companies looking for simple email automation, it may lack the sophistication when it comes to behaviour and insights. Similarly, while Marketo might perform strongly in these areas, it might not suit the skillset and budget of your organisation.
Below, we outline what you should be looking out for, and how to make your platform work for you.
