Regardless of the number of employees, most marketing departments face similar challenges: lack of resources, reach & insight.
- How do we respond quickly and efficiently to the myriad of incoming requests on a weekly, daily, hourly basis?
- How can we increase the number and quality of leads to fuel our sales pipeline?
- How do we actively engage our current clients to maintain their interest and loyalty?
- How do we find the time to post a tweet a day?!
- How can we gauge that what we’re doing is actually working?
Bigger is better when we’re talking resources…
A recent B2B study shows that marketing automation platform adoption is lagging despite the overwhelming customer advocacy and proven results of such systems. But, not surprisingly, adoption rates are closely tied to the size of the organization:
- 76% of larger companies (those with 100 or more employees)
- 26% of mid-size organizations (those with 11 to 100 employees)
- Only 18% of small companies (less than 10 employees)
But should it be?
It makes sense that larger organizations will have the funds to invest in leading technology, but that doesn’t mean a mid-sized or small company won’t benefit as much, if not more, than an enterprise level corporation. Finding a solution that is scalable for their individual needs and budget is the biggest hurdle… for any company, implementing a marketing automation platform is like hiring an assistant (or two!).
1. Set and Forget: build out marketing campaigns in advance, bundling email & social campaigns and setting drip campaigns or data triggered communications to release at set intervals. Once set, these send without a 2nd thought!
2. All in One Place: by storing all of the marketing materials in one central location, interdepartmental silos are broken down with increased access. And local sales reps and outside agencies have instant access to the most up-to-date and compliance-approved content. No more sending the correct logo to 10 different people a week.
3. See What’s Working: Marketing automation systems may send, and some store… but the best ones measure. To truly be successful, marketers must be able to see what’s working and what’s not, analyze campaigns, track their clicks and follows, and then make decisions based on their findings. Executives love ROI… show ‘em what you’re doing is working!
Don’t let the size of your team stop you
Marketing automation systems may seem like a sizable up-front investment, but between the leads, time saved and trend tracking, the savings & profits soar. “By using technology, you’ll be happier with the lead quality and won’t waste money on buying more leads than you need,” according to the study.
Well said.
Learn more about how to make a business case for spending on marketing automation tools with this white paper.
*Buyer Zone, The State of B2B Lead Generation 2013 Report, Aug 2013 – See more at: http://bit.ly/SRuUv2
[easyrotator]erc_42_1434138314[/easyrotator]
About The Author
Courtney Todd brings over ten years marketing and communications experience to her role at Distribion. She specializes in B2B marketing and has worked in a range of industries including technology, luxury furniture manufacturing and healthcare. She holds an MFA from Columbia University in New York and a BA from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Connect with Courtney on LinkedIn and Twitter.