The seven keys to marketing automation success

I had just finished running my first all-day client training in my new role as a Marketing Automation Consultant. As the participants one-by-one said their thanks and left, heads full of new and exciting knowledge, I was approached by the Director responsible for implementing and managing the marketing automation instance.

“We’ve just bought a Ferrari but we don’t know how to drive.”

Less than a year later and after a sputtering start, their marketing automation had ground to a halt. Despite comparing vendors on every conceivable product attribute, watching demos, listening to pitches, and having their very capable staff complete hour upon hour of training, the project was on life support.

But why had our client and so many others failed?

Before embarking on a marketing automation journey, it is important to assess how marketing processes are managed and understand the strategic, technological, and human resource requirements. This will almost certainly result in changes that will have implications across business processes, people, and current technology.

Scoping should assess costs, functionality, and the implementation process. However, before beginning the process it is important to develop governance structures to guide the scoping, evaluation, and selection of a marketing automation platform.

Unsurprisingly, management support has been shown to affect the success of software implementation of all kinds, with marketing automation no exception. Through a strong business case and realistic project plan developed in the scoping phase, it can be easier to gain management support, which in turn can lead to obtaining the required implementation project budget.

All content delivered should be personalised, compelling, relevant, and valuable in the eyes of the recipient. Plans should also be in place to continuously use analytics to gain a deeper understanding of what content is being consumed by your audience to help optimise for the best performance.

For all its promises of revolution, marketing automation requires time, effort, and investment before any benefits are realised.

Rather than expect immediate results, plan and demonstrate quick wins which can prove the concept to upper management and build the case for further investment.

Implemented well, marketing automation should free up human resources through the automation of previously manual processes.

And while this may seem like an easy win for those looking to cut budgets, the more mature an organisation becomes with marketing automation, the more technical and strategic expertise is required.

Instead of handing back budget, marketing departments should reallocate efficiencies towards other marketing automation-related roles, and continue to invest in activities once a positive return on investment has been demonstrated.

Yes, marketing automation will help your organisation deliver meaningful personalisation at scale to your prospects and customers. No, it can’t develop strategy, plan campaigns, write copy, or design and develop eye-catching responsive emails that demand to be clicked.

Like all marketing and technology disciplines, marketing automation requires significant specialised knowledge and expertise and dedicated resources to achieve maximum performance.

However, this is often easier said than done.

But if you haven’t covered off all seven keys to success, never fear.

The client who had ground to a halt? Rather than simply giving up has indeed joined the majority by engaging our agency to develop a robust roadmap to move them forward and onto new and exciting levels of engagement.

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