How big a footprint does your marketing automation software leave? We don’t mean its physical presence, which is probably small enough to fit in the palm of your hand; we’re talking about the amount of time and space you devote to a full implementation, not just the raw installation. When you account for data migration, training time, practice, and on-boarding, it could take more space in your workplace than you think.
Although it’s well worth investing in marketing automation, make sure you leave enough room in your marketing calendar to optimize your new technology.
Right-Sizing Marketing Automation
With platforms such as Marketo, you get access to an incredibly powerful toolset, but you may not need all of it for every campaign. Part of the beauty of automation is its ability to give you what you need without over-complicating processes that should be simple. Automation’s there to remove complexity, not add new layers of it.
If you want an email management system with a side order of lead scoring, you can prioritize those features and run relatively lean. If you’re after the full suite of marketing automation services from CRM to campaign management to lead nurture programs, you’ll want to allocate more time for training and work closely with your automation consultant to get everyone up to speed.
Setting up Shop
When you’re ready to upgrade to full automation, your current marketing technology matters. Files that are already well maintained on a relatively new platform are easier to migrate to your new database. If you’ve been relying on human capital rather than technology do to a lot of your heavy lifting and have years-old tech in place, you may need more time to make the great migration.
State of the art marketing technology allows you to move data relatively easily even from older platforms, but you and your database manager will probably find you need to handle more files manually at first. That’s fine; once the data’s in its new home, it will be far more accessible. Before installation, then, get a thorough data hygiene assessment to see what it will take to make the move.
Keeping ROI in Mind
Revenue marketing demands attention to ROI. Tracking investments has always been straightforward, but before marketing automation, understanding the return you get on them was a challenge. Now, you’re able to assign concrete, measurable values to all your marketing activities with enough precision to predict what each campaign will do for your bottom line – but only once you’ve put in some time to develop the necessary data. How much time will that take? It depends on your current marketing technology and how accurately you can assess cost per lead, track results, and attribute value to marketing actions.
Setting aside enough time to prepare for full implementation can mean the difference between modest or meteoric growth. Working with the right marketing automation management team can help you make enough room for success.
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