Today, 91% of the most successful users say marketing automation is very important to the overall success of their marketing programs. But how do companies with very successful marketing automation strategies plan to sustain their success?
To find out, digital marketing performance research firm Ascend2 recently conducted a marketing automation strategy survey by completing online interviews with 317 marketing and business professionals from around the world. The focus? How these particular global 317 marketing and business professionals were currently utilizing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software and why they viewed it a valuable component of marketing and sales drives.
The Findings
- 91% of the most successful users agree that marketing automation is very important to the overall success of their marketing across channels. The value of marketing automation has advanced from a useful tool for digital marketers, to an important necessity that allows companies to create, execute and succeed with more campaigns across more channels.
- Extending the impact of marketing automation beyond the marketing team to increase sales revenue is the most important objective. Increasing sales revenue is an ambitious but achievable goal for marketing automation that requires companies to align their marketing and sales strategies.
- 54% of the most successful companies use marketing automation extensively. Increasing the use of marketing automation increases success. The use of marketing automation goes beyond the frequency of campaigns. The meaning extends to the utilization of available capabilities. On average, marketers use only a small percentage of system capabilities.
- The most challenging obstacles to success are lack of quality content, budget constraints and the lack of an effective marketing automation strategy. Additionally, obstacles noted by participants in the survey included complexity of marketing automation, lack of employee skills, insufficient contact data quality, lack of marketing-sales alignment and lack of management support.
- 75% of very successful users outsource all or part of their marketing automation strategy planning to benefit from specialized expertise. The combination of business, marketing, sales and technical expertise required to plan an effective marketing automation strategy is not often found entirely in-house. 65% of very successful users combine in-house with external resources for the planning and documentation of a strategy. Another 10% outsource the planning process completely.
- The most useful measure of marketing automation performance is conversion rate, say 70% of very successful users. The number of leads marketing campaigns generate is important. But more essential to achieving the top objective for marketing automation – increasing sales revenue – is the rate at which those leads are converted to customers.
- 57% of surveyed marketing professionals shared lead nurturing was the most valuable feature, followed by 52% noting analytics and reporting as the most valued of a marketing automation platform. Other areas of value included list segmentation, integration capabilities, email marketing, campaign management and lead scoring.
Four Key Reasons
According to Ascend2’s survey, businesses with very successful marketing automation programs are willing to invest in further success. In fact, 63% plan to increase their budget. Marketing automation systems integrate a broad set of features. Lead nurturing, customer analytics and customer reporting are considered the most valuable. With a focus on optimizing CRM marketing automation, four reasons marketing automation matters to business growth and success presented during the survey reflect the trends driving marketing automation adoption today.
Customer Analytics
Having data is one thing – leveraging that data to increase sales is another. CRM applications allow sales teams to analyze which leads and sources are producing the most sales as well as those that are producing the most revenue. This type of real-time information is vital in determining which marketing efforts and sales strategies are most successful.
Pipeline Control
Using CRM data analytics is one of the most reliable means for qualifying leads. Addressing well-qualified leads gives the sales team the opportunity to focus on those who are ready to buy while keeping those people who are just out looking in the pipeline for future opportunities.
Lead Management
CRM software is a gateway to efficient lead management. CRM software solutions help businesses strategically anticipate, meet and exceed the expectations and challenges acquiring new leads. Providing a comprehensive view of each lead, CRM software automates the process of managing, tracking, marketing and selling to new and existing customers.
Customer-Focused Campaigns
CRM systems help enterprises get the best possible view of their customers, including those who are most profitable – and in the greatest position to make purchases. By using the tools and functionality of today’s CRM solutions, companies can track successful marketing campaigns, target and anticipate customer requirements, adjust sales tactics and strategies to meet targeted customers, identify customer attrition and improve the overall customer experience.
