If you’re already one of the millions of businesses worldwide who have made the move to marketing automation, you’re already one step ahead of the ones that are lagging behind the modern marketing movement.
But, just having the technology is not enough to improve marketing effectiveness, increase alignment with sales or drive business growth. In fact, it’s becoming increasingly evident that the technology is only a small part of the puzzle when it comes to digital transformation in marketing and sales.
Why reconsider marketing automation?
It doesn’t matter where you are on your marketing automation journey. You might have just completed the initial implementation and are excited by the potential that lies ahead. You could quite as easily be an early adopter who is now leading the charge with innovation. It’s also possible that you’ve had a marketing automation platform for a year or more, but if you’re being completely honest – it’s practically just sitting there gathering dust…
Whatever your marketing automation story, here’s three reasons to rethink, reconsider, and re-evaluate what your marketing automation platform means to you.
1. Is your marketing automation platform fit for purpose?
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Forget the feeds and speeds of what your platform gives you now, and start interrogating whether it’s really fit for the purpose you need going forward.
If you’ve had the marketing automation platform for several years, does the functionality meet your current and future needs? What about your marketing channels? If these have expanded in recent times, can your platform provide the necessary integrations to drive efficiencies and more importantly – accurate reporting on marketing ROI?
Think about what you’re looking to achieve with your marketing and then map these outcomes to what your existing marketing automation is capable of delivering. If there is a mismatch, then it’s probably no longer fit for your business purpose.
2. How are you using the platform, and are you getting the best value?
In the same way that you could be missing functionality that’s needed to support your business outcomes, you could also be paying for technical features that you don’t really need.
It is quite easy, especially when introducing new technology, to want all the bells and whistles from day one. But ask yourself – are you making full use of all the features you have? And if not, does this mean you are burning budget on MarTech that is never going to get used?
Really scrutinise how you are using the marketing automation platform to determine whether you have too much, or indeed not enough, of what you really need.
3. Are your processes or people holding you back?
If, after answering the questions above, you believe that you have the right marketing automation platform in place, and its functionality can efficiently deliver what you need for the best value – then it’s likely you are in a solid MarTech place. But before you sit back and relax, take a moment to think about the people and processes that wrap around the MarTech use.
Could you be achieving more than you are if existing processes were evolved to better align with the marketing automation platform? What about your people? Do they have the right skills to drive forward your MarTech powered strategies?
Technology can never deliver results on its own. Understanding the role of people and processes in your marketing automation strategy is important for realising maximum value out of the investment and for ensuring marketing can demonstrate attribution.
