If you’re considering implementing marketing automation, you probably have a good understanding of the benefits of the technology. You’ve probably heard that it can:
- Increase qualified leads by 451%
- Increase conversion rates by 53%
- Decrease cost-per-lead by 70%
Whilst the potential benefits are compelling, a recent survey by B2B Marketing Magazine revealed a staggering 61% of businesses that have implemented marketing automation said the implementation was difficult.
As a marketing automation agency who has successfully implemented marketing automation for a wide range of customers we have put together our tips to avoid common Marketing Automation Mistakes.
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Thinking that it’s going to be the solution to all your problems
Yes Marketing Automation software is a power tool for any business and can deliver excellent results.
But you must not underestimate the work required to get it right.
The skills, resources and most importantly the right strategy must be in place to successfully implement Marketing Automation into your business.
61% of businesses found implementation difficult
54% of businesses found skills shortages were a challenge
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Starting to implement with no strategy
Any marketing team is likely to be excited to have such a powerful tool at their disposal and will want to start it using as soon as possible.
There will often be time pressures from management wanting to see results.
The danger of getting it wrong can result in your marketing automation software simply acting as an expensive email platform.
With your new advanced marketing platform, you will need to adapt your strategy to make the most of it.
Consider:
how to segment your data to ensure you are sending the most relevant content to the right people.
the average length of your sales cycle and journey your buyers will go through.
the whole marketing mix, including inbound and outbound strategies.
how marketing will work with sales.
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Underestimating the time, resource and skills needed
It’s not as easy as the software vendors make it sound.
The implementation process requires a range of skills including strategic, technical, digital, creative, editorial and analytical along with effective teamwork and project management.
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Forgetting that you still need to generate leads
As brilliant as the software is, no it can’t magically generate leads.
Many businesses focus their efforts on creating new marketing automation programmes, with good quality content, but then forget that they need to generate leads to feed in to the system.
If you put nothing in, you will get nothing out!
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Not knowing what you are trying to achieve
Before even choosing a marketing automation platform, you need to work out what it is you are trying to achieve.
This will not only help you choose the right platform, but will also help to improve how you set up your programmes and how you will report on the outcomes.
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Not having enough good quality content
Marketing automation relies heavily on content.
Nurture programmes need good quality content that will resonate with your prospects and guide them through the buying process.
Marketing Automation software is very good at distributing your content, and will do just as good a job of distributing your bad quality content!
Think about the different stages of the buying process and types of content you need for each stage. And be creative with the design and format of your content to make it more interesting and accessible. Most importantly, be self-critical and ask for honest feedback!
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Thinking that it will manage itself
There is a common misconception that once the set-up of your marketing automation platform is complete that it will manage itself. This is far from the reality.
As with all marketing activity, it’s about experimenting with new ideas, measuring performance and making improvements. You will not get it perfect first time!
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Not asking for help
Marketing Automation software vendors will tell you it’s easy to implement and that they will support your through the process.
What you may find is that you get the technical support to use the software, but that you are missing the strategic support needed to get the best results for your business.
You may also find that you don’t have the in-house skills to run the marketing automation yourself.
Choosing to work with an agency that specialises in marketing automation is a sensible decision, as they have the range of skills required and the experience learnt along the way of what not to do and the things that have worked well in the past.
