Material specific to marketing automation such as needs, best practices, lessons learned, and benefits of marketing automation.

Lead Liaison

Using Marketing Automation to Enhance Customer Engagement

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Using Marketing Automation to Enhance Customer EngagementI was reading an article on Unlocking the Power of Retail Marketing Automation to gather new ideas for enhancing the techniques used at Lead Liaison and I was particularly impressed by how they approached the importance of customer engagement. In today’s competitive world-wide markets customer engagement is the key to conversion and marketing automation makes it significantly easier.

It also made me realize just how intertwined marketing automation really is to customer engagement. Marketing automation doesn’t just nurture leads, but it taps into their buying process and allows you to connect with them on a more personal level. It has the ability to build real and lasting relationship with potential leads prior to them making a purchase. In summary, it’s a good idea to start using marketing automation to enhance customer engagement.

Website Visitor Tracking

Marketing automation begins with website visitor tracking. Every lead that is captured on your website is monitored as they move from page to page. It also records any demographic information that is volunteered through online registries and feedback forms. Their online activity and characteristics are used to create a comprehensive lead profile.

Marketing automation strategists compare the information received during website visitor tracking with the behavior and attributes of existing customers to identify trends and determine their purchasing potential. This ranking and qualification process gives marketers a better understanding of a lead’s pre-purchasing behavior, which will improve their chances of creating a real connection. This will also make it easier to identify triggers and customize nurturing content.

Customized Lead Nurturing

Leads that are not ready to make a decision are given further nurturing using informative and relevant email and newsletter campaigns. A customized nurturing approach that is based on their personal profile and interests will strengthen the emotional connection between the content and the customer. Customized lead nurturing content is one of the most effective ways to inspire greater customer engagement.

Most marketing automation professionals will first segment leads into groups before they create the customized content. Marketing automation software captures an abundance of leads and it is too difficult to cater a unique approach to every single lead in your database. Lead segmenting will group together similar leads, so content can be directed at segments of leads who share the same needs.

Faster Response to Customer Concerns

Marketing automation immediately notifies your sales and marketing teams whenever there is a question or concern from a potential customer. Customers will sincerely appreciate the fast response and personal attention they receive. Your sales team will also be sent a notice the moment a lead shows any signs of conversion. Responding to customer’s issues as they occur or when they are ready to make a purchase will significantly increase customer engagement and sales.

Today’s savvy consumers have high expectations from online businesses and they expect to be engaged. Fortunately, marketing automation uses website visitor tracking, customized lead nurturing, and faster response times to develop greater customer relations from the initial interaction to final sales transaction.

Lead Liaison

Overlooked Features of Marketing Automation

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Overlooked Features of Marketing AutomationMarketing automation is a complex strategy that has been proven to capture and convert more leads than traditional marketing. The main feature of using marketing automation software is greater lead conversion however there are countless other benefits that will come from using it. This article will discuss the many valuable features of marketing automation that are often overlooked.

Lead Tracking and Profiling

Website visitor tracking is one of the most valuable features of marketing automation because it provides a greater insight into each potential lead. The overlooked feature associated with website visitor tracking is lead profiling. Website visitor tracking develops a comprehensive profile of each leads’ behavioral characteristics. It also allows for demographic characteristics to be captured and retain using online registrations. Sales is inherently based on relationship building and lead profiling gives you a synopsis of how the lead thinks, what they are researching, where they are in their buying process, and ultimately, how interested they are in making a purchase. It is easier to connect and build a relationship with a lead once you are able to understand how they think and what they need.

Lead Segmenting and Nurturing

The information gathered in profiling creates two other overlooked feature of marketing automation; lead segmentation and lead nurturing. Marketing automation strategists will use this information to divide leads into groups based on similar characteristics. Once leads are grouped into segments, customized content can be created to address the needs of each lead segment. The ability to customize and personalize content based on the lead’s profile will strengthen the relationship by creating an even stronger connection. Consumers feel that someone real is listening and responding to their concerns when they receive relevant and informative content.

Lead Qualification and Quick Conversion

Another overlooked feature of marketing automation that also comes from lead profiling is lead qualification. Once a profile is established it can be instantly ranked and compared against profiles of existing clients to determine the likelihood of conversion. Although a higher conversion rate is the most known feature of marketing automation, the speed at which it can be accomplished is the last overlooked feature. Your sales staff will be notified the moment a lead is qualified and they can respond while the potential customers is actively researching your website. This will allow your sales team to catch customers before they move onto a competitor. Marketing automation has numerous features and benefits, but they all work towards the same goal; lead conversion. It provides the tools for understanding and nurturing your leads, and then notifies your sales team the moment that the lead is ready to make a purchase.

Lead Liaison

When Should Sales Contact Marketing Automation Leads?

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When Should Sales Contact Marketing Automation Leads?Automated marketing is making it easier to attract and nurture leads prior to a sales engagement. But when should a sales agent contact a lead from a marketing automation platform? Today’s B2B companies are adapting their marketing to the customer-is-in-control environment, and marketing automation platforms enable sales teams to monitor inbound behavior and nurture leads through the marketing funnel. So at what times should sales be in touch with marketing automation leads? We’ve got three that work.

Following Initial Inquiry

This may seem counterintuitive to the automated marketing paradigm, but early introduction of a dedicated sales agent can be effective as a method to deepen the relationship with a lead. A simple “Hello. How are you? Can I help answer a question?” with an agent’s contact details provides a lead with a human connection to your company.

Some MA vendors recommend repeated outbound calls following the initial inquiry. We don’t advise an aggressive policy but companies that ignore opportunities to introduce sales early in the engagement process may be missing out on potential conversions. Sending a simple introductory message via email when possible can provide assistance to your leads, an opportunity to accelerate the relationship, and a way to qualify leads early in the process.

(Chat plug-ins are effective but all too often we see chat pop-ups appearing within seconds of a page display. Timing is essential when setting chat enablement. Page visitors should be allowed to digest content before a chat is offered.)

Following a Specific Inquiry

Once you’ve discovered that a lead has engaged with your brand through a specific marketing asset, there is an opportunity to address needs, questions, etc. A robust marketing automation platform will allow you to deliver a message that is specific to a lead’s interest at the moment. This provides a great opportunity to provide value to the relationship.

For example, when a lead arrives on a landing page through an organic search for ‘marketing automation prices’ your MA platform should send an alert to the sales rep who “owns” the account. The rep will know that the lead is focused on pricing and can take the opportunity to engage by following up on the message that was delivered.

At a Lead Score Benchmark

Your MA platform should have a lead scoring feature that allows you to define scoring parameters. Determine a scoring threshold that will be used to deliver the lead record to your CRM and use that threshold as an opportunity to immediately send an automated message.

Once a lead has achieved a score, which is a combination of explicit (attributes) and implicit (behavioral) data, a message with a time-sensitive offer can be effective. At this point, the lead will be marketing-qualified and ready for sales engagement. Your sales rep can then follow up on the message to try to convert early in the sales pipeline.

Automated marketing is recognized as being a powerful B2B sales tool. To make it even more effective, deploy sales engagements at times that will be recognized as helpful but not intrusive. For more thoughts on using marketing automation effectively, visit our blog.

Lead Liaison

What is Important When Selecting a Marketing Automation Vendor?

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What is Important When Selecting a Marketing Automation Vendor?Marketing automation has created a much more efficient way to capture, monitor, nurture, and convert more potential leads. Although the automated software streamlines the process, it requires a capable and experienced marketing automation vendor for it to reach its full potential.

Here are a few important factors to consider when selecting a marketing automation vendor:

1.      Adequate Experience

Marketing automation is a hot trend due to its powerful capabilities and many new companies are emerging. Although it is a relatively new marketing concept, there are marketing automation vendors who already have years of experience working with it complex features versus companies that only have been doing it for a few months. Experienced marketing automation vendors are more in-tuned because they have watched it evolve since its inception. They will know what works and more importantly, what doesn’t work. Consider these suggestions when selecting a marketing automation vendor.

2.      Easy-of-use

The purpose of using a marketing automation strategy is to make it easier and faster for you to monitor and profile potential leads. Look for vendors that offer simple features and straightforward solutions. It should also be easy to integration into your current Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system.

3.      Reliable Support

You shouldn’t have too many programming issues if you select an experienced marketing automation vendor that offers easy-to-use software, but you may have questions about how to get the most from it. Select a marketing automation vendor that has readily available and responsive support. You can test their support services with questions and concerns prior to choosing one. That is a great way to ensure they are truly helpful and knowledgeable.

4.      Comprehensive Plan

Marketing automation success won’t happen instantly. Look for vendors who offer a complete plan that follows the lead from initial connection to final conversion. Their marketing strategy should include lead generation, website visitor tracking, CRM integration, email marketing, lead qualification, lead distribution, lead nurturing, and all other aspect of the lead management process.

5.      Sales and Marketing Tools

There really shouldn’t be a need to hire additional marketing services if you are already employing a marketing automation expert. The marketing automation vendor you select should have ample knowledgeable of sales prospecting, SEO techniques, and social media marketing strategies. They should also have a resourceful blog that you can reference for marketing advice.

There are endless choices of marketing automation vendors that claim to provide the same results. Unfortunately, not everyone lives up to their claims. Make sure the marketing automation vendor you select has ample experience, an easy-to-use software program, reliable support, a comprehensive plan-of-action, and readily available sales and marketing tools. If those five components are addressed, you should see the results you expect.

Lead Liaison

Use SEO and Marketing Automation Together to Optimize Marketing Effectiveness

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Use SEO and Marketing Automation Together to Optimize Marketing EffectivenessSearch engine optimization has been around for over 15 years. And marketing automation has been taking the B2B world by storm over the past few years. Although each provides distinct capabilities for digital marketing, when combined they make a potent combination.

SEO has evolved as Panda then Penguin have changed search marketing strategies. The evolution of SEO provides an opportunity to leverage the strengths of MA; namely, the ability to understand how well organic and paid campaigns have been and the development of other search marketing practices (such as back linking or social campaigns). The key is to use SEO and marketing automation together to optimize marketing effectiveness.

Marketing automation allows marketers to track lead behavior. Search patterns provide potential indications of buyers’ intentions. It seems like a natural fit to combine your SEO strategy with a marketing automation system. With the information available within an MA platform, SEO campaigns can be linked to a deeper view of Web activity and, ultimately, to conversions. SEO performance can be tracked from click to close. Search campaigns can be evaluated through MA analytics then modified based upon the insight platform users have into keywords and referral sources; campaigns can then be optimized to match traffic patterns. MA can help demonstrate ROI for both paid and organic campaigns.

When integrated with a CRM, such as Microsoft Dynamics, a marketing automation platform like our Lead Management Automation™ can point marketing managers to KPIs where the true dollar attribution is visible. Existing SEO analytics products fall short of that capability. By combining SEO and MA, marketers have a wider scope into buyer behavior. Page views and other content consumption data can provide direction for developing lead-centric  content marketing initiatives and site architecture modifications. Not only can MA provide keyword performance metrics for search activities but also within email campaigns and landing pages. Link building is more effective when combining SEO and MA by using the trackable link function, which allows users to follow leads through search, social, and other pathways. The lead intelligence provided through this function can help shape link building strategies more effectively than standalone SEO reporting.

Finally, using MA with SEO allows businesses to budget with more agility, basing decisions on actual revenue generation capabilities of search marketing tactics. Using only SEO analytics requires managers to adjust budget based on traffic, not close rates.

Lead Liaison

How to Get Marketing Automation to Work for Your Business

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How to Get Marketing Automation to Work for Your BusinessI was reading this helpful post, 3 Lessons from 1000 Blog Posts on Marketing Automation, and I was impressed at how easily they were able to summarize the most important factors of such a powerful software strategy; create engagement, forget traditional channels, and measure effectiveness.

I agree that these three factors are critical for its success; however they are many other ways to get marketing automation software to work for your business. The article also neglects to explain how to create more engaging content, how to use the new marketing channels for cross-promotions, or the marketing automation tools that are being used to measure its effectiveness. Although the article was a good synopsis, I felt it needed further explanation.

Here are a few proven ways to get marketing automation to work for your business:

1.       Comprehensive Profiling

A thorough lead profile is an essential factor in the success of marketing automation. Website visitor tracking allows businesses to gather details about a lead’s online history and purchasing behavior. Marketing automation strategists should also use web forms and registries to extract vital demographic information from potential leads.

2.       Lead Segmentation

Marketers should focus on customizing their efforts to groups of buyers with similar interests instead of trying to personalize content for every individual lead. Once leads have a comprehensive profile they can be segmented into different groups based on overlapping characteristics.

3.       Quality Content

Every web page and article should be optimized for more than just keywords. It has to be compelling, helpful, and relevant, so it can make a real connection with the lead. It should answer all of their questions and concerns, while offering them viable solutions to their problems.

4.       Social Media Marketing

Modern business will experience greater marketing automation success when they combine their lead nurturing campaign with a strong social media presence. You will be able to tap into a larger audience if you promote your website content and lead nurturing articles on Facebook & Twitter. This will drive more traffic to your website and increase the number of leads that the marketing automation software is able to capture.

5.       ROI Metrics  

Marketing automation strategies will also work better if they are monitored and tweaked for optimal performance. Marketing automation software allows users to compare the results of the campaign with how much revenue each step generated. It can also show which landing pages and email blasts had the highest conversion rate. Companies can improve the success of their marketing automation campaigns by measuring and reacting to data supplied by the software.

Marketing automation will work for your business, however it will require comprehensive profiling, lead segmentation, quality content, social media marketing, and ROI metrics. Greater marketing automation success will be the end result.

Do you want Lead Liaison to get marketing automation to work for your business?

Lead Liaison

How Marketing Automation is Evolving to Better Suit the B2B Environment

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Marketing Automation TrendsI was researching new trends in marketing automation when I came across this great article on the 7 most popular Marketing Automation Trends. It made me think about all the ways marketing automation has grown and changed just within the past few years. In this post we examine how marketing automation is evolving to better suit the B2B environment.

Its unique ability to tap into the B2B environment and convert more leads has also evolved. The focus of marketing automation has drifted from the power and speed of automation to the necessity of personalization. There is also more emphasis on building lasting relationships and customer engagement.

Creating a Connection

Marketers realized that using a heavily automated process was resulting in a detachment between businesses and B2B buyers. To resolve this issue, marketing automation professionals are now putting more focus on understanding their leads and fulfilling their individual needs through comprehensive lead profiling and segmentation.

Profiling and Understanding Leads

Website visitor tracking software can be used to monitor a lead’s online activity, track their pre-purchasing behavior, and record any demographic information that can be obtained from the lead using online forms and registries. This lead monitoring technology is now an essential component of marketing automation and it is used to develop a complete profile on every lead that crosses paths with a particular website.

Scoring and Segmenting Leads

Another marketing automation trend is extending the benefits of the profiling process by ranking and segmenting each lead. Marketers will compare each lead against a typical B2B buyer and then score them based on how closely their behavioral and demographic characteristics match their existing customers. Leads with a high potential for conversion will be immediately passed onto the sales department and leads that require more nurturing will be segmented into groups based on similar needs.

Personalized Content for Lead Segments

It is too difficult to personalize lead nurturing content for every individual lead, yet personalization is necessary for real engagement. Once leads are gathered into similar groups, marketers can create more relevant and customized content directed at each group of buyers.

Greater Emphasis on Quality Content

The biggest new trend in marketing automation is creating compelling, original, and high-quality content that provides the reader with real value. Content needs to contain more than just keywords to sway savvy B2B buyers. It should also gently guide them in the right direction without sounding like a typical sales pitch.

Marketing automation has evolved to make it easier to track, monitor, and engage B2B leads throughout their buying process. It allows users to understand their leads, score them based on their potential, segment them into defined groups, and nurturing each group using relevant and information content. Changes to marketing automation`s main focus has now given it the power to convert almost every lead the software captures.

Lead Liaison

Small Business Marketing Automation and Why You Should Get Involved

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Small Business Marketing AutomationDoing small business marketing isn’t easy, and for businesses on a budget it might never seem like the right time to invest in marketing automation tools. The truth is, a user-friendly and fully managed automated marketing platform can make a huge difference in the way small businesses operate from top to bottom.

Small Business Marketing and Marketing Automation

There are so many reasons to integrate your marketing efforts. Many small business owners feel like this type of integration is mostly reserved for medium-sized to large businesses because they don’t truly understand the time management/time saving techniques that are a part of a good marketing automation dashboard.

Time management is absolutely critical for small businesses. Business owners who can’t spend a lot of money on resources may find that using their marketing automation dashboard in the right way will give them the same kind of insight a part-time marketing expert would. Marketing automation tools empower small businesses to use their marketing in the most effective way.

Direct management of leads, cost data across all marketing platforms, and key insight that can result in more accurate marketing plans are all small business marketing goals that can be realized with a good marketing automation dashboard. Rather than calling in a marketing expert to do the work and report, small business CEOs can send tasks to their sales teams and beef up marketing efforts based on the reporting data they’re seeing from marketing automation.

Cost Savings

Small business marketing requires an investment. The right marketing automation tools actually cut down on that investment for small business owners because they have all their data tools in one place. Marketing efforts and ROI data come seamlessly without the need to hire a specialist for analysis and reporting. Many marketing automation dashboards also include email marketing tools that may cost extra if you use a service outside the dashboard.

Getting the intelligence data that shows how potential customers are using your marketing materials can result in more sales over time. Marketing automation can change the way a business executes marketing efforts, resulting in more sales – particularly for business owners interested in small business marketing who don’t’ have an advertising background. With the right marketing automation tools, small business marketing can be a snap for cost and time-conscious CEOs.

Lead Liaison’s suite of marketing automation tools can help your business rise to new heights with your small business marketing. For more information, contact us today!

Lead Liaison

Using Marketing Automation for Transparent Campaigns

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Using Marketing Automation for Transparent CampaignsMarketing automation can positively affect a company’s bottom line by creating much-needed links between investment and ROI. For CEOs, it’s more important than ever to get confirmation that marketing efforts are paying off for the company. Without the proper web tracking methodology and assets in place that calculate return on investment, marketers and their CEOs are left without a clue as to whether or not marketing budgets are really worth it. Make sure to use marketing automation for transparent campaigns.

MarketingWeek magazine recently took on the issue of how much CEOs truly trust their marketers – a dubious question that undoubtedly causes stress for both CEOs and marketing teams. You can read the article (and the very relevant and insightful comments) at  http://www.marketingweek.co.uk.

To summarize, the article suggests that 70% of CEOs surveyed earlier this summer in a project by Fournaise Marketing Group expressed a complete lack of trust in their marketing team’s ability to generate a positive ROI through their efforts. This begs the question – do these surveyed CEOs have a point, and is their dissatisfaction indicative of industry-wide views of marketers?

How Marketing Automation Makes the Difference

Accountability is the determining factor in whether a relationship between company executives and marketers is transparent enough to survive. Without some sort of measure of accountability, CEOs have no idea what their marketing teams are doing and whether the money spent results in any kind of return over the long term.

Tracking metrics is what defines that level of accountability. With solid numbers in place, even CEOs who micro-manage advertising campaigns won’t be able to deny the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of their ideas. With marketing automation, a solid set of tools that track advertising campaigns across platforms provides metrics that can’t be ignored. When CEOs and marketing teams have access to these metrics and use them to make marketing decisions, transparency is a sure thing.

Developing the Right Relationships

One of the more interesting comments on the MarketingWeek article states that if CEOs want to see the true impact marketing has on their bottom line, they should turn their marketing efforts off for a while and see what happens. We can all likely imagine that scenario and predict the outcome.

Varying factors contribute to the trust CEOs have for their marketing departments, but transparency will always be one of those key factors. Using marketing automation tools like Lead Liaison to provide transparency in cross-platform marketing efforts can make more difference than you think. Not only does the right marketing automation company save money – it can repair a spotty relationship between departments.

Visit Lead Liaison today to find out how transparent your marketing efforts can be!

Lead Liaison

Marketing Automation Metrics to Focus On

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While marketing automation can improve marketing and sales performance, companies are sometimes unsure of which metrics to focus on. Marketing automation platforms typically provide analytics that can be used as key performance indicators. In most cases, the marketing automation metrics that are often used as KPIs are similar to traditional metrics. Marketing Automation Metrics

Marketing Source Pipeline

Marketing source pipeline refers to how effectively each channel is at lead generation. Marketing automation analytics reveal where leads are being generated. Within a multi-channel marketing program there may be several lead generation campaigns: email, SEM, social, etc. deployed at one time. Using MA, marketing execs should evaluate which sources are pulling leads into their sales pipelines. Evaluate each source’s contribution within a program at leads’ point-of-entry into the pipeline.

Marketing Influenced Pipeline

Sometimes called “channel effectiveness”, the marketing influenced pipeline is a measurement of how effectively MA practices are escalating messages and advancing leads through the sales pipeline. It is important to understand how effectively automated marketing campaigns are performing at lead management. Which messages are engaging and advancing leads? Whether the metric being analyzed relates to day-parting effectiveness or channel performance, executives should understand how effectively marketing is at funnel progression. Evaluate the performance of lead nurturing practices by measuring marketing-qualified leads (MQL), sales-accepted leads (SAL), and sales-qualified leads (SQL).

Investment-to-Pipeline

How effectively is digital marketing spend turning prospects into leads? Companies may have different definitions for a new lead, MQL, SAL, or SQL but execs should be focused on how well marketing dollars are filling the pipeline. Lead abandonment rates can be used to evaluate where leads are dropping off. And it can be beneficial to examine the dollars spent to achieve each status within the sales pipeline.

Investment-to-Revenue

This is the big one that most marketing execs are graded on in both traditional marketing practices and marketing automation practices. Often called the “win rate”,  this metric reveals how well marketing spend is driving sales. It can be tricky to evaluate profit within an MA platform but execs should definitely be focused on where marketing dollars are producing revenue. While cost-per-lead and close rate are frequently used as KPIs, as MA analytics evolve further, marketing execs will be able to sharpen their focus on evaluating the practices that are directly influenced by marketing automation.