6 Myths about Marketing Automation

As companies learn more about marketing automation, the B2B community is abuzz about whether marketing automation is useful, effective, etc. We’re here to dispel a few myths that are out there with 6 myths about marketing automation.

1)  Marketing Automation  Doesn’t Provide Results

Check out these statistics (sources):

• Prospects nurtured through MA generate 451% increase in qualified leads (The Annuitas Group)
• Companies automating lead gen see 10% more revenue within 6-9 months (Gartner Research)
• Relevant emails delivered through MA drive 18x more revenue than email blasts (Jupiter Research)
• MA provides 70% shorter sales cycles; 54% improvement in sales quota achievement (Bulldog Solutions)
• 150% increase in contact-to-lead conversion rate (SHIPSERV)
• 47% higher average order value (Aberdeen Group)

2) Marketing Automation Is Simply A Drip Marketing Campaign

MA offers ever-increasing ways to deploy and/or leverage digital marketing assets. While email campaigns remain a vital component to marketing automation systems, marketers can also automate social engagement, deliver surveys, create and deploy landing pages, and maximize SEM efforts.

3) Marketing Automation Is Difficult To Implement

While implementation of some platforms may be complicated, several systems exist that are user-friendly and intuitive. Most MA vendors provide training and some platforms have robust help files. In some cases, companies elect to focus on using one or two features at the start then phase in additional components once staff has become comfortable with the system.

4) Marketing Automation Is Impersonal

Many MA platforms allow users to create personalized messaging through database segmentation. The efficiency that results from automating delivery does not reduce the capacity to create a campaign where leads are engaged personally. Business intelligence can be used to tailor event-triggered responses (like an email click-through) that deliver messages that address specific lead concerns.

5) Marketing Automation Is Expensive

More statistics:

• Creative production costs are 15% lower using marketing automation (Gartner Research)
• Event-triggered response through MA can save 80% on direct mail budget (Gartner Research)
• Decrease in cost-per-lead from $195 to $130 (Marketo)
• Companies that excel at lead nurturing through MA generate 50% more leads at 33% lower cost-per-lead (Marketo, Forrester Research, CSO Insights

6) Marketing Automation Lacks Creativity

As one expert puts it “actually, the opposite is true”. Because repetitive tasks, such as scheduling message delivery or data entry, can be streamlined, marketers can focus on creative practices like landing page design, social post creation, and other creative tasks. In fact, with database segmentation capabilities within MA, there is as much a need for creative design than ever before!