Does your company require a platform for marketing automation?

Is a marketing automation platform essential for every marketing organization? The array of use cases suggests that most marketing teams will discover compelling reasons to automate at least some of their processes.

Despite not being the latest addition to marketers’ tech arsenals, marketing automation platforms (MAPs) remain pivotal to the business strategies of both B2B and B2C companies, particularly those in the ecommerce realm. MAPs facilitate businesses in automating and streamlining their marketing endeavors by offering a broad spectrum of features and functionalities, including the automation of repetitive tasks and workflows.

Real-time, personalized, omnichannel experiences Marketers leverage available tools, such as marketing automation platforms, to deliver real-time, personalized, omnichannel experiences by employing advanced audience segmentation. A survey conducted by LXA among CMOs revealed that these initiatives rank high on marketers’ priority lists.

Marketing automation platforms for ABM In the B2B sphere, where marketing automation initially made its mark as a critical technology, marketers are increasingly embracing account-based marketing (ABM) practices. According to a survey by Momentum ITSMA and the ABM Leadership Alliance, 40 to 60% of programs currently utilize marketing automation platforms to advance these strategies.

“We’re currently witnessing a phase where companies prioritize tech investment,” noted Will Nicholls, Chief Customer Officer of Momentum ITSMA, in a podcast. “We’re observing a growing trend of incorporating tools for automation to enhance existing platforms, in a manner that remains aligned with the principles of ABM.”

The advantages of marketing automation The proliferation of channels and devices has made it challenging to target prospects with relevant messages at opportune times. The rapid transition to predominantly online interactions prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified competition in the inbox, emphasizing the importance of relevant messaging.

In the B2B realm, prospects increasingly steer the buying process independently, crafting vendor shortlists through research on brand websites and social channels without engaging with a sales representative. To thrive in this environment, marketers must be creative, targeted, and aligned with sales objectives, while also gaining insights into buyer attributes and behaviors.

The dynamic market landscape and heightened ROI expectations render the potential benefits of MAPs more appealing than ever.

1. Increased marketing efficiency Automating laborious, manual tasks related to content creation, management, and personalization; campaign scheduling and execution; data hygiene; communication with sales; and lead nurturing enhances productivity and saves time. With the integration of AI and machine learning, expected to see substantial growth in the coming years, further efficiency gains are anticipated as these tools become more adept at handling repetitive tasks. AI’s potential to generate personalized content for messaging, landing pages, and campaign creative is particularly promising.
2. Enhanced lead generation and qualification Marketing automation can amalgamate various criteria, including demographic, firmographic, and behavioral data, with a lead-scoring system to identify sales-qualified leads. The incorporation of AI and machine learning augments this process by effectively synthesizing vast datasets and identifying patterns that may elude human observers.
3. Comprehensive prospect behavior insights Modern MAPs integrate multiple channels and devices, such as social media and mobile, to construct more holistic prospect profiles and comprehensive views of prospect behavior. Platforms with robust ABM capabilities empower marketers to monitor the behavior of buying groups and discern the interests of individual members.
4. Alignment of sales and marketing goals MAPs facilitate the alignment of sales and marketing efforts, ensuring that sales representatives engage with sales-ready leads. By collaboratively establishing scoring parameters and defining qualified leads, sales and marketing teams synergize their efforts. Marketing focuses on nurturing relationships with early-stage leads, allowing sales to concentrate on closing the most promising prospects.
5. Improved lead conversion and ROI Numerous studies have demonstrated that the implementation of marketing automation systems can enhance conversion rates. For instance, Forrester reported a 10% increase in sales pipeline contribution among B2B marketers who adopted marketing automation. Additionally, tech research firm Nucleus Research found that it can result in a 15% increase in sales productivity and a 12% decrease in marketing overhead.