I have come across marketing managers that have quite simply abandoned any marketing automation solutions set up in their company. They have discarded the tool as you might give up on a New Year’s resolution or leave an unwanted pet at the side of the road. It all adds up to a waste of energy and good intentions as far as I can see. Nevertheless, these marketing managers remain convinced that inbound marketing is a worthwhile instrument to generate leads and develop their business.
How can this disappointment and dissatisfaction be avoided?
Have a dedicated team.
« We set up a marketing automation solution without organising the resources to operate it and keep it going »
An inbound marketing strategy must be backed up by a team (or a person) in charge of organizing and feeding it. The work load is concentrated upstream: definition of personas, segmentation, scoring strategy and scenarios for automatic campaigns.
Don’t over-complicate
« We picked a solution, but it was too complex for our business. «
It’s better to define your goals before picking a solution rather than the other way round.
It’s better to use 90% of a solution’s power controlling the costs, rather than 25% of another solution where high costs and complexity lead to frustration.
Build and launch initial campaigns very simply and quite quickly before testing and retesting other campaign strategies.
Remember « Keep It Simple, Stupid » (KISS).
Keep it up
To be beneficial, the inbound marketing strategy must run throughout the company, with top management leading the way. Only this support can maintain the strategy’s consistency over time that is so important for its success. If the management is not on-board, as the ROI cannot be measured immediately, the life expectancy for marketing automation solutions will be short.
Be guided.
Meeting these disgruntled marketing managers has strengthened my conviction that the mentoring phase is essential when setting up a marketing automation tool, a strategy-based instrument.
Managers with successful inbound strategies have understood that they should not try and go it alone, particularly in the launch and learning phase.
4 recommendations:
1- Don’t leave your marketing automation tool gathering dust: get on with it!
2- Don’t give up too soon, test, retest and keep going.
3- Show the rest of the company you believe in it and demonstrate the pedagogy to the top management.
4- Be mentored through implementation to adapt it fully to your business and… Keep it simple stupid!
