“We need to reach more prospects with our emails!” Ely, the CMO of the medical device start-up, declared. He had heard about software that sends bulk emails, and I was to find a suitable tool for the business.
This was over ten years ago. MailChimp had stirred every marketer’s imagination and reigned the market. Sending out one email to thousands of addresses with a single click was revolutionizing the marketing process for many companies. Ely went for a more advanced solution (at the time).
His company has since grown into a medium-sized international supplier. When I recently met Ely, I was surprised to learn that they still hang on to what was most advanced back then.
What Was Great Once Is Minimal Today
Many similar companies out there are unaware of the benefits they pass up.
It’s time to ask whether your email marketing automation tool is still the right one for your business after you’ve had it for years. It may provide what you need, but does your marketing really benefit from it?
Think big! Think Lead Management!
Email marketing is one of the most profitable marketing channels in B2B. If you aren’t seeing that in your business, you’re probably not doing it right or not utilizing your tools efficiently.
Marketing automation plays a central role in implementing a marketing strategy. It’s where you generate a large percentage of your leads and manage all of them.
Ask these three questions to determine if your current software still meets your business needs:
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Do I manage my leads with the automation software, or do I rely on Excel spreadsheets?
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Is the tool synced with my CRM, or does it require a lot of manual work?
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Does my software support my growth strategy, or is it only good enough for what I need now?
These are big questions involving your business goals, marketing strategy, working routine, and collaboration with other teams, such as sales and customer service.
It’s true, well-utilized powerful marketing automation impacts all of these.
Why a Marketing Automation Tool That Creates Email Campaigns Isn’t Enough
Let’s look at an example:
You have a product launch coming up. Any given email software lets you send announcements to your mailing lists. You’ll add a landing page where people schedule a demo, and you’ll set-up a drip-feed, including a thank-you note and reminders.
The new product is the result of extensive and costly R&D, and you need maximum results from this campaign. It better be excellent!
The salespeople will point fingers at you and say you didn’t send enough qualified leads and didn’t schedule enough demos if the goals are not met.
At the end of the day, your management wants to see ROI. That’s what counts, and you gotta do your share.
What Additional Value Can You Get From Your Marketing Automation platform?
You’ll want to coordinate various marketing channels and also target existing customers. Use lead scoring and behavioral analytics and create customized campaigns for different segments and lifecycle stages.
This works even better if you have been analyzing and nurturing valuable leads over time. You’ll have provided them with enticing bits of info and kept their curiosity, so your sales team doesn’t have to start from scratch.
They have access to relevant, reliable data about each lead: The size and character of the company they represent, their position, how long they’ve been in the pipeline, which marketing materials they received, and what kind of interaction has already taken place.
It’s part of lead management, and automation can provide all this and more.
What’s Next?
Does your software include features that enable you to manage your leads? Perhaps it does; you just aren’t aware of it. Or maybe it doesn’t.
What I want you to understand is that it’s critical to find out. Ask the right questions and educate yourself about the features and benefits of a serious email marketing automation tool that’s right for your business needs. Utilizing the right tools, you can expect to achieve (or even exceed) your marketing goals faster and with less effort. And improve ROI on your campaigns.
