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1. Top 10 Tips
f o r Su c c e ssfu l M a r k e t i n g A u t o m at i o n
1
Have a plan. Poor project management can kill your project
before it gets off the ground. Get a good strategy together,
consider cost, quality, speed and risk – and breakdown your
project into people, processes and systems. Use people who
have rolled out similar projects before.
Plan
2 Decide
Evaluate the technologies that
best fit your in-house resource
and skillsets - and your existing
systems. Let the experts help.
Be sure to focus just as much on
people and processes as well as
the technologies. Remember –
when it comes to IT, often fact
trumps intuition.
40% of IT projects fail because
of poor planning
source: Watts S Humphrey, IBM 2005
4
65% of management
decisions are now based
on data (not guesswork)
source: MIT 2011
Communicate
3
Track
Effective communication is key. This is exciting technology,
but you need to get everyone engaged, on board and up to
speed – especially senior stakeholders, contributers,
partners and the channel. Communicate with people, talk
and use lots of visuals. People absorb pictures better.
280 hours (7 weeks) per
year are lost by workers
seeking clarification due
to poor communication
In 2011, 80% of the top 1,000 websites
used tracking technology
Start capturing behavioural,
online, and sales data.
You need to get your data
in good shape to make the
most of behavioural
triggers. Involve your IT
team and digital agencies.
source: Ensighten 2011.
source: National Assoc. of Prof Organisers, 2012
5
STUFF
Learn how SoLoMo can make an impact on your
business. Social, Local, Mobile. A buzz word yes,
but a proven crucial element to successful
Demand Generation. B2B is using more localised
targeted messages than ever before, often
messages delivered on mobile devices.
6M
S L
Develop a content plan. Understand the four types of
content you need (broadcast, sticky, trigger and
community) to develop a marketing automation platform
and plan accordingly. The way you approach messaging
may start to change to a more 121 conversational style.
Content is king and should be priority #1.
o o o
½ of all sales
are lost because
content is poor.
source: KissMetrics 2011
8
Time
65m Americans
use social, location
based services
on smartphones
source: CommerceInMotion 2011
Make the time to invest in the thinking, or use a partner
to help accelerate the strategy/deployment process.
Demand Generation programmes can deliver excellent
‘drip’ leads on a daily basis but you need the upfront
thought and planning to make it work. Detail matters
and can return handsome dividends.
7
Understand your Prospect/Customer Journey.
Look at every possible touchpoint and
interaction – and maximise every touchpoint
with a sales message. Upsells and Cross Sells
can often be key to business growth.
Remember – everyone in your organisation
can help sell.
Journey
x2 Twice as much time
spent on ‘urgent’ rather
than ‘important’ tasks
Source: Stephen Covey, 7 Habits
9
‘important’
It is six times easier to sell to
existing customers than prospects
source: Harvard Business School
Harmony
Work with your sales teams and other
stakeholders throughout the process. And your
product teams too. Marketing Automation blurs
the lines between departments and becomes
much more collaborative in approach.
Sometimes you will need to work hard to break
down political and departmental barriers but the
payoff is worth it. Show them what’s in it for them.
10
Goals
#1 Cause of project failure –
Lack of direction and goals
source: Pink elephant conference 2012
You won’t reach utopia instantly. Put your projects
into phases with clear goals at each stage – and
communicate it internally. Setting sensible goals
helps manage expectations and ensures the project
stays on track.
source: IBM – Breaking the Feud 2009
@HitFirstBase
Resourcing
Development
Forecasting
Confusion
Asessment
66% of sales teams
don’t believe
marketing ‘works’
www.hitfirstbase.com
info@hitfirstbase.com
‘urgent’
Doomed
Project
Communication
Goals
Direction
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