The 7 Reasons Your Business Can’t Survive Without Marketing Automation

When we started Prism Group, the first thing we purchased was a marketing automation platform, even before printing business cards, launching a website or building sales pitchbook. As a small digital marketing agency in Denver competing against Big City firms, we needed the competitive edge that comes from marketing automation.

A marketing automation platform is the technology foundation of any digital marketing strategy. Running a digital marketing program without an efficient way to manage, measure and engage prospects is like flying blind without instruments in a thunderstorm – it is a scenario prone to disaster.

Under the umbrella of “marketing automation,” are several capabilities, including email marketing, website traffic monitoring (not just analytics), prospect/customer engagement, personas, social media, customer relationship management (CRM) and more.

Companies using marketing automation have a competitive advantage, because they are more effective and efficient at engaging prospects and customers and converting them to sales. If you aren’t using marketing automation, you are likely losing to your competitors that are better at managing customer relationships and engagement.

Why you simply can’t afford not to use a marketing automation platform:

(1). Convert previously lost customers into leads and optimize your sales efforts. Potential customers are visiting your website 24/7, but without a traffic identification solution, you will never know who they are. Google Analytics can provide you with raw traffic numbers, but most good marketing automation platforms can tell you the name of the visitor and/or company they work for. Imagine your sales reps making their call quota – you can increase their chances of success by directing them to the companies and/or individuals who are demonstrating interest right now.

(2). Never forget. Automated workflows work around the clock. Marketing automation can notify you when someone has visited an important page, when a prospect is ready to buy based on behavior analysis and dynamically assign prospects into relevant market segments based on their interests and pain points. Done right, marketing automation does a lot of things for you behind the scenes, so you’ll never forget a follow-up email again.

(3). Track your ROI. Industrialist John Wanamaker famously said, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” With good marketing automation, you can calculate the ROI of digital marketing campaigns and determine your customer acquisition cost. We previously covered the concept of Customer Lifetime Value, and knowing your customer acquisition cost is key to building long-term business value.

“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.”
– John Wanaker, American Merchant and early marketing pioneer

(4). Stay top of mind through the sales cycle. Leads grow cold over time, and if someone isn’t ready to buy from you today, then you want to be top of mind when they are. “Drip” campaigns that periodically send content in measured sequence to prospects can help nurture leads and maintain visibility over the course of a lengthy sales cycle. Marketing automation can help you trigger drip campaigns at the right time, automatically, saving you time and maximizing your opportunities.

(5). Generate inbound leads and prioritize. Good email marketing is an essential tool for generating demand and inbound leads. Marketing automation not only helps you manage email marketing, but it integrates it with your CRM, so you can seamlessly go from a contact record, to viewing their engagement history to scheduling meetings and managing outbound communication to high-value leads.

(6). Target high-value accounts more effectively. Marketing automation also helps target high-value prospects more effectively, by helping you communicate to multiple personas at your selected target accounts. Once you have identified your targets and the people who are part of the process at target companies, marketing automation helps you efficiently customize messages, landing pages and more to improve the relevance of your content.

(7). Reduce costs and simplify your life. If you use different platforms for email marketing, CRM, website analytics and social media, you may be spending more than you need. A full-featured marketing automation platform can simplify your marketing technology stack into one solution, saving you money and simplifying your life (no more spreadsheet downloads and uploads). Also, most marketing automation platforms will integrate with your existing CRM.

Choose wisely! There has never been a better time to be in the market for a marketing automation solution, because there are so many platforms available. Previously, marketing automation was expensive and complex. Today, there are good options at nearly every price point suitable for businesses ranging from startups to established medium-sized businesses (B2B or B2C). Prism Group can help you identify which platform is best for your business.

Call us today to learn more about how marketing automation can simplify your life and grow the long-term value of your business.

About Prism Group

Prism Group is a full-spectrum, multi-talented B2B agency focused on Energy Tech, Technology, Energy, Services and Media markets. Our work is telling stories that matter, because our clients are working to change the world for the better. What makes us different is that we put into action the strategies we recommend – we get it done, so you can get results and increase the value of your business.