Hey there! I’m Sarah and I’m part of the Marketing Team at Net-Results, and I’d say I know a little bit about marketing automation at this point. Not only have I used Net-Results for many years and have talked to a lot of our customers about what their common marketing automation challenges — and I’m going to share some of those today!
Challenge #1: Marketing automation implementation
I’ve written a few times about the challenges of marketing automation.Check out the blog post 3 Ways Marketing Automation Implementation Fails (and how to avoid them) for some more details about what I’m talking about, but generally speaking, failing to really have a plan, failing to involve your sales team, and failing to think of your overall customer journey are surefire ways to fail at marketing automation implementations.
Marketing automation implementation is among the most common issues.
This also goes into the upkeep that it necessary to make sure that your data remains reliable. Yes, automating your marketing will absolutely save time, effort, and headache — but it also isn’t a completely “set it and forget it” system. Even once you’ve implemented, you should still be reviewing your Campaigns, Reports, and Emails on at least a quarterly basis. This means you’ve gotta have the time and team to get this accomplished, which can be super tough!
Challenge #2: Buying too early or too late
The second challenge of marketing automation is knowing when to buy it! It can be difficult for a lot of growing businesses to really determine when the right time to purchase marketing automation is.
By the way, if that sounds like you, schedule a quick and no-pressure 20 minute chat with one of our marketing automation experts. They’re always happy to help you determine if it’s really the right time!
If you’re looking for a sign that it’s time, I’ll give you three signs you’re ready to look into marketing automation for your organization:
- You’ll want to make sure that you’re publishing regular content that you can deliver to your leads and customers.
- It’s also, of course, a great idea to make sure that you have a steady flow of leads, both organically and paid.
- You’re ready to scale! Your team is in place, your operations are underway, and you’re set to really grow.
Check out the blog post: 3 Signs You’re Ready to Purchase Marketing Automation, and 1 Sign You’re NOT
Challenge #3: Focusing on ROI
I don’t really have to tell marketers to focus on ROI — the issue here is more that a lot of marketers get so caught up in the pretty UI or reputation of a company that they don’t end up choosing a platform that really doesn’t garner ROI in the long run. Yes, a lot of marketing automation companies will gladly take your money (actually… a lot of companies in general will take your money but that’s a story for another day) without considering whether you’re a really great fit, but it’s more than that.
The marketing automation platform that you choose to partner with for your organization should save you time, money, and headache. This means that they should have. So even before you’re choosing which company you want to go with, ask questions about how long until most of their customers see ROI, how much time their support saves their customers, and more! Your marketing department will be better, happier, and more effective for it.
Check out the blog post: 5 Problems Marketing Automation Solves
Till next time!
Sarah // Marketing at Net-Results
