I have heard many times this year from either clients or prospects that they are looking for a CRM and so a Marketing Automation platform isn’t really needed. So I went searching for reasons why this isn’t true and why it is better if they are together.

Email is one of the most powerful tools you can use to reach consumers.  According to research by The Radicati Group, there are over 2.6 billion email users today.  By the end of 2019 that number is expected to increase to over 2.9 billion or over 1/3 of the world's population.  In addition, email is the preferred channel for brand communication among consumers.  Email also delivers a higher return on investment than any other digital marketing channel because with email you are targeting people who have opted in to receive your communications.  This is why it is so important to invest time and resources into enhancing your email to be the very best they can be.  Our partner, Litmus, has recently published "The Ultimate Guide To Email Optimization & Troubleshooting".  This guide is a comprehensive look at optimizing every part of the email creation process.  It lays out the steps needed to create email campaigns that your audience will want to engage with.

Many associations today are beginning to make the move to marketing automation.  We thought it might be helpful to review exactly what marketing automation is, what it's not, and whether your association is ready for it.  Our ASAE Lunch Learning Webinar "Are You Ready For Marketing Automation?" provides an overview of what marketing automation is and showcases associations who have already successfully implemented it to market their certification, education, event, and content programs.

When considering different marketing automation systems, it can be tempting to allow platform cost to outweigh the features and functionality needed to ensure success now and in the future for your organization.  After all, there are limits to an organization's resources.  However, if you only focus on the short term requirements for potential systems, you may find that down the road your marketing automation system is unable to grow with your organization's needs.  An article, written by Patrick Groover at Marketo, lists 9 questions to consider when deciding which system will be right for you.  These questions will help ensure that the investment you make today will continue to sustain and support your marketing strategies tomorrow.