Is your organization still using outdated marketing practices?  If your marketing team still relies upon the tech side of your business to help build and moniter your marketing campaigns, the answer to that question is yes.  With the emergence of marketing automation software your team no longer has to rely on IT or Engineering to carry out marketing campains.  Marketing automation is the key to a self-reliant marketing team that is capable of building and running sophisticated, personalized campaigns on their own.  We found this article, written by Matt Zilli at Marketo, that lists 3 red flags of archaic marketing practices.  Find out whether your marketing needs to be updated and how marketing automation will revolutionize your marketing efforts.

The definition of marketing continues to evolve and the role of marketers continue to expand.  There was a time when marketers were simply brand builders.  With rapid advances in technology, today's marketer is also responsible for driving, scaling, and tracking growth.  Marketers are now in a position where they can reach out to all their customers and leads in a more personalized way, across multiple channels, with greater effectiveness.  Marketing automation makes this possible.  There is, however, still a lot of confusion about marketing automation.  So we put together an eBook on the basics, to give you a clearer understanding of what is involved.  Our eBook "Understanding Marketing Automation" explains what it really is and why you need it.  The information provided will give you a clear understanding about the benefits of marketing automation, as well as what the future holds for this technology.  This eBook is a valuable resource designed for association marketers and business professionals to further your understanding of marketing automation.

How many times have we heard this type of variation on the “your marketing is only as good as your data” saying? Isn’t it true though? If you’re in IT you probably roll your eyes every time a ticket request comes in from the marketing team for another list pull: “Please run a query and provide us with a list of people who attended last year’s conference, redeemed a coupon and sat on the left side of the room during the keynote address”. (It’s not that far-fetched, there’s a method to a marketer’s madness or request after all). The reality is that marketers rely on data – and it’s understanding this need which helps to facilitate in-depth discussions about data integration.

Today's marketers are focused on more than just lead generation.  Aquiring new leads is still a top priority, however, marketing departments are also spending time and resources nurturing the customers they already have in order to build long term relationships with them.  Modern marketing consists of 3 core segments:

Many organizations today are investing in marketing automation.  The reasons for this are simple.  Marketing automation is a technology that enables marketers to reach their audience on multiple channels in a more personalized, targeted manner.  It automates repetitive, time consuming tasks.  Marketing automation also allows marketers to track the effectiveness of their campaigns and to track where leads are on the buyer's journey through lead scoring.  Essentially, marketing automation makes your marketing efforts more effective while saving you time and resources.  So it's no wonder that marketers are continuing to invest in this technology.  As marketing automation continues to evolve, what does the future hold?  We have found an article, written by Charm Bianchini at Marketo, that lists 7 predictions about the future of marketing automation.

If you have made the decision to purchase a marketing automation system, there are a few things to consider first.  When it comes to marketing automation, taking some time before hand to understand what you need to plan for and expect from the implementation of your new system may save you pain down the road.  There are some questions worth considering when choosing a marketing automation system.  What do you want your system to achieve for you?  What platforms or tools do you wish to integrate with your new system?  What level of vendor support will you need to get up and running?  And for how long?  Gillian Wildfire at Act-On has written an article about the four steps you should take when considering marketing automation solutions.  Taking these four steps first will provide you with the information you need in order to ensure success with your new system.