Is your marketing automation solution offering you a good ROI?

Why settle for less?

It has been almost a decade since ‘marketing automation’ came into existence. So if you are one who has opted for a particular marketing solution, perhaps it is time to ask yourself if your chosen automation tool has brought in:

• an increase in revenue?
• cost reductions?
• enhanced CRM?

If not, then it is time to reconsider your automated marketing solutions.

A 2009 Forrester B2B Lead Management Automation Market Overview Report states that, "Tools that monitor online activity, match visitors against commercial databases, look up their firms and roles, and help sales proactively chase buyers across the Web take priority over technology that manages demand once it comes in the door…" According to the report, your automated marketing tools need many inherent built-in functions to ensure maximum revenue returns for your enterprise. So why settle for a solution that does not give you what you need - increased ROI? Why not trade up for a tool/solution that will provide you maximum ROI?

Things to remember

Efficient marketing automation software can work wonders for your enterprise. Here is a list of things you must keep in mind before choosing your marketing automation tool. Your tool should:

• Provide real quantifiable and measurable results
• Offer actual cost savings with cost effective lead generation, higher conversion rates with lead nurturing and enhanced sales
• Offer real-time updates and incisive information on visitor intent and behavior
• Get rid of multiple systems required for lead tracking
• Facilitate different campaigns within the system like email marketing, drip marketing, etc.
• Integrate your multiple CRM systems
• Be flexible and scalable
• Improve operational efficiency
• Effectively react and respond to change
• Help in making sales/marketing campaigns be buyer-centric
• Customize content and automate the timing of marketing communication

Look before you leap

Even as studies show that 95% of prospects visiting your website are primarily there for some kind of research, as many as 70% of the same prospects will eventually buy from you or your competitors. Therefore, it is important to optimize the leads you get from your prospects, which can be done with an effective marketing automation tool. Upon accurate implementation, a truly robust marketing automation tool can ensure your enterprise of customer-centric ROI. It can also ensure that your marketing teams add to your revenue effectively. So it will help you to exercise caution before arbitrarily selecting an automated marketing tool.