[Posted by Carlos Hidalgo
CEO, The Annuitas Group]

Marketing Automation continues to be the most talked about technology in the B2B market. A recent Gartner survey revealed that within the CRM market, which is expected to pass $4Billion in 2014, marketing automation has the strongest growth.

More and more companies are looking to adopt automation in an effort to make their marketing departments more effective in managing buyer engagement.   However, while more companies are making the move to automation, many are realizing that there is more to automation success than just the technology.

While the market is continuing to grow, most estimates have the adoption rates at less than 20%. However the adoption rate is projected to hit 50% by the year 2015, meaning that over the coming years, plenty of companies will be sifting through the various vendors to determine what solution fits best.

For many marketers, this foray into the purchasing of technology is unchartered territory.  So, it’s vital that they understand what they’ll need in order to make their technology investment successful.  With this in mind, here are five things marketers should consider before purchasing marketing automation.

1.  Consider the Current State of Your Lead Management Process

There has been considerable research into the value of process as it relates to marketing automation.  In its most recent report, MarketScope for CRM Lead Management, Gartner states the following: “Improving lead management processes will increase revenue 5% to 10% through better qualification, prioritization, distribution, augmentation, allocation, tracking and closing of leads from multiple lead-generation sources.”

SiriusDecisions also showed in its Measuring the ROI of Marketing Automation report that companies that adopt automation and have average process will achieve a 417% revenue increase.

While these numbers are compelling, other statistics show that many organizations have not achieved a level of process maturity and therefore are not getting the full value from their automation investments.

Before the purchase of automation, organizations need to consider analyzing and developing a Lead Management Process Framework^SM that will enable them to get the maximum return from their investment.  This framework is comprised of the following process areas:

- Data Management

- Lead Planning

- Lead Routing

- Lead Qualification

- Lead Nurturing

- Content Process Development

- Metrics

Once these process areas are developed fully, automation will then enable them.  Conversely, not having these processes in place before purchase leaves you to automate very little.

2.  Consider the Current Skill Set of Your People

Many automation vendors have gone to market with an “ease of use” message. Some have even gone to the extent of giving a limited version of their solution away for free. The implication is that using marketing automation is extremely easy.  While the solutions may be easy to operate, it cannot be assumed that applying automation to the new way of B2B marketing is easy.

In his interview with The Annuitas Group, Steve Gershik, CEO of 28Marketing stated the following, “Honestly, marketing automation is hard to adopt.  Adoption rates are going to remain relatively stable until we see greater uptake in building the kind of competencies in-house to make marketing departments successful post-deployment.  Otherwise, people revert back to old ways of doing things.”

Not having the right people can limit the success you will have with your automation platform. A study conducted in 2010 by Frost & Sullivan and Bulldog Solutions showed that of 250 respondents, 109 (44%) said that not having the right people was a roadblock to their automation success.

Before you purchase automation, look to ensure your people have an understanding of the new B2B buyer, a willingness to work with sales, a process based approach to their marketing, a focus on revenue as an outcome, and that they know the place technology will play in reaching the buyer.  In order to get the most from the technology, it takes people with the right skills.

3. Consider Your Current Content Framework

In order to engage the more connected buyer of today, it is imperative that you have relevant content that will foster dialogue along each stage of the buying cycle.  In a discussion with one automation owner, he confessed to me that his solution was nothing more than a “spam cannon.”  He went on to explain that they were sending lots of emails but they had no content strategy or framework.  Consequently, their results were falling quite flat.

Before making the plunge into automation, develop your buyer personas (or ideal customer profiles), document the typical buyer’s journey and then develop an offer map that corresponds to the journey and the personas.   As with most things in marketing, it’s vital that you test the response to determine relevance and engagement.  Having a solid content framework will enable you to make adjustments quickly and get more value from your automation solution.

4.  Determine Your Overall Goals & Objectives

One of the many changes that has occurred in this new era of B2B Marketing is a shift from art to science.  B2B marketers are no longer looked to as the team that only provides nice looking brochures, logos and presentations.  Organizations are looking to their marketing teams to help drive revenue.  Yet, too many marketing departments have not yet adopted this frame of mind when looking into marketing automation.

Before you purchase automation, be sure to determine the goals and objectives of marketing from a revenue perspective.  How many qualified leads will marketing produce?  How much revenue will marketing look to drive in terms of these qualified leads?  What is the expected ROI, overall and from each campaign?  All of these questions should be answered before automation is implemented.   Once the implementation occurs, use the solution along with your CRM reporting to track, benchmark and report on these all-important metrics.

5.  Consider Your Marketing Maturity

There are more than 100 marketing automation solutions available on the market today. There’s something for everyone. It’s not “one size fits all.”  So, knowing where you are on the marketing maturity curve will help you select the right automation platform.

As an example, I spoke with one VP from a $300 million company.  His company’s size would seem to dictate their need for a large enterprise scale platform.  Yet as we spoke, he informed me that they had just one year of CRM under their belts, had no email or online marketing program, and only two people in their marketing department.  Their marketing maturity was very low.  An enterprise solution would have been overwhelming for them. This realization instantly narrowed their field of vendors.

As you consider an automation platform, take a look at the maturity of your organization. And be honest about it. Take an objective approach to determine what will get the job done.  Feature “bells and whistles” do not mean much if they are not being used.

There are a lot of considerations when it comes to selecting the right Marketing Automation solution.  Considering these five as a start will get you on your way to obtaining a better overall return on your automation investment.