He is currently Marketo Practice Lead at Perkuto, a marketing automation agency. To this I say: Think through the implications of everything marketing automation can touch. Here are my words of advice for making the most of marketing automation at a glance: Put data first Know Your systems Select integrations that help close the reporting loop on key mediums Lead Scoring: score on consumption of content Structure your campaigns to collect attribution data for ROI reports Create process visualizations Let’s look at each consideration individually… 1. Put Data First Data is the foundation upon which your CRM and marketing automation systems are built, so it is logical that you pay attention to the data that is in these systems as well as the processes and workflows that you’re building around them. Know Your Systems You might assume an Administrator knows his or her system. A typical B2B technology firm has several systems that could plug into the CRM-MAP system: 3. Create Process Visualizations…or process chart Outside of your cubicle, could anyone else understand what you have done inside the MAP? Most systems help you attribute lead data correctly to the various touches you make. Are you a marketing automation administrator? How are you integrating marketing technology and different platforms with your CRM and MAP?
This is a guest post from Josh Hill, author of the Marketing Rockstar Guides blog on marketing automation. He is currently Marketo Practice Lead at Perkuto, a marketing automation agency.
When I first joined the marketing automation world in 2010, I was excited about bringing in a more regular process for managing leads as well as more automation to handle that process. What I was not ready for was the myriad ways I could track a lead’s behavior. Marketing technology has really allowed us to go beyond web page visits and tie in other data to make closed-loop reporting systems actually “closed.”
I have enjoyed being a part of dozens of marketing automation implementations and people often ask me, “What’s the single biggest lesson for marketing operations? To this I say:
Think through the implications of everything marketing automation can touch.
Here are my words of advice for making the most of marketing automation at a glance:
- Put data first
- Know Your systems
- Select integrations that help close the reporting loop on key mediums
- Lead Scoring: score on consumption of content
- Structure your campaigns to collect attribution data for ROI reports
- Create process visualizations
Let’s look at each consideration individually…
1. Put Data First
Data is the foundation upon which your CRM and marketing automation systems are built, so it is logical that you pay attention to the data that is in these systems as well as the processes and workflows that you’re building around them. Creating a data quality report each month is a good way to highlight gaps – and successes – in your house list. To that end, have a set of data rules for your team. To help with this, I developed the Six Principles of Marketing Automation Data which you can reference. Know these principles and practice them.
2. Know Your Systems
You might assume an Administrator knows his or her system. Go beyond simply knowing Marketo or Eloqua. Know your instance inside and out. And know how it works with your CRM, your website, and your product. People look to you for solutions and you should be able to articulate one, even if you cannot implement all of it alone.
A typical B2B technology firm has several systems that could plug into the CRM-MAP system:
3. Select Integrations that Help Close the Reporting Loop
Most Marketo administrators think of integrations as an extension of the system, simply a way to pull in data automatically. The GoToWebinar integration is the most familiar one….
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