Marketing Automation in 2011

As we launch 2011 this month, there are endless articles with predictions and trends for the year and the decade.

Of course you can find opinions that support both the growth and decline of almost everything. But, there are some very consistent themes. Marketing budgets will increase but only modestly this year. A majority of companies want to increase their social media presence, but only if it can be finely measured and contribute a high ROI. The quality of prospect and customer databases is a top issue. And, although lead generation remains one of the highest priorities, the value of lead nurturing is gaining importance. Finally, more and more companies plan to use marketing automation as the glue that ties everything else together.

I believe lead nurturing powered by marketing automation should be a top priority for companies in 2011. And here are a few reasons why:

1. Integrated marketing automation and CRM systems change how marketing and sales work together to close business. It facilitates a collaborative effort to define leads; and then a process for qualifying, nurturing and routing qualified leads.
2. As more companies use social media, search engine optimization and other inbound programs to drive leads, marketing automation will be the key tool to manage the programs, target prospects and measure results.
3. Marketers are challenged to measure not only new leads generated, but all mid funnel results. Conversion metrics at every step of the sales process will quickly become the standard way of measuring marketing.
4. Marketing automation makes it possible to reinvigorate inactive leads using an existing asset, the leads database. A recent program was able to stimulate scheduled sales appointments with 6.7% of a client’s stalled leads (no activity for 3-5 month). Companies that are not recycling leads are wasting marketing dollars.
5. Marketing automation provides feedback on both buyer behavior and program results. However, most reports stop after summarizing what has happened in the past. This year more companies will take advantage of the power of analytics to define what works, what doesn’t and what actions need to be taken as a result. Testing, predicting and adjusting will be a part of all programs in 2011.

I do hope you’ll join us and our featured speaker, Kevin Joyce, Chief Marketing Officer, Market2Lead, for our upcoming webinar on marketing automation. He will share his insights on how B2B marketing is evolving this year and beyond and the role marketing automation will play in those changes. I will share a very detailed case study of one of our clients who has developed an extraordinary lead nurturing process and set of programs.

Susan Linman
Founder and President
Dunthorpe Marketing Group