Now that you’ve selected your marketing automation platform (MAP), it is time to implement. Marketing automation is not a one size fits all approach and each implementation must be done to align with the current business systems and processes currently in place. Your marketing automation journey can be broken down into these four areas: Evaluation and selection, Demand Generation Strategy , Optimization, and Implementation of the system.
What is your Demand Generation Strategy?
Knowing your Demand Generation Strategy will help you to plan for the road ahead. Think about building a house…you want a solid foundation. Whether you are building a country ranch or a high rise, the foundation needs to be strong and secure. The same applies to your implementation. If you know that you are going to be working with custom objects within your customer resource management (CRM), you need to make sure you are implementing your MAP to support custom objects. These are the types of questions you must ask as you begin your implementation.
All good Demand Generation Strategies start with your buyers, not with technology (including marketing automation.) Understanding your buyers purchase process, developing the content for each stage of their buying journey and then establishing a qualification model that aligns to their buying process is key. It is then you can begin to determine the best way to implement so that the technology can enable the strategy:
- Will you sync all leads over to your CRM or wait until they have reached a desired lead qualification stage?
- Will other systems be integrated into your MAP? Perhaps a webinar or data enrichment vendor?
- How will you handle contacts that come into your Demand Generation program that do not fit your ideal buyer persona?
Integrated technologies allow you to enhance your Demand Generation Strategy. Before connecting third party technologies ensure you have a clear understanding of where these technologies sit in your Demand Generation Strategy, how they will be used and what you plan on achieving.
How to Have a Successful Marketing Automation Implementation
