Marketing automation, or the field that enables finding prospective buyers and engaging them to become loyal customers, is one area that is yet to be explored to its full potential. Just two years ago, the adoption rate of marketing automation systems was low – under 10% among B2B organizations. But the potential for growth in the field is huge. Leading B2B research firm, SiriusDecisions, predicts that by 2015 50% of companies will embrace the toolset as part of their core marketing infrastructure.
How can companies benefit from marketing automation? Is the investment worth it? Consider these facts:
- The practice of marketing automation yields a 417% increase in revenues
- Businesses who use marketing automation to nurture prospects see a 451% increase in qualified leads
- In turn, nurtured leads make 47% larger purchases than non-nurtured leads
Source: http://www.comparebusinessproducts.com/content/assets/40/fyi/FOCUS-MARKETINGAUTO.png
To date, the field of marketing automation is relatively poorly understood. To address this, we discussed the state of marketing automation with nine leading thinkers in the space, including leaders from top marketing automation providers such as Eloqua and Marketo, strategists from consulting firms including Jonathan Block and Jay Famico of SiriusDecisions, David Raab of Raab Associates, and Marshall Lager of Third Idea Consulting, and front-line CTOs like Mark Lazen of Social Media Today. Their expertise is showcased in our newest white paper, 52 Secrets to Marketing Automation Success.
They provided insights across five key areas:
- The Current State of Marketing Automation
- The Impact of Social Media Platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook on Marketing Automation
- The Importance of Integrating Social Data with Traditional Prospect Data Reconciling Big Data, Social Data, and Customer Data
- Advances in Targeting and Outreach Thanks to (Big) Social Data
- Predictions for Marketing Automation in 2013
If there was one resounding prediction for the months to come, all experts agree that marketing automation will become more main stream, as SMBs realize the potential of harnessing new potential customers. They also suggest as more marketers adopt the technology, refinements will be made to the tools’ usability.
As businesses get more competitive, marketers will rely on tools to help capture increased revenue opportunities, both from recruiting new customers and better serving current customers. To read the full insights from the experts, download our free white paper, 52 Secrets to Marketing Automation Success.
Marketers, do you currently use a marketing automation system? Have you seen increased revenue as a result? Let us know at @awarenessinc.
Mike Lewis
@bostonmike
