More often than not, while purchasing marketing automation systems businesses tend to focus on brand names and impressive features. Of course, industry reputation and features matter. But, what matters more is the particular requirements of your business!
Now, most marketing automation systems come with a set of features that you can use to create online marketing materials, workflows and reports. But, one size fits it all approach simply does not work here! If you are running a mid-size business, then chances are your requirement will vary widely from that of a large-scale business as well as a small business.
So, how to select a marketing automation system for a mid-size business? Here are some tips!
As a mid-size company, you probably have a small 2-3-person marketing team whose hands are almost always full.
You are running a tight ship here and spearing hours after hours of training is simply not possible for you. Thus, one of the main features that you should look for is the simplicity of the entire system. The simpler it is the better for your team!
Almost all marketing automation systems offer some form of free-trial or demonstrations. If your team is having difficulty using or understanding it during that period, the system (no matter how great it is) is not for you.
As a mid-size business, you should look for a simple marketing automation system that is super-easy to use.
Any marketing automation system works best when seamlessly integrated with your CRM. So, if you already have a CRM system in place, make sure that the system you are going for integrates well with it. Here, ‘integrates well’ is the focal point! It is essential to check out whether CRM integrations would be super-smooth before you invest in any system. Without it, you would end up paying for a system which will make life harder for your marketing team.
And, in case you don’t yet have a CRM in place, the wisest thing to do is to go for a provider that either offers CRM functionalities as well or offers a simple CRM system that integrates seamlessly with the marketing automation system.
If you are looking at tracking the success of your online marketing campaigns, mapping and understanding your customers’ journey is crucial. Are they coming to your landing pages through the social media posts? What is the conversion rate of the customers you received from a particular PPC campaign? What kind of response your e-mail campaigns are receiving? These are the questions you need answers for to understand what works for your business and what does not.
To do this successfully, you need a marketing automation system that has powerful tracking functionalities for mapping the entire customer journey.
Who does not want an automation system rich in functionalities! But, more is definitely not merrier here, not if you are running a mid-size business.
Functionalities that you don’t need will only make the system more complicated and hamper its usability. The best way out is to look for a system with basic functions. Here’s a list of basic functions that you as a mid-size business should look for in your marketing automation system.
While you may look for other functionalities based on your requirements, these are the basic ones that you can never do without.
No matter what you have read or heard about it, implementing a marketing automation system will not magically help you exceed all your marketing goals. A marketing automation system when chosen wisely and implemented properly, will organize your marketing efforts, help your run online marketing campaigns, track performance and help you make better decisions based on in-depth intelligence.