The Marketing Automation Implementation in a company first of all requires thorough preparation. Without it, you can quickly run into difficulties that can mess up your operations and, more importantly, your desired goals. For this reason, you should go through these steps for the implementation to ensure that your company is ready for the Marketing Automation optimally prepared is.
All subdivisions of the company must be included
For the marketing automation implementation to succeed and, above all, for the new system to be used profitably, all the departments and teams affected by the new implementation are coordinated with each other. Marketing, sales and the IT department, among others, must be involved in the entire process in any case. Depending on the type of goods or services, however, customer service and other areas should also be involved in this process.
In the process, all departments and teams must define the individual requirements for the new tool so that, based on the existing necessities, a suitable solution can be sought. Among other things, the transitions between the departments are important. For example, marketing and sales must agree on a point at which a lead can be classified as ready to be handed over from marketing to sales.
Prepare and set up technical interfaces
While many solutions in the area of marketing automation provide All-in-one featuresbut many companies do not want to or cannot do without the software they have been using up to now.
Therefore, marketing automation software must be selected not only in terms of its performance, but also in terms of its interfaces.
In addition, the company must work with its own IT department to ensure that its own programs are equipped with the appropriate interfaces. If this is already done in advance, the implementation can be significantly run more easily and smoothlyThe new software is now ready for use, since the corresponding interfaces only have to be connected and set up. The data traffic between the traditional and the new software can thus succeed smoothly from the implementation.
This is especially true for the connection of marketing automation to currently already existing CRM- and ERP systems. Because the data records they contain should be made available to Marketing Automation available, so that these address the customers optimally and provide them with the appropriate content.
Does an effective lead management strategy exist within the company?
Marketing automation optimally simplifies the Lead Management sustainable. However, this also means that you need to develop a well thought-out and, above all, scalable management strategy according to which the new marketing can work in a targeted manner. Among other things, this may mean that you have to familiarize yourself extensively in advance with the different Buyers Persona and also the Precisely plan the customer journey. This allows you to align individual lead management decisions with this strategy, making marketing automation much more efficient.
Optimize the definition of the customer journey
For efficient marketing automation to take place, it must of course be adapted to the customer journey. Therefore, you should first check and update the customer journey map, if available. Do you not yet work with Customer Journeys, be sure to create marketing automation with the various business units before implementing it.
Through the marketing automation software, you then have the opportunity, Provide customers with the best possible and individualized content at every touchpoint with the company. It is therefore important to take a closer look at your own customer journey and optimize it. Try to capture all possible contact points and incorporate the possibilities of marketing automation.
The more thoroughly you prepare this before implementing the solution, the higher the increase in efficiency of the system after implementation.
Designing an optimized content marketing strategy
Similar to lead management, the Content Marketing be adapted to the new situation. As a company, you must develop a strategy together with the responsible departments that clearly defines which content is played out to which customers on which occasions. This is important so that the customers are automatically addressed by the software with the appropriate and, above all, individual content can. The required content does not necessarily have to be available yet, but should in any case already be planned in order to have it created in the next step.
Consider suitable content marketing structures which fit the implementation of a marketing automation and which can be implemented by it particularly well and efficiently.
This usually requires a little getting used to, since thanks to the new technology it is possible to react much faster to reactions and interactions of the customer or the prospect. The previous limitations due to the number of employees and due to the workflow are eliminated by marketing automation in many areas.
Optimize the workflow through tagging
Since many departments are involved in marketing automation and have to mesh with each other in their work, processes quickly become overloaded and confusing. Before the implementation and use of the software, it is therefore necessary to optimally create common conventionsto which all departments adhere equally. By tagging operations and processes with unique names and a clear assignment to department, campaign and area Keep the overview faster after the implementationMarketing automation can handle many of these processes in a much shorter period of time.
Thus, the control of subsequent campaigns through marketing automation succeeds sustainably and effectively without important key figures falling out of sight or campaigns being inadequately served.
Choosing the right software
Probably the most important step for marketing automation implementation is the Selection of the appropriate software. There is an enormous number of offers on the market, which could not be more different. From simple marketing automation to all-in-one solutions for specific industries, you have a free choice. It is important that the software not only covers the current needs of your company, but the software can grow together with your company.
If you set limits now, in the worst case you can hinder your own growth or are forced to upgrade to new software or a new platform in a few years. Neither of these is sensible and purposeful, so it is important to choose software whose scope of services and capabilities can optimally cover future needs. This way, your company is optimally prepared for the future and can face the new challenges and opportunities.
