VIDEO: Marketing Automation Explained: B2B Tech Topics

As businesses gain access to more customer information, and consumers themselves have multiple options for services or products, marketing strategies have become more complex.Ultimately all strategies service the bottom line: producing revenue for your organization. For many organizations, this means producing a steady stream of leads — consumers who have indicated an interest in your product or service. Marketing automation software (sometimes referred to as lead generation software) is one of the best solutions to this puzzle.

Sales + Marketing Collaboration between sales and marketing is a common problem born of a disagreement about lead qualification. Marketing automation was essentially developed as a foil for the sales professional’s platform of choice, customer relationship management software. Instead of complaining that sales is missing too many opportunities, marketers can take lead management into their own hands and nurture prospects that sales can’t reach. The end result of this collaboration should be to help sales follow up with the right leads at the right time — a critical process enabled by the work of marketing.

Email Drip Campaigns Drip campaigns are the primary mechanism MAPs use to nurture leads. Most programs will come stock with powerful segmentation capabilities, which enable marketers to divide their database of leads by channel, position in the sales funnel, industry, or other important distinction. Landing Pages Landing pages are an essential complement to any email strategy, because they invite your prospects to confirm their interest in your product or service.

By trading their contact or company for educational content, consumers send a clear signal that a certain area interests them. Instead of being lost in the void, these prospects have received targeted, relevant communications and decided to download another piece of content, which often indicates buying intent. This is the point where marketing could flag sales to reach out and initiative a conversation that results in a purchase. Personalization and A/B Testing Personalizing across your campaigns should only come after you’ve properly segmented your market.

In addition to personalization, A/B testing is another tool included in most MAPs that can help marketers offer more relevant communications on a large scale. The premise of A/B testing is exactly as it sounds: create two versions of the same piece of marketing (landing page, email, display ad, etc.) and test the results with a segment of your audience. To find out more about marketing automation or for a personalized product recommendation, check out our product selection tool, buyers, guide, or the full article here. This video describes how to use marketing automation as lead generation software.