It amazes me that as marketers, we’re typically not only the best curators of filters, buzzwords and bloated vernacular (pun intended), but also the most likely to buy into the very buzz we create. For example… Snackable Content Storytelling sMarketing Contentification Marketing Automation Which of these are real and lasting? And which will put a big, fat filter on your budget? For now, we’ll focus on one: marketing automation. And, more specifically, “through partner” marketing automation (TPMA). Data: The “Anti-Filter” I’ll start by saying this: when done properly, marketing automation can be a powerful lead-generating, sales-boosting super tool. In fact, B2B marketers who implement marketing automation software increase their sales pipeline contribution by an average of 10% ( Forrester Research, 2015). And nurtured leads produce, on average, a 20% increase in sales opportunities versus non-nurtured leads (DemandGen Report). BUT… 85% of B2B marketers using a marketing automation platform feel that they’re not using it to its full potential. (SiriusDecisions) Nearly one in four respondents found marketing automation systems too complex to be used effectively. (B2B Online) 64% of B2B marketers have no formal process to manage their marketing automation. (Fathom) And it’s that last two statistic that marketers, and channel marketers in particular, need to worry about the most. If direct marketers are still struggling to implement marketing automation for their own organizations using best-of-breed solutions, how on earth can you expect to implement a solution for dozens of partners or resellers using a ho-hum solution with a few employees…
Read More: Marketing Automation: #NoFilter
