According to salesforce.com, Marketing Automation is “technology that allows marketing and sales departments to create, deploy, and automate online marketing campaigns and sales activities that increase revenue and maximize efficiency.”

They had us at “increase revenue.”

But what does this really mean? Jill Fratianne, Partner Channel Manager at Hubspot, offers another definition. Marketing Automation is simply:

            • Delivering the right content

            • To the right people

            • At the right time

Unlike traditional outbound marketing (TV, radio and print) that pushes messages out to the public, inbound marketing attracts viewers by offering something those viewers want. And that’s “the right content.”

The goal of inbound marketing is to turn strangers into visitors, then into leads, then into customers, and ultimately, promoters of your product or service. And that goal is quite achievable with the right content and the right follow-up. Did you know that relevant emails drive 18 times more revenue than broadcast emails? When you communicate with people who already seek your content, you’ve won half the battle.

For instance, pair your blog with SEO and your content gets found easier.

Pair email messaging with your contact list to improve click-through rates.

And pairing social media with your contact list results in integrated profiles that go deeper. The list goes on.

Marketing Automation also enables Sales and Marketing to work efficiently as a team. Imagine that. Marketing can better fill the pipeline with qualified leads and, in turn, Sales is better positioned to convert leads into customers. It’s a synergy that Hubspot calls “Smarketing.”

So, what else is so special about Marketing Automation? Well, The Annuitas Group notes that businesses that use Marketing Automation to nurture prospects experience a 451% increase in qualified leads.

Yes, 451%. That’s not a typo.

We’re believers in Marketing Automation because we’ve seen firsthand how effective it can be. If you’d like us to show you how we can achieve the same for your business, contact tim@cpvinc.com. 

Watch Jill Fratianne speak about this topic at CPV’s Breakfast Breakthrough.