Friday 21 April 2017

Buying a Marketing Automation Software? Here Are 5 Factors to Consider


Marketing Automation is the use of software and web based services to perform repetitive marketing tasks that were earlier performed manually. Marketing automation, not only helps eliminate the monotony and make the marketing process more easy, but it also helps streamline. Not every marketing management software, however, is the same, which is why it is important that you know the finer lines before making a marketing automation tool buying decision. To help, the blog post discusses five factors that can help you make an informed decision.

1. Features

One of the most important things to consider is the features of a marketing management software. Choose a feature-rich software that is not only simple to use and administer, but also helps you scale your marketing needs. Keep in mind that your goal is to streamline the marketing processes and efficiently utilize the marketing resources. Look for basic features such as advertising management, planning and budgeting, campaign management, vendor management and activity management.

2. Integration Capabilities

If your business is to establish a cohesive marketing and sales process, you need to factor integration capabilities when choosing for a marketing automation tool. Most marketing automation solutions offer a seamless integration with CRM, other third party tools and even social platforms. Buying a marketing automation tool that integrates with your CRM not only helps in streamlining lead management, but also helps make sure that the existing workflows are not disrupted.

3. Marketing Needs

Every business is different from the other in some or other aspect, and so are their expectations from a marketing automation tool.  Though marketing automation tools on the market offer a few similar and basic features, make sure they are aligned to the needs of your marketing department. For that to happen, you need to adapt a data-driven approach to assess whether a marketing automation tool can streamline existing processes and practices.

4. Deployment and Transition Time

Though a marketing automation software simplifies and streamlines the existing processes, the transition requires time and can’t happen overnight. Deployment and transition time also play an essential role in deciding whether the software can deliver up to your expectations during the expected timelines. Choose a marketing automation tool that takes little time and technical expertise to setup or better, go for a software that can be deployed within seconds to use.

5. Pricing

Though you can easily get entry-level packages when purchasing a marketing management module; however, consider your current and projected marketing needs when choosing. Remember that your business will scale and making shifts to marketing automation can be challenging and costly. Choose a subscription plan depending on the number of users, number of contacts and number of domains you want to track to ensure the software doesn’t become an overhead.

Wrapping Up

After you buy a marketing automation tool, the job is only half done. The next challenge is to educate your employees about the importance of automation, especially the ones with little to no technical background who will be directly using the software. Conduct regular training sessions across departments that would help in getting them accustomed to the new software. After a period of training, get started and soon you will observe a sizable improvement in productivity and ROI.