Most companies are not taking full advantage of their marketing automation platform. While this is a commonly known fact, we’ve discovered at Prove that the best uses aren’t what you’d expect to find online.
Best Practice #1 – You Can’t Automate A Process That Doesn’t Exist—Always Map Your Lead Flow
All together now: “Yes of course!” But we say it because 80% of Fortune 500 companies are not doing it, even if they think they are. This is one of the main reasons why projects get delayed, run out of budget, see a drop in profitability, etc.
You need to develop efficient process schematics that integrate connected platforms and marketing campaign requirements. This mapping will simplify the initial construction of processes and provide a reference for future updates and edits.
Best Practice #2 – Keep Your Platform Understandable And Well Organized
Create a nomenclature that your entire organization will understand and be able to reference. To facilitate identification of campaign elements, nomenclature for each program, campaign, and asset should be concise and adhere to a logical hierarchy. Following a logical nomenclature structure from the beginning will save an incredible amount of time down the road.
Best Practice #3 – Unleash the Full Potential of Automated Actions at Each Step of Your Marketing Campaign
Create automated programs that unleash powerful automation features of your platform to eliminate human error and reduce labor. Here are several types of automation programs that can be enabled for your organization:
Trigger assets at the correct time (customer segment behavior)
Unleash a powerful nurturing campaign
Automatically export and import data for the team across the organization’s platforms (CRM, ERP, etc.)
Automatically create and send reports to various stakeholders within the organization
Best Practice #4 – Incorporate Learning Opportunities at Every Stage
Learnings and insights from your contacts are everywhere: after a marketing campaign/project and during it. Create A/B tests for each of your assets, gather customer and lead data that you can use and integrate in your next marketing campaigns. This is the path toward digital success!
Best Practice #5 – Enhance Automated Reporting Capabilities to Every Actor Within Your Organization!
Marketing automation platforms have the capacity of generating automated reports that every member within your organization can take action from. Be sure to set up your reports based on what each stakeholder needs to see and report on.
Best Practice #6 – Design Creative that Converts
Don’t feel you need to stick with the marketing automation platform’s built-in design tool to create your campaign assets. Infusing enhanced UX and creative will increase the number of conversions and the overall success of marketing campaigns.
Best Practice #7 – Nurture is a Framework for Your Content, Not a Linear Story With a Fixed Plot
Nurture frameworks must deliver targeted, relevant content when it counts. Frameworks must account for a precise understanding of the prospects’ buying cycle. Creating nurture programs for each buyer persona will enhance an additional customization that creates a more effective system that is responsive to customer needs.
Best Practice #8 – Always Use the Deliverability Circle—Understand Email Reputation
The bedrock of successful company compliancy is your email reputation. Deliverability and email reputation are tied together based on factors that must be controlled by the sender.
Best Practice #9 – Configure and Implement your Automation Platform for Longevity
Initial setup must compensate for existing and future needs, especially in regard to integration with 3rd party API’s and systems.
Best Practices #10 – Hire people with Experience to Help You
Yes, running big marketing campaigns and implementing a Marketing Automation tool within an organization is complex. Everyone who tells you otherwise is lying!
Be sure to be surrounded by experts that have experience and can help you create a seamless process to meet your company goals via your Marketing Automation platform.
Vincent Cevalte, Senior Digital Account Manager, Prove