Marketing Automation - The Next Logical Step to PPC and SEO.

Last time I spoke about one of the main objections that I hear around marketing automation is that people are already using Google Analytics, the next most common objection that I come across is that people are already spending large amounts of money on SEO and PPC.

Of course there are benefits to PPC and SEO and I would never dream of telling a prospect to stop their activities in these areas, however what I would say is that marketing automation is the next logical step on from these. 

SEO and PPC drive large amounts of visitors to a company’s website and marketing automation gives companies the visibility of WHO those people are once they are there and when they return. What is the point in spending all of this money on driving people to your website if you have no idea who they are once they are there? Surely anything that enhances the value of SEO and PPC would be of benefit to a business?

Essentially Marketing Automation provides your organisation with proof of your SEO and PPC ROI.

Planning for the Future

The confidence of business was restored a little this week with George Osborne’s budget - the Telegraph reported that the new measures will encourage investment and boost the amount of funds for companies keen to capitalise on growth opportunities.

This boost should pave the way for further development and success, and for sales and marketing it means making the most of the opportunities being opened up.

By integrating lead generation technology into your plans, business can not only improve the understanding it has about the behaviour of its customers, but it can also quickly respond to their needs. This information allows organisations to improve their targeting, conversions, and ultimately ROI.

As the days of Labour rule have vanished so has email blasting. Sales and marketing needs to understand its online customer is vital to the company’s sustained growth - from responses to e-letters and social media activity, businesses can develop a digital fingerprint to tailor its communication and focus on hot prospects.

Find out how lead generation technology needs to be on every company’s budget this financial year.

An Irritating Advert? Surely not…

Marketing magazine’s poll of the most irritating adverts of 2010 is out. Revealed as the most annoying is the GoCompare advert, with other companies in the top 20 including Webuyanycar and Injurylawyers4U.

Depending on the different marketing strategies, companies may see this as a positive - they’ve achieved the brand awareness they crave. It’s all about tailoring the communication to achieve ROI – but be wary of turning off potential customers.

While advertising can be a very effective tool, there are now many different channels to reach your customer in both B2C and B2B marketing – depending on what you want to achieve, and most importantly your budget.

Knowing your customer and what they are interested in is paramount to sales success, having that knowledge will ultimately win companies more business. A marketing automation technology will be able to identify, track and nurture customers, building stronger relationships and strengthening the brand.

Why not tell us which is your most annoying advert?

Getting to Grips with Multi-Channel Marketing

The number of marketing channels continues to grow, meaning marketers have to become adept at co-ordinating, and juggling, a mix of activities - from direct marketing to pay-per-click, social media, email and more.

Companies big and small are quickly moving to a multi-channel approach, but those that are seeing a real improvement in their ROI are using the latest technology to co-ordinate their campaigns and maximise the impact of the work they do. Only by brining everything together and gaining insight into what works and when, can each channel be developed to reinforce the others, improving the success of the overall marketing activity.

Technology such as Profunnel’s demand generation platform delivers incredible visibility over campaigns, together with the ability to enhance both tactical and strategic marketing activity. By integrating with the CRM system it means companies can create, control and manage campaigns across key media, while giving insight into why, when and how your customers are most likely to buy.

For more information on multi-channel marketing click here

Taking Advantage of Social Media

The growth of social media in recent years has been phenomenal, not only for individuals but also for companies and brands. So how can companies take full advantage of this opportunity to develop their business?

Firstly plan your social media activity as part of the overall company marketing strategy, taking in appropriate channels such as blogs, Facebook and Twitter. Once you become actively involved in social media you’ll need to track and respond to numerous tweets and posts. This can be very time consuming for companies, but it’s vital to maximise the impact. Fortunately there are now social media tagging and tracking solutions that make the process a lot easier.

By allowing these software solutions to analyse your social media activity, companies can quickly respond to potential interest, helping develop business and increase sales. Any leads generated can be tracked and monitored, creating demonstrable ROI on your social media activities and supporting future planning.

Click here for more information on social media tracking

There's no business like new business

The Bank of England has reported that business lending contracted for the fifth month running in July - so how can organisations help themselves grow in the current economic climate? The key lies in generating a strong stream of new business.

In a tough market it’s not enough for companies to rely on existing clients - bringing in new business and revenue streams is essential to success. But how do you do this effectively and achieve a positive return on your sales investment?

It’s all about creating warm prospects, rather than cold calling to win business. Nurturing potential new clients – building your understanding of their motivations, touchpoints, timelines and more - so that you can communicate with them effectively at the right time, when they are ready to buy.

Marketing automation can achieve this, with technology that helps build customer relationships, and demonstrates clear ROI, helping companies grow through new business wins.