The State Of Marketing Automation: Show Don't Tell

Here’s another post in our continuing series on marketing automation platforms. We’ve already talked about how the rate at which vendors are adding functionality is increasing, even though to a certain extent the technology has become commoditized, and that services and the depth of best practices knowledge has become a more telling differentiator. One area that is also changing is that increasingly marketers understand the importance of process optimization and skills. It wasn’t too long ago that most vendors’ functionality outstripped the skills and process capabilities of marketing organizations. But concepts like lead scoring and lead nurturing that were foreign just a short time ago are now critical items for most marketers.

All of this has led to a changing tide in the vendor evaluation process. As happens in almost any technology market, customers report with increasing frequency about their inability to differentiate between vendors, particularly when it comes to functionality. Many vendors claim “we do lead scoring better than vendor x” and “our ability to enable you to do effective lead nurturing is more robust than vendor y,” but can a potential customer tell the difference? In response, many buyers are now asking for proof: “show me how your lead scoring is better than vendor x” and “demonstrate how your lead nurturing functionality is more robust than vendor y.”

The answer to these questions is a clear demonstration of functional differences, which points to better sales enablement rather than simply providing the buyer with more references. These are marketers that are being sold to and they know they will be pointed in the direction of a reference that emphasizes the positives because they use the same tactic as well.

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Comments

Beyond the Tick-Box

It's a great point that as a buyer one must dig in beyond flashy demos and sales claims. That I definitley agree with (I'm with Eloqua, a marketing automation vendor). The other area to dig into, however, is how the concepts being discussed will actually change your business, and what else is necessary for success, as that is where there are significant differences between vendors.

As an example, if you look at lead scoring, as you mention in the post, being able to score leads is definitely important, but only if one is able to use those scores to truly align marketing with your sales team. To do this, you need to take the concept "beyond the tickbox" that all vendors claim "yes we have lead scoring".

This means a variety of capabilities are needed - being able to create leads and tasks for sales, being able to claw back leads that are not followed up, distribution rules for a broad sales team, overlays for named account structures, etc.

The best approach is to find the areas that are important to you in the world of marketing automation, and spend some time learning about how that area evolves, based on actual client experiences. Then, you have the right questions to ask each marketing automation vendor when you are getting them to show you how their solution would drive success in your business.

Posted By: Steven Woods(visitor). [2009-10-13 04:33:17] View Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Permalink | Top

Good comments everyone

Thanks to everyone who has commented on this topic. As more vendors enter this space potential customers need more tools to help them make the best choice.

Posted By: Jonathan Block. [2009-10-02 09:50:03] View Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Permalink | Top

Marketing Automation Differences a win for customers

I completely understand the prospect perspective that the vendors seem more alike than they do different. I have been fortunate enough to utilize 4 different systems over the past 4 years and I can assure you that although the marketing pitches may sound alike, the marketing usage and daily experience is radically different. I believe this is readily apparent to anyone who uses 2 or more of these systems for a few days. The real question for potential buyers is how do they go beyond the slideware and snazzy demos and find the product that in practice will be a best fit with their business and their team. One size does not fit all! I suggest some of the following:

Devise your own demo including segmenting a list, building a program, creating a nurture campaign and ask the vendor to act like a marketing manager and execute on the spot

Spend a few hours shadowing a user

Create your monthly or quarterly dashboard of reports you want to see, such as net new leads, Sirius Decisions waterfall, marketing influence on the funnel, and ask the vendor to show how this report would be created monthly

Bottom line, don't be passive and accept verbatim the materials the vendors offer. Define your own criteria based on how the product will be used, and demand to see it in action doing the things you will use it for every day.
-Kevin

Posted By: Kevin Joyce, Market2Lead(visitor). [2009-09-29 10:03:58] View Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Permalink | Top

Comparing Vendors

I fully agree that buyers must dig into the functional details to distinguish between products. But remember that even honest salespeople won't necessarily have correct or current information about other products. So it's okay to ask for a comparison but be sure to verify everything you're told.

Posted By: david raab(visitor). [2009-09-25 14:37:11] View Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Permalink | Top

Good point

We agree. Marketing has become more sophisticated and that’s a good thing because it’s driving to better results. Ultimately, the proof is in the pudding and (as you point out) how Marketing enables Sales. That’s why at Genius.com we’ve designed a marketing automation solution where ease of use and real-time delivery of prospect info to BOTH marketing and sales are paramount. We also realize that these things do not happen magically and have created world-class support and services teams to make it all work as quickly and simply as possible. We invite anyone to test drive our product to see how we stack up.

Posted By: Parker Trewin(visitor). [2009-09-25 14:06:49] View Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Permalink | Top

History
[Comments Text] | [Top of Page] | [Up One Level]

     Beyond the Tick-Box [2009-10-13 : by Steven Woods]
     Good comments everyone [2009-10-02 : by Jonathan Block]
     Marketing Automation Differences a win for customers [2009-09-29 : by Kevin Joyce, Market2Lead]
     Comparing Vendors [2009-09-25 : by david raab]
     Good point [2009-09-25 : by Parker Trewin]