Reframing the top 5 misunderstandings about B2B Marketing Automation

What benefits can Marketing Automation bring to the B2B sector?

Marketing Automation is a software-driven process that automates marketing campaigns and activities, from the first customer interaction to post-sales support. In the B2B sector, Marketing Automation offers a way for organizations to engage with prospects and customers in an automated, efficient manner, replacing the need for dedicated sales representatives and account managers.

This makes Marketing Automation a valuable tool for Marketing and Sales teams to attract prospects, qualify them, and guide them through the sales funnel until they are ready to purchase.

A well-crafted Marketing Automation strategy and customer journey can enhance the effectiveness and productivity of your teams, leading to more business opportunities.

 

The 5 common misconceptions about Marketing Automation in the B2B sector

 

1) Marketing Automation is difficult to set up and requires a lot of technical knowledge

Initially, Marketing Automation doesn't have to be a complicated process. It is not inherently complex on its own; however, the complexity and technicality of Marketing Automation can be determined by your organization's desired strategy and approach.

For example, automating a set of emails on a weekly basis for a select group of prospects in our database is a straightforward way to begin Marketing Automation.

Tips to reduce the complexity of a Marketing Automation project

To simplify a Marketing Automation project, we suggest adopting an agile approach. Begin by creating basic automation flows that would benefit your organization, such as an email series to persuade new dealers to sell your products after they request information via a landing page. After testing and learning from these basic journeys, you can progress by expanding and scaling. You may include more intricate conditions, triggers, and outcomes to existing journeys or construct new ones to cover additional customer journeys. For example, journeys that dynamically tailor email communications sent to each lead based on their engagement and grade score.

Instead of attempting to complete a Marketing Automation project all at once, as many organizations do, taking an agile approach mitigates risks and allows for learnings to be incorporated throughout the process.

2) Marketing automation is only used by very digitally advanced businesses

Along the same lines as the preceding myth, I believe that the approach you adopt towards Marketing Automation is crucial. Furthermore, Marketing Automation can serve as an ideal catalyst for initiating digital maturity within an organization.

Why? Because it necessitates Marketing and Sales teams to begin utilizing digital solutions and data while obtaining short-term returns from them. When you launch a marketing automation journey or campaign, the system works for your team by reaching leads that would otherwise need to be contacted manually. Consequently, your team recognizes the value of having the system perform the work for them.

Demonstrating value rather than merely discussing it is the initial step in persuading individuals that they can become a digital organization.

3) B2B relationships lose their personal touch with the implementation of Marketing Automation

Marketing Automation aims to incorporate digital, automated touchpoints to support customers in their journey when personal interaction is not available.

According to CEB research, B2B buyers are already 57% through the purchase process before engaging with sales, indicating the importance of Marketing Automation in this stage. It does not replace personal touches but allows for their integration later in the customer journey.

To maintain personalization, the content team should create materials and communications that address customer needs and avoid robotic interactions. It does not replace personal touches but allows for their integration later in the customer journey.

The content team is responsible for maximizing personalization in marketing materials and communications. The objective is not to replace or automate sales team emails with robotic messages. Instead, the focus is on providing relevant content and tailoring materials to address customer needs and resonate with them effectively.

4) Only the marketing team should use marketing automation

Marketing Automation offers systematic lead and prospect nurturing and qualification, along with various other applications. It results in higher quality leads for the sales teams and aids in converting them into customers more quickly and with greater deal values. Nurturing leads through Marketing Automation helps them gain a better understanding of your products and company, aligning their needs with what your company offers. Consequently, this reduces the time sales teams need to invest in the same process, making the overall process more efficient and effective.

Consider your own organization. Do the sales and client account management teams often express frustration about not having enough time to engage with all the leads and prospects in their pipelines?

This is commonly referred to as "the sales lead black hole." It refers to the situation where up to 70% of leads generated by marketing departments are not followed up by sales representatives due to competing demands on their time, such as nurturing existing accounts, following up on self-generated leads, and handling administrative tasks.

As a result, many of the leads generated by marketing go untouched, posing a significant challenge that Marketing Automation aims to address, directly impacting the sales team.

Furthermore, the effectiveness of marketing automation improves in the long run when there is strong collaboration and alignment between marketing and sales. This is because sales teams have firsthand knowledge of clients, prospects, and market dynamics. Their feedback can greatly assist the marketing team in adapting e-marketing communications at various stages of the customer lifecycle, ensuring they genuinely facilitate progress.

5) Marketing Automation is the ultimate solution for achieving marketing success

Marketing Automation is merely an approach that requires the right strategy, content, and expertise to yield marketing results. It also necessitates time and optimization to achieve true success. Simply incorporating a form on a landing page will not generate a substantial number of leads unless the content behind that landing page is genuinely compelling and interesting to your target audience.

I hope I have successfully dispelled the myths you may have held about Marketing Automation in the B2B world. If you are interested in leveraging Marketing Automation in your organization and need assistance in defining your approach, feel free to reach out to our team of Marketing experts. We have extensive experience working with international B2B and B2C organizations, implementing Marketing Automation strategies and solutions that drive significant business outcomes.