Five steps to start with marketing automation: get executive support, pick one problem to solve, align your teams, choose a vendor with good CRM integration, and test small before scaling. Start here if you're new to the tool.
Implementing marketing automation isn't a step, it's a journey. So what are the most important things you need to do to get started? I'll take you through them right now. If you're considering marketing automation, there are five things that you should do to ensure success. First, you must have full executive buy in. This is paramount. Marketing automation is a new idea, not just a way to automate old methods. Without full support of your executives, you won't be given the budget or the support to try out modern marketing methods. To get that support, I'd suggest you connect your executives with someone else in a similar industry who is currently using marketing automation so they can hear first hand just how powerful this change can be. Second, identify a single pain point. You have buy in now you have to prove out the value. To do this, you will need to be able to hyper focus on one thing and show how marketing automation will solve it. Let that lead your evaluations and don't be fooled by shiny objects. Third, have your team prepared. This is critical as you'll likely need to involve content, social, web, email and other elements of your content marketing strategy. Marketing automation does require setup and the more time you put in on the front end, the faster you'll get to results. Fourth, evaluate options. As you evaluate the options, the most critical aspect to consider are your integrations, specifically the integration to your CRM. If you have to choose between a feature or an integration, always go with integration. You should also evaluate how easy the tools are to use. Some tools are very simple while others are overly complex. You should look for a good mix of features, ease of use and integrations. Finally, once you have your tool and begin building out your programs, don't overthink it. Don't argue about email subject lines. Test them for nurturing programs. This means only building a few emails or actions at a time. This will save you a ton of of time and ensure the best results. Remember, get buy in from executives and your team. Focus on a single problem and don't be distracted by bells and whistles. If you can do all of that, you should be off to a good start. Ready to learn more. You can head over to Trailhead for a deeper dive or you can check out the rest of the videos in this series. Thanks for watching.
