Marketing Automation 101
Author: Owen Andrew

Marketing automation is an intrinsic part of on-demand customer
relationship management, otherwise known as CRM. One of the most
important aspects of CRM lies in the integration of sales and
marketing. Marketing automation enables companies to manage
multi-channel marketing campaigns, and provide current
communications with sales teams. An automated lead handoff
system further ensures that leads don't go cold, and real-time
reports and analytics allow marketers to measure and track ROI
and other data on marketing campaigns. Here are the specifics
on the most important components in a marketing automation
application:

Integrated Sales and Marketing Application
An integrated sales and marketing application, complete with
automated lead conversion, is one of the biggest benefits of
marketing automation. Such a system allows leads to be handed
down the pipeline to the right people and ensures they remain
hot all the way to the end. An automated system allows sales
and marketing teams to view the same information so they are on
the same page. There is nothing worse than a sales team who has
different lead data than the marketing team--this can lead to
many problems that are easily avoided by the use of an
automated, integrated sales and marketing application.

Analytics and Reporting
Other components of a good marketing automation application
include analytics and reporting. These are important elements
that play key roles in determining ROI in a marketing campaign
and tracking results. By identifying key strengths and
weaknesses, tracking traffic levels to and from a website and
measuring the effectiveness of a marketing campaign, a company
can greatly optimize its sales and get the best possible
results. These elements also allow a company to manage,
generate, and report on lead conversion rations and sales,
among many other capabilities. The reports include graphs,
charts, and other customizable elements that can be used as
needed.

Document Management
Document management allows companies to manage the content that
drives their business, usually by offering a central repository
from which the company can take all of its important documents.
This way all authorized users can access the same documents from
anywhere in the world at any time, enabling more effective,
reliable communication across channels.

Asset Management
Asset management capabilities allow a company that implements a
marketing automation system to track the products customers are
purchasing and the competing products they're using, and
generally building up a knowledge base of what customers are
purchasing, installing, and downloading. This knowledge can
then be used to improve products and placement, easily identify
renewal opportunities with clients, and analyze issues customers
might have with a product.

Multi-Channel Marketing Campaign Analysis and Optimization
Marketing automation also allows for multi-channel marketing
campaign analysis and optimization through a complete marketing
solution that includes strong elements like contact management.
Contact management means a company has the ability to view and
monitor all their customers. This includes developing and
managing complete profiles of each customer, segmenting
customers to create targeted marketing campaigns, optimizing
lists for outbound marketing, and much more. Thus, strong
contact management and campaign management capabilities allow a
company to optimize and measure the effectiveness of its offline
and online marketing campaigns quickly and easily.


About The Author: http://www.salesforce.com is the world's
first on-demand application service and a giant in the field of
CRM. With over 24,000 customers, over 500,000 subscribers, and a
97% customer satisfaction rate, Sales Force continues to lead
their field. To find out more about them, please visit
Marketing Automation.