Marketing Automation Software Blog

Analytics can be an extremely powerful tool for the marketer, especially in a time when marketing is held more accountable than ever before. However, there seems to be some confusion around the difference between marketing analytics and website analytics. Meghan Anderson sheds some light on the topic.

At this year’s Microsoft Convergence conference, Marketo made an exciting announcement. We had the opportunity to sit down with their VP of Marketing, Jon Miller, to discuss this announcement, as well as other hot topics in the world of marketing software applications and Revenue Performance Management.

Many marketers think marketing tracking software will be the magic wand that solves all their marketing problems. It’s true that MA is a powerful tool, but your success with it depends on where you start. This article discusses the myths and facts around automated marketing software and explains how to get the most out of your system.

We still find ourselves in a down economy, which means resources are tight. However, marketing automation software has the potential to uncover some serious revenue for you and your company. So, how do you justify the benefits of marketing automation systems to the people holding the wallet?

There is quite a bit of confusion when it comes to email marketing and marketing automation tools. While the two systems may seem similar, they have a very different feature set and are designed to deliver in completely different ways. Check out our comparison and decide which on-premise or online marketing software is best for you.

In the marketing automation landscape, B2B rules. The leaders in the space are all focused primarily, if not entirely, on the B2B space. But, what about B2C customers? Do they need MA? Absolutely. This post explores the B2C marketing automation market and discusses where we’re headed.

Marketing professionals are familiar with the standard best practices around producing great content and devising expert promotion strategies. However, marketing is about both art and science. To truly maximize campaigns, marketers should use A/B testing for achieving quantitative marketing goals.

In part two of our series with Carlos Hidalgo, CEO of Annuitas Group and Executive Director of the MAI, we discuss the common misconception around marketing automation. Many view it as a solution, but it serves no purpose unless you have processes and strategy in place for it to support.

What is the difference between demand generation and lead management? In the first part of this 2-part whiteboard session, Carlos Hidalgo, CEO of Annuitas Group, explains what each term means, and how they can work together to help companies create a successful customer engagement strategy.

Lead nurturing is not a new concept. It is a fairly simple process to get a nurturing program up and running. Most marketing teams will do this and then leave it alone. However, they are doing themselves a disservice. More than a simple program, lead nurturing is a tool for influencing the buying decision.

An inbound marketing automation (IMA) system is a powerful tool that combines the features of both inbound marketing and marketing automation. However, many users don’t know how to harness this tool. Eric Goldman provides a detailed process for designing and running an IMA system that fits your specific needs.

Small businesses have been a major driver of marketing automation’s growth. We wanted to gain more insight into why the market has been so quick to adopt MA. So, we reached out to executives at some of the leading vendors in small business marketing automation software.

Shoulda, coulda, woulda. Many buyers of enterprise software often look back at their purchasing process and wish they had done things differently. We surveyed end users of marketing automation software to see what they wish they had asked the vendor before buying the product.

B2B organizations are losing revenue every year due to their inability to properly align sales and marketing. This reflects what we have been hearing over and over again: We’ve got this powerful software in marketing automation, and yet, marketers are still missing the boat. They need new skills to close the gap.

Marketing automation is a great tool for helping to align sales and marketing and close more sales. However, are we really using the software to the greatest of it’s ability? Even with the use of marketing automation software, close rates are pretty low. What are we missing?

Done correctly, a marketing automation plan takes time to implement, structure and finally begin executing. Post-launch, companies can expect a learning curve when it comes to managing the program. Here, we address common stumbling blocks, as well as approaches that will help get you back on track.

It’s no secret that in today’s Web 2.0 world, the buyer is in control. When they are looking to make a purchase, they don’t pick up the phone and call a sales rep. Instead, they seek out online sources that provide the information they want. But what exactly is that? And how can you deliver that content effectively on your site?

There have been a string of cloud failures this year, calling into question the reliability of cloud computing. However, despite a few minor incidents, the cloud has proven to be highly successful overall. So, does the cloud really deserve all of this negative attention? We give our take on the topic.

We learn as children that stealing is wrong. Yet, when it comes to content on the Internet, many people see no problem with swiping what does not belong to them. The latest Google Panda update aimed to punish the spammers and content scrapers but it’s up to you to protect your content. How? By copyrighting it.

There has been a lot of movement in the marketing automation market, particularly where investors are involved. Marketo and Eloqua have staked their claim as leaders in the market, largely due to significant VC funding. However, other vendors fail to see the benefit and have instead taking the bootstrapping route.