Rafi Siddique

Ever seen those funny fail videos on YouTube. If you haven’t then you must cuz they are hilarious. The videos basically feature people who think of doing something grand but end up failing in their quest and their failure becomes a source of laughter for others.

Marketing automation exactly like these funny fail YouTube videos. People recognized marketing automation as the next big thing that not only simplifies operations but boosts future prospects. Managers and CMOs usually like to implement these automation techniques for a grand result in lead generation. Yet there are many cases when marketing automation falls short of delivering the expected results.

1. Organisational Objectives

It is the vision of a person that guides them throughout life and an organisation is similar to a person. Organisations build a strategic plan to achieve a desired objective. Each and every member of an organisation has to dedicate their efforts in order to make a new design successful. Marketing automation needs a combined effort on the part of the organisation to boost results. The marketing and the sales team have to collaborate on this new design together to achieve success.

Still there is a lot to consider. Employees are afraid that machines are taking over human jobs. One day they might be helping in making marketing automation a success and the other that they might be out of their job.

With plenty of information about leads, the sales team should have it pretty easy to bring in new customers. Right? No, the most important thing to realize here is that most of the leads that are generated are weak and often end in a cold call. Furthermore, it is important for the organisation to have a leader who believes in the efficacy of this new system and takes appropriate measures to implement it smoothly with the old system.

2. Defining success

To walk the walk, you must first set a goal and have a vision on how you can accomplish it. A comprehensive plan needs to be built in order to guide the organisation through the transition from old school to the new school. Marketing automation must have The whole process needs to be defined by the whole organisation. The process of generating leads and moving down the marketing funnel. Without a destination, the most talented pilot with the best aircraft would only be able to wander in the sky. The organisation should build a series of steps that it will follow in order to meet its future objectives of implementing marketing automation.

3. Does Marketing Automation fit the organization landscape

In a boxing match, implementing a roundhouse kick will only get one disqualified. It is necessary to check the time and place that we do try to implement things in. Same is true for organization and marketing automation. There needs to be a set platform at your organisation to integrate marketing automation.

You need to figure out weather:

●      Is it the right time to implement marketing automation?

●      Does my organisation house individuals who find it easy to use?

If the answer to both these questions is “Yes” then you should implement marketing automation but if not then you better forget about it. There is a growing trend of blaming the tool to curtain the real problem, i.e., the incompatibility of the organisation with the new system. It is important to lift the cloud of doubt and be perfectly sure that ‘the time is here, the time is now.’

4. Experts… smeckperts

A Bugatti Veyron Supersport V2 driven by a noob does not guarantee success in a race as much as an accident. It is important for a organization to have a few experts that have an intensive knowledge of marketing automation.

These experts will not only implement the marketing automation system but also help other employees in understanding the quirks of this new system. The analytical thinking combined with years of experience in understanding data structures will augment the chances for a successful and smooth implementation of marketing automation by these experts. Without proper guidance, the most planned of objectives are doomed to fail.

How to leverage marketing automation in your favour?

●      Get expert help for successful implementation

●      Check the status of organisation and employees and how adaptable the organisation will be as a whole with this new system.

●      Build a comprehensive plan for smooth implementation

Marketing automation has become essential in many sectors today. To bring in harmony in operations and a congruence between sales and marketing team, many companies have been implementing this new system. Though, Organization should take necessary steps before implementation or face serious consequences.