1. Greg Malpass defines a lead as "an expression of interest at a point in time" rather than focusing on the individual person. 2. He emphasizes focusing on the interest and motivation behind the lead rather than just the person. 3. While marketing automation can help with processes, lead qualification still requires human judgment and interaction according to Malpass.

1. 1
2 THE MARKETING
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7
Being
8 ProfitaBle
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With
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Marketing
12 autoMation
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in 2011
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Practitioners guide to Making it happen
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Marcus r. tewksbury
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2. 1
2 TABLE
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OF CONTENTS
5
Introduction
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Section 1: The Right Marketing Automation Partner Can Help You Avoid the Avoidable Mistakes, Don Dalrymple, President of AscendWorks
7 Section 2: A Unique Universal Lead Definition, Greg Malpass, Traction Sales & Marketing
8 Section 3: Choosing the Right Captain for Your Marketing Automation Ship, Scott Olson, Mindlink Marketing
Section 4: Is Lead Nurturing Worth the Trouble? Troy Burk, Right On Interactive
9
Conclusion
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About the Author
11 Contact Informantion
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3. 1
intro-
one step at a time by nurturing them. intelligent, relevant
communication is used to target each customer right where
2
he or she is. he calls it “customer lifecycle marketing.” the
DuCtion
emphasis is on a metric that marketers sometimes forget
3 about. hint: it’s not your open rate or click-though rate.
4 the way you think about the leads that are coming into
your marketing funnel has a major impact on how you
communicate with them. in Section 4, greg Malpass explains
5 his unique definition of a lead. he breaks down what your
Marketing automation has been around for some time now,
team needs to focus on in order to get the most effective
6 but still the cases of huge returns and business changing
results when dealing with leads. he also answers the question:
results are few and far between. Will 2011 be the year that
who is ultimately responsible for qualifying those leads. You
market finally matures? in this 4-part paper, you will hear from
7 may never have looked at the subject this way before.
4 esteemed sales and lead generation experts and their view
on specific characteristics of marketing automation that have examining these four perspectives gives clear insight into
8 been holding the space back. maximizing marketing automation results. one thing is clear:
the tools are only as effective as the people using them allow
9 how are marketing automation programs like a marital aid?
them to be. a Stradivarius is an amazing violin, but in the
Don Dalrymple shows that “how do i sell?” is not the primary
hands of an amateur, you may be tempted to think otherwise.
question that needs to be asked in this process. he exposes
10 in the same way, generating breakout results with marketing
the mindset that keeps many marketers from succeeding in
automation will come largely from improvements in the way
the new economy, as well as the attitude that causes resistance
11 marketers utilize these tools.
within a sales or marketing team implementing new marketing
efforts. Section 1 zeroes in on finding the “why.” there is a
12 reason that your customers are interested in your company.
Do you know what that reason is?
Will 2011
13
in Section 2, Scott olson talks about applying data to the
ear
be the y
marketing problems your organization faces. You can learn
14 quite a bit from the information you already have in your
database. how you use that data makes all the difference in
that the
ally
arket fin
15 the world. olson introduces the ideas of segmentation and
prioritization. it’s all about getting to know your customers. m
?
16 after you get a lead, what comes next? lead nurturing, matures
of course. troy Burk discusses marketing automation from
17 the perspective of advancing the customer relationship
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4. 1
2
The RighT MaRkeTing don dalrymple is known as a leader’s leader. he has had
an extensive background in training business professionals
towards leadership and management for solving complex
3
auToMaTion PaRTneR business problems. his ability to drive clarity in a world of
increasingly complexity has allowed don to deliver value to
4
Can helP You avoid organizations seeking to compete at higher levels of success
5
The avoidable don is the Founder and President of ascendWorks, llC, a
technology, sales and management consulting company which
helps businesses increase demand, grow productivity and
6
MisTakes strengthen customer relationships. don and his team design
business processes and systems to help businesses attract
customers and win loyalty.
7
before founding ascendWorks, don worked in Fortune 500
enterprises, start-ups and entrepreneurial ventures. With a
8
don dalRYMPle high-tech background and entrepreneurial know-how, he
helps business professionals with the clarity and systems
9 required to compete.
PResidenT asCendWoRks
don has held executive positions in software companies
10
and is adept at designing, building and training in business
technology systems.
11
don has a Master’s in Mechanical engineering from the
12 university of Rochester. he resides in austin, Texas with his
wife and three children.
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5. 1
keY
automation, having installed and trained some of the earliest
implementation of said tools is Don Dalrymple, President
2 of ascendWorks. Beyond his deep knowledge of the inner
takeaWaYS
workings of many marketing automation tools, Don is also
3 extremely well versed in training marketing organizations to
focus on the customer rather than the process.
4
5
1. asking “why does that person buy?” is a more important Marcus: Don, can you tell us about the common
question than “how do i sell?” misconceptions or issues you sense that people have about
6
2. Marketing automation is the process of locating buyers, marketing automation.
7 engaging them, and relating to them on their level
Don: Sure. our team at ascendworks are typically sought out
3. lack of understanding of how specific steps in a campaign to implement campaigns for organizations that are just starting
8 affect customers is the biggest hindrance out with marketing automation or are looking to retool their
existing ones. one of the biggest problems that we face is a
4. Marketing automation is sophisticated; requires leadership
lack of strategy or understanding of how the specific steps in a
9 commitment “to fully thinking through the various parts of
marketing automation campaign affects the buyer. We provide
the buying cycle”
a lot of strategy and consulting around what the roadmap and
10
5. the “game” has changed. old-school mentalities of drive decision tree and cycles are for those buyers.
impressions and make offers will not succeed. Consider the
11 question, “how do i nurture and convert somebody who is Marcus: Where do you see that lack of strategy? is it a lack of
educating themselves and servicing themselves?” understanding? What’s the source of the problem?
12 Don: i think most organizations start from a fundamentally
different perspective. Most organizations are asking, “how do
13 i sell?” and that’s a very different approach from what we do
on the surface, implementing a marketing automation tool at ascendworks. We’re asking, “Why does that person buy?”
14 appears fairly simple. the problem, though, is in not knowing So, if you have something of value in the marketplace, you will
what you don’t know. implementing a tool isn’t that hard; have a buyer. But it is very difficult for most people to think like
setting it up, along with the corresponding processes, in a way that buyer. Starting from that one single premise, you’re able
15
that will produce business value is another matter. this is not to make a different type of approach in how you’re going tow
an effort you want to go wrong. like a tile floor, if you don’t do marketing and what you should be looking to automate.
16 get it right, you have to rip it up and start over.
Marcus: What a great perspective. You’re not trying to
17 Someone that knows a thing or two about marketing sell in the marketplace; you’re trying to locate your buyers.
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6. 1
Youneed to find the buyers, and you need to engage with attracting and nurturing that buyer, but it’s up to the individual
them and relate to them on their level. Do you find parts of the marketer to upgrade their approach and skill set.
2
organization struggle with this more than others?
Marcus: is this something you can really train people to do?
3 Don: the concept is missing because there’s a gap in the Can you teach someone how to grow relationships with their
thinking between how the buying experience today works. it’s customers?
4 completely different from ten years ago, or even five years ago.
Don: that’s a great question. i think it really depends on the
When a buyer starts thinking about purchasing something,
type of talent you’re dealing with. Marketing automation is
they’re doing something way ahead of time. they’re doing a
5 inherently highly sophisticated. it’s not something that’s simple,
lot of research and education and becoming aware. Putting
like a general marketing campaign. You can have a junior-level
yourself in a buyer’s shoes is something that i don’t think most
6 person running that. it really takes someone who thinks like a
marketers are adept at today. Previously, it was more of a
strategist, executes, and is a technician as well.
numbers game. they were used to sending out mass mailings
7 or direct mail, contacting people in a very disconnected fashion, i would use an analogy to mechanical engineering. the whole
where marketing automation is causing a lot more intimacy and space is dependent on the CaD/CaM systems. they started at
8 thinking through the various steps. $30,000 at one point and you had to have a specialist. then they
moved down to $5,000, and now you can get them for $1,000.
Marcus: So the marketing automation is marital aid for the
9 You still need an engineering background to be able to design,
marketing organizations of the world, or something like that.
but it is way more accessible.
Don: Yes, yes [laughs].
10 i would say marketing animation systems have the promise
Marcus: Do you find anyone to be resistant to this? anyone of changing the revenue opportunity dramatically, but you do
11 digging in their heels, resisting change? need a fighter pilot-type mentality: someone who is able to be
fully committed and talented at thinking through the various
Don: i would say yes and no. i think that because of the new parts of the buying cycle.
12 economy and how it’s structured, buyers are in control. as
consumers, we have all the information we need to make a Marcus: is this all wrapped into one person? Do these skill sets
13 decision to buy anything we want. We can google it, right? So need to be shared across a team?
the rules are completely changed for marketers. they have to
Don: We depend on a team. ours consists of various skill sets.
14 think through, “how do i nurture and convert somebody who is
there’s a strong project management component. there’s an
educating themselves and servicing themselves?”
overarching decision and strategy that has to be driven, and
15 i think that going into an organization and speaking to someone then going down into the tactics. everything from graphic
who maintains an old mindset, not realizing that the game has designers to software developers, from analysts who can parse
16 changed- they are resistant. Some of the old breed are not the data to systems integrators, they’re all a part of our team.
going to make it. they don’t understand pain and they are You could possibly have that in one person. i know a few
17 disconnected from the buyer. We can provide the roadmap to people who could do the whole job, but typically i see it being
spread out amongst a team.
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7. 1
2
a unique as founder and Business analyst at traction Sales and
Marketing, greg is focused on helping his clients solve
business problems with the help of technology. from
3
univerSal working with leading brands as both a marketing and sales
professional, greg has an intimate knowledge of what it takes
4
leaD to bridge the sales and marketing gap and build a world-
class sales and marketing organization. traction’s services and
5
Definition philosophy are born directly from business user needs and a
clear vision of what it takes to make a difference. read greg’s
linkedin profile.
6
7
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greg MalPaSS keY
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10
Ceo traCtion SaleS & Marketing
takeaWaYS
11 1. a lead is “an expression of interest at a point in time”
2. focus on the interest/motivation rather than the person
12
3. People buy solutions, not “things”
13 4. Despite automation of the processes, leads must still be
qualified by people
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8. 1
a lead is a seemingly simple concept. Yet it is one that causes Marketing’s role is to solicit the interest and serve it to the
much consternation between salespeople and marketers. sales organization for review. the sales organization will
2
there seems to be a constant sliding scale between quantity review it and qualify it into either an opportunity and convert
and quality, and most organizations struggle with nailing down it through into an existing account with no further action, or in
3 what they consider to be a quality lead. Coming up with a some cases reject that, giving marketing an indicator that it is
common definition that works for both parties is the first step not a worthy prospect yet and should be pursued further.
4 in addressing this issue.
Marcus: in this model, who is responsible for lead
in this interview, we will hear the thoughts of greg Malpass, qualification? Can it be automated, or does it require the
5 Ceo and president of traction Sales & Marketing, on the right human touch?
approach to leads. greg has a particular point of view on lead
6 management that has helped hundreds of companies to re- greg: it depends on the organization. it depends on the
energize their demand generation efforts. volume of leads coming in, the resources that are available,
and even the complexity of the sale.
7
What i think most organizations will agree on is that it should
8 be a person.to start, both sales and marketing need to be
Marcus: greg, as a starting point, can you tell us about how involved. and at some point the lead will be qualified by
9 you define a lead? human times. at some point that interest will hit a threshold
where it’s worth making a phone call or arranging a meeting
greg: at traction we define a “lead” as an expression of with that prospect who is showing that interest. in the field,
10 interest at a point in time. While of course there is going we are seeing many more situations like this. organizations
to be a person as part of that lead, and they’ll likely work at are using a qualification team to validate that interest and then
11 an organization, really what we’re most interested in is that pass it over to the sales organization.
particular interest: what are they looking for at that point in
12 time, and the question, of course, will be, “Will that result in an What’s really important, however, is who creates the
opportunity?” opportunity. it’s extremely important that lead qualifiers
not have that capability. You want someone within the sales
13 Marcus: i’ve always been of the belief people don’t buy organization, someone who carries a bag to be associated with
things, they buy solutions. i love the focus on motivation. the opportunity. it serves as an effective check and balance.
14 it’s not just the person, but what’s motivating them. Do you
find that to be a hard concept to preach or present inside the Marcus: then you would argue that the qualification team
15 marketing organization? should fall in marketing?
greg: no, in most cases the organizations we work with really greg: very interesting question. i think the right role of the
16 embrace the concept. it removes a lot of the grey lines and qualification team should be aligned to the sales organization.
it also brings a lot of clarity in terms of what is the role of this, however, is a departure from status quo. today, the team
17 marketing versus sales. usually lands in marketing. historically, when sales weren’t
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9. 1
picking up the phone marketing took the responsibility to Marcus: i agree. and at the end of the day we’re in a volume
do what they thought was right for the company and started business, and if you’re going to push more revenue through
2
building up these organizations. that’s why we also saw a you have to push through more leads and activities. it’s a
movement to outsource. now, however, we’re starting to see pretty simple proposition.
3
this trend reverse itself. as organizations start bringing these
greg: right, it does all end up in the pipeline. as a good
skills back in-house, they are being hired by sales.
4 sales rep, i basically know after my first conversation with
another big part of the lead qualification function is having the prospect whether there is an opportunity there. even if i
an hr resource strategy. Where will these reps go in the create it as a very early stage opportunity, maybe $0 and 0%
5
organization? What is their development plan? i think we both to close, i’m going to identify it and start working it. if not,
would agree that a great lead qualification rep will eventually i’m going to pass them through as a contact, not create the
6 opportunity, and put that person back in marketing’s capable
mature into a great sales rep.
hands, until they generate or demonstrate further interest.
7 Marcus: that makes sense. Developing the diagnostic
process of engaging with the client and getting to the pain Marcus: So… a “lead” is an expression of interest at a specific
makes a good qualification rep and is a critical skill for a sales point in time. focus on the need, not the person. Well said
8
rep. Who said people were rational though? Just because it greg!
makes sense doesn’t mean people will easily accept it. Do you
9
run into resistance?
10 greg: not really. We emphasize the system - the process.
What we are really talking about is a through-put system. a
11 system where traffic comes in, interest is passed to a qualifier,
tion we
At Trac
which is in terms pushes through to an opportunity evaluation.
“lead”
Just like in a manufacturing system, we see bottlenecks.
define a
12
n
pressio
as an ex
What this system does is it brings pure visibility and
est at a
accountability to processing leads. What we’re trying to do is
of inter
13
take the grey out so we have a clear path to determine who
time.
14 is channeling and funneling their leads through, where we point in
maybe over-productive in producing leads, or where we might
need to start splitting territories. So the biggest reluctance or
15 resistance from the sales team is a laser focus on one thing,
which is processing interest into opportunities. Some reps feel
16 that the process compromises the art of the sale, but really i
don’t think that’s a justifiable response.
17
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10. 1
2
chooSing the i’m Scott olson, President of Mindlink Marketing, a serial
entrepreneur and marketing executive. at Mindlink Marketing
3
right caPtain i work with startups providing strategic marketing services,
social media strategy, web content, and marketing research
4
for your services. i specialize in helping startups connect to their ideal
prospects with the right products.
5
Marketing i bring 18 years of experience in strategic marketing in
software, Software as a Service (SaaS), and network appliances
6
autoMation ShiP with a specialization in security and fraud management
technology. i have been fortunate enough to market
technology across a spectrum of industries that include
financial services, healthcare, government, online games,
7 social networking and online dating sites, online retail, and
travel. i have started two companies and have led marketing
8
Scott olSon
teams at multiple businesses.
i have a proven track record in establishing companies as
9
PreSident, Mindlink Marketing thought leaders in emerging markets and am a frequent
contributor to VentureBeat with articles on startup marketing.
10
if you would like to explore working together i can be
11 contacted at connect@mindlinkmarketing.com.
12
13
ialize in
“I spec
s
startup
14 helping
to their
connect with
spects
15 ideal pro s.”“
product
the right
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11. 1
keY
customer’s buying process to craft content and stories that
drive conversion.
2
3
4
takeaWaYS Marcus: Scott, to get us started, i was hoping you could
describe the ideal client. What does their organization look
like? What do you look for?
5
Scott: What i look for in the ideal client really is anybody who
1. effective use of the customer database is crucial to marketing
is looking to build more engaging interaction with their client
6 success
base. i particularly think there are a lot of companies that
2. Marketing messages have to be specifically tailored for have assembled a very strong marketing database but they
7 customers in different engagement cycles don’t know how to use it effectively. this is where marketing
automation can really come into play.
3. leads must be segmented and prioritized in order to know
8 how to treat them. they can’t be treated simply as “one big it has implications for both inbound and outbound strategies.
audience” understanding how to segment and prioritize leads as well
9 as their existing database is key to knowing how to not treat
4. every part of a multi-channel marketing campaign must be
complementary, working together to build relationships them all as one big database. Marketing automation in
10 particular is very effective at delivering the message that is
appropriate for the audience that you’re communicating with.
11 You don’t want to blast a generic email to 100,000 contacts.
You want to actually understand the things that they’re most
for many marketing organizations, the implementation of
12 interested in and deliver the right message to them. those
a marketing automation tool and methodology is going
are some of the things i help companies do. i work on their
to represent a major departure from the status quo. With
content strategy, creation and delivery of that content, and
13 marketing automation there is a major focus shift to collecting
then use marketing automation to make sure it gets to the
and analyzing data. Segregating prospects, understanding
right audience.
14 where they fall in the buying process, or through which
channels they prefer to interact all require the ability to apply Marcus: You said that one of the things that you see is that
data to marketing problems. having the right mix of internal people have this data but they don’t know how to use it. Why
15
skill sets is critical to success with marketing automation. do you think that is? is there a lack in skill set? is there a lack
in aptitude?
16 in this interview we are talking with Scott olson, the President
of Mindlink Marketing. Scott and team focus on helping Scott: Certainly, i think there’s a lack of skill set, but also of
17 organizations better leverage data and understanding of the time. i think a lot of people look at this as traditional direct
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12. 1
marketing, but times have changed. What they’ve got Marcus: Yes, specifically the online ones. i’m speaking to
to get their arms around is that they need to understand the multi-channel online world of email, social media, search,
2
their audience even better. it starts with understanding the display, the website, etc.
different types of audience that they have in their database
3 and not treating it all as one big audience. the next step is Scott: this is something that is a challenge for everybody.
developing and delivering the message that’s appropriate for figuring out how all those things interact and how they can
4 those different audiences. in terms of the skill sets, i’d say it all benefit each other is new and it’s complicated. especially
doesn’t require a social media interaction, but it does require when you consider you also have to map this over your
somebody that does think about the communications aspect content strategy. all of these need to come together to
5 reinforce the messages that you’re trying to get across to your
of it – as opposed to broadcast. You have to look at this in
terms of the people that are interested in what you have to say prospects, and they need to build those relationships that are
6 going to lead to deals or brand loyalty, as well.
and they’re going to be interacting with the marketing content
that you put out there. Certainly, all those digital channels interact with each other
7
Marcus: You speak to breaking down your database - moving and make each other stronger.
8 beyond one large universe to smaller groups or “segments.” a lot of people look at a blog for example as just, ‘oh, what’s
Do you find that to be a concept that many people the blog traffic? am i getting comments?’ But actually the
understand? blog itself can reinforce your social strategy and your lead
9
Scott: if they don’t understand it right away they get it pretty nurturing. it can actually provide a mechanism to make the
quickly and they understand the value behind it. Many of other things that you do a lot easier, as well as deliver these
10
them haven’t done it, though. i think that’s the problem. custom messages to your different audiences. the digital
channels are all related to each other. a blog is going to
11 Marcus: for sure. Many marketers, even in larger organizations be tweeted. it’s going to be showing up in your monthly
aren’t well versed in segmentation. it’s a big shift from the newsletter, which is hopefully tailored to your different
12 qualitative to quantitative. audiences. Many of the companies i work with deliver multiple
newsletters, maybe 3-5. Based on the audiences they’re trying
Scott: that’s right. Many people are using it to measure to reach, they highlight different aspects of their company.
13
pipeline and use it more for forecasting rather than nurturing
and actually moving people through your pipeline. Marcus: in all of this, is there one thing that stands out as
14 being the most difficult?
Marcus: Do you see technology playing a role? Specifically,
15 as more of the interaction moves to digital and social Scott: i think that the preponderance of problems that i’ve
technologies, there is more stress on marketers to understand seen is more around segmentation because it takes time, it
the tech. takes effort, and it can have bad results if you don’t do it right.
16
When you’re blasting messages to your entire database and
Scott: are you talking about the different communication you’re not segmenting your audience and prioritizing with the
17 avenues for the company or the client? right kinds of follow-up, then what you’re going to get is an
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13. 1
alienated prospect. everyone is sensitive to spam or being
bombarded with unfocused, non-relevant messages.
2
Marcus: i agree; segmentation is key. if you’re not aiming in
3 the right direction you’re never going to hit the right target.
Being relevant begins with being able to target the right
4 audience. Scott, thank you for the time, and come back and
visit again soon.
5
6
NG
“KNOWI
7
ETS
8
YO UR CLI
Y TO
9 IS THE KE
TING
10 DELIGH
THEM”
11
nintenDo SixtY-foooooooooour!
12
kid gets an n64 for christmas and gets way too excited
nintendo Sixty-foooooooooour!!!!!!
13
14
15
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14. 1
2
is Lead Troy Burk is the Ceo and Founder of right on interactive (roi).
he is a recognized thought leader and speaker on the topics
of Customer Lifecycle Marketing, Marketing automation, Lead
3
nurTuring scoring and nurturing, and email Marketing.
4
WorTh roi is a customer lifecycle marketing software provider that
transforms the way marketers nurture business relationships
5
The TrouBLe? – from initial contact to brand advocacy. The roi “software-as-
a-service” (saas) solution helps companies win and retain more
customers, optimize marketing effectiveness, and maximize
the lifetime value of customers. roi serves more than 300
6 customers, including Carrier Corporation, Marsh supermarkets,
Wild Birds unlimited, Compendium, TeaLeaf Technology,
7 autobase, delta Faucet and LightBound.
Burk is the President of the indianapolis interactive Marketing
8
Troy Burk association and serves on the greater indianapolis Chamber of
Commerce’s Membership Marketing Committee.
9
Founder & Ceo righT on inTeraCTive
key
10
11
12
13
TakeaWays
1. Marketing automation is the “systematic process of sending
14 relevant marketing communication to advance business
relationships”
15
2. Customer focus should be an organization’s primary focus
16 3. “do more with less”
4. “it’s not about open rates or click rates. it’s about …moving
17 people forward in a relationship.”
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15. 1
in the world of marketing something that frequently isn’t the complexities of the multi-level, branching array of “and/
used, or isn’t used well is automation. Most people will get a or/if” statements, the pressing need for an endless supply of
2
basic web-to-lead, but they don’t make the leap to branching great content, and the supporting army needed to administer
decision trees, incorporate the evaluation of prospect such a program scares people off.
3 behavior, sending emails, and at this point pretty much
everything else in the online toolbox. the question though, is the reality for most marketers today is that they are forced to
4 this useful to marketers? is the tool overkill for the need? do more with less. they have less staff, they have less content,
they have less time, and they’re looking for a way to find some
let’s hear from troy Burk, the President and Ceo of right on quick wins. to build continuity, you need be able to point at
5 interactive, a technology vender but also one of the leading something and say, “my efforts are actually working here.”
service providers around the space of marketing automation.
6 troy is an individual thought leader that has helped marketing it’s not about what’s technically possible with marketing
organizations of all sizes optimize their operational processes. automation, but what makes sense for the business. You could
dream up a zillion things that the technology could make
7
possible. if you don’t have a map to where you’re going it can
become a very difficult journey. You have to start by asking
8 “how can this improve my business?”
Marcus: let’s start by defining the function of “automation” in
9 terms of marketing automation. Can you lie that out for us? Marcus: listening to the buzz in the space, at least from
the vendors, it sounds like we’d be fools not to adopt these
troy: absolutely. i would define automation as a systematic technologies. in the field, where do you see people finding
10 process of sending relevant marketing communications success?
designed to advance the business relationship. i’d also
11 emphasize the importance of making the customer the primary troy: i think the success is based on what people are
focus. that’s really important. i think a lot of marketers get measuring. at roi we stress focus on the customer. We
12 caught up in the process and forget the customer. the best try to bring this to life for clients with our customer lifestyle
automating, nurturing programs i’ve seen were focused on marketing methodology.
the customers and not prospects. nurturing is really about
13 i mean, everyone has customers, everyone has prospects, and
building stronger relationships. it’s about improving the
customer experience, making it easier for a customer to do we all want more of both. getting there, though, requires
14 business with your organization, and moving the right people building relationships. You need to strategically put together
forward in a more engaged relationship. your marketing programs, campaigns, and tactics, to move the
15 right people forward in a relationship.
Marcus: Something you’ve said in the past that i really liked
was the concept of doing more with less. Why do you think it’s not about open rates or click rates. it’s not about
16 getting lost in the campaign response metrics. it’s about
that is so important?
understanding how and where you are moving people forward
17 troy: Marketing automation can be overwhelming to start. in a relationship. You start looking at things like stage duration
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16. 1
or the conversion timeline of a typical lead. You start asking any one time. is this correct?
2 if you could decrease the stage duration by 10% or 15%, what troy: absolutely. Your leads are going to be at different
would that mean for your business? or what would it mean for stages, and, as a marketer, the point is to get this prospect
your bottom line if you decrease your churn rate by 5 or 10%? to go through the gate. that’s got to be the objective of
3
essentially, you’re trying to increase the velocity from when all your communications. keep your eye on moving people
4 you identify someone who is a suspect through their buying toward your desired end result, whether it be registering on a
process until you’ve converted them into the world’s greatest form, scheduling a demo or a meeting, or setting up a sales
brand ambassador and they’re giving you testimonials consultation.
5
and sending you referrals. as a marketer, it’s not so much You also need to think about rotating your offers. You need to
about the tactics as it is about the strategy. Sometimes keep communicating with them in a different way to get them
6
with marketing automation you can get lost in the tactical to take that one action. if someone is already a customer,
execution of all the things i need to do, but you really need i’m obviously not going to send them out that promotion
7 to step back and say, “What am i really trying to measure?” to schedule to see a sales person. i’m going to send them a
it should be we are delivering and driving a better customer different message to get them to take the next appropriate
8 experience, we’re increasing loyalty, we’re making people step. So it’s understanding what are the appropriate stages
raving fans. that different prospects and customers go through as they
9 journey through a relationship with my organization. all
Marcus: another concept that frequently gets presented with
marketing automation is the concept of “nurturing.” how my flows and automated communications are going to be
10 does that relate to your customer lifecycle marketing? designed to get that person to take the appropriate action. i
know that once they do this, they’re going to have a higher
11 troy: i think nurturing is a systematic process. Marketing likelihood of making it through the next stage.
automation nurturing is the systematic process of sending
relevant outbound communications. You’re going to speak Marcus: excellent. i really love the framework of the customer
12 lifecycle marketing. i think that’s a great way to go about it.
differently to somebody who you don’t know very well
compared to how you’ll talk to a lifelong customer, one you’ve Shifting the marketer’s focus from bits and bytes of execution
13 been in relationship with for 10 or 15 years. to a focus on the needs of the customer is a goal to live by.
first, you need to segment people by where they are in the troy: that’s the goal. at the end of the day, it’s all about
14 providing genuine value to our customers. as marketers,
relationship; you’re going to nurture each of those groups
a little bit differently. nurturing plays an important role all we need to think about that concept throughout the entire
15 throughout the customer lifecycle. You need to make sure you customer lifecycle, not just at the front end when we’re
have the right, relevant communication to send at the right trying to get more leads and pass them through the sales
16 time. organization.
Marcus: to support this type of segmentation you are going
17
to have to support multiple flights of nurturing programs at
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17. 1
Con-
the ability to demand accountability from marketers,
processes and programs is also expanded. the use of
2
automation tools, the improved quality of customer databases,
CluSion
and the utter measurability of the internet enable leaders to
3 track performance on every level imaginable. no longer do
we have to guess about the effectiveness of a given method
4 or message. Management holds individual salespeople
accountable for their performance. Why should marketing be
5 any different? it no longer has to be. Marketing automation
While the tools themselves are no doubt still maturing, much creates transparency in the entire process. accountability and
of what has been holding marketing automation back is the measurability empower marketers to constantly test every
6
process. until marketers can adjust their approach they won’t effort, and then improve on those results.
be able to maximize their investment in the tool.
7 getting back to sales, marketers must also realize when
Changing the process needs to begin with the understanding it’s time to strike. a given prospect may engage with the
8 the true role of marketing and all that role encompasses. as organization multiple times over a period of time. it’s critical
marketers, we are in the business of selling. all too often, to be able to isolate the different engagement cycles to
marketers seem willing to pacify themselves by simple capture the expression of a specific interest at a point in
9
execution with the belief that if they can just generate enough time. reaching a client at this point maximizes the likelihood
activity that will be good enough. unfortunately, in the real of connecting with the right message at the right time.
10 automation tools shine in this arena. the ability to know
world it’s not the effort that counts – it’s the results. if there
is no honey, all the buzzing around the beehive is wasted exactly where a customer is in his/her “customer lifecycle”
11 time and energy. Marketing can only be successful when the gives the marketer pinpoint accuracy for speaking to each
activity translates to sales. lead in the appropriate manner.
12
there is, however, a silver lining. today, access to data and in conclusion, 2011 will be a very good year for some
the ability to reach the customer is greater than it has ever marketers. the majority of marketing automation tool sets are
13 able to provide a baseline of functionality. those marketers
been before. When deployed intelligently, this data can drive
insight and the creation of new content that is focused on the that excel will be the ones who can adapt their process to
14 most pressing needs of the customer base. turning data into maximize the impact of the tools. their willingness to get into
insight translates into relevancy. With thousands of messages the proper mindset and invest time in understanding how the
15 saturating the airwaves and inundating email inboxes, getting tools work and extracting every drop of value out of them will
noticed and maintaining customer attention is increasingly be the factor that determines who wins.
16 difficult. Being relevant and communicating with customers
according to their chief motivators, in ways to which they are
most responsive, is essential to marketing and relationship-
17
building success.
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18. 1
aBout
Marcus tewksbury is a product strategy and business
development expert with over 15 years of experience defining,
2
marketing, and ultimately selling new B2B marketing services
the
and technology offerings.
3
today, Marcus focuses on strategic development for alterian,
an integrated marketing platform provider, where he advises
author
4
key partners on messaging, launching, selling, and delivering
data driven marketing solutions. in this role he also initiates
5 and develops relationships with net new logos while building
storylines and definitions for new alterian offerings.
6
over his career he has successfully launched dozens of
products that have generated millions in revenue and been
7
adopted by brands like Baxter, Coach, hallmark, hot topic,
kaloo, kao, Microsoft, tower records, ulta, Walgreens, and
8
MarCuS teWkSBurY Wal-Mart.
Marcus is a frequent speaker, having appeared at events
9
the Marketing MoJo for the american Marketing association (aMa), Canadian
Marketing association (CMa), Direct Marketing association
10
(DMa), integrated Marketing Summit, the economist, Media
Post, and illinois technology association (ita). his writing
11 and presentations have appeared or been cited in numerous
publications like Mashable.com, uSatoday, Wall St. Journal,
12 and the Word of Mouth Marketing association (WoMMa). he
has also been a guest lecturer at numerous universities such as
13 georgetown, northwestern, DePaul, u. of Chicago, and York.
14
More on Marcus’s thought leadership can be found on his
15 award winning blog http://themarketingmojo.com.
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19. 1
2 THE MARKETING
3
ContaCt
4
inforMation
5
traCtion SaleS & Marketing aSCenDWorkS, llC
6 vancouver, Ca 100 Congress ave Suite 2000
http://www.tractionsm.com austin, tx 78701
7 p. (800) 878-2152
right on interaCtive f. (214) 224-0956
8 136 e. Market Street, Suite 410 http://ascendworks.com
indianapolis, in 46204
9
Phone: 317-225-5868 MinDlink Marketing
fax: 866-334-5262 Portland, or
10
http://www.rightoninteractive.com http://mindlinkmarketing.com
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12
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graPhiC DeSigner: Beth Yonker
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website: www.byonkerartanddesign.com / email: beth.yonker@reflexmediasolutions.com
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