Marketing Automation is a complex category within digital marketing that spans across Lead Generation, Lead Nurturing, Sales, Operations, and Support. The platforms have wide reaching integrations, can contain deeply technical needs, and can have so many complicated features that even the biggest platforms offer certifications to demonstrate someone’s ‘expertise’ with their platforms.
That being said, Marketing Automation isn’t always a full time job. Given the sales cycles of many businesses utilizing Marketing Automation, you need time to evaluate whether or not the strategies implemented are working and merely need some optimization, or they aren’t working and need an overhaul.
An Analogy
Consider the process of building a home. When a home is to be built, the Architect must lay out the blueprints, and a home builder or General Contractor will turn those plans into a home with their teams. These Contractors need the expertise to know both how to actually turn the blueprints into reality, but they also add value by being aware of the physical limitations of an Architects plans. A good Contractor can point these issues out before starting the building process. You don’t put the building of the home in the hands of a roofer, or a plumber, as their expertise is limited to their specific fields, and they may not recognize issues in areas outside their own.
Once the home is built, the contractor leaves, but you may have them organize projects for you down the line, should you like to add a pool in the backyard, finish a basement, or add a Mother in Law’s suite, and once again they’ll help to ensure the desired add ons or renovations are completed successfully.
Implementing Marketing Automation is much like building a home. You need the expertise and experience of a General Contractor to interpret and consult on the blueprints, and you need the expertise and experience of a Marketing Automation expert to interpret the ideal customer journey and implement the tools and processes needed for your Marketing/Sales funnel. And just like the electrician shouldn’t be building the home, putting Marketing Automation in the hands of the Sales Team or Lead Generation Team may leave you with unforeseen and expensive gaps in the creation of the marketing automation solution.
When the home is finished, the General Contractor’s responsibilities roll back (they’re called contractors after all, not employees). You don’t pay the General Contractor the same amount to do your house cleaning or lawn mowing. You may consult them here and there on what an additional home project would cost, and they may build those projects for you, but you don’t keep them retained and put them to work as your house cleaner or landscaping team.
Hiring a full time employee to manage your Marketing Automation is often doing just that. With the project based nature of Marketing Automation, you run risks of hiring a full time employee to finish a project, and then scramble to find work for them to do, often outside the scope of their expertise.
At the same time, making Marketing Automation the responsibility of a sales team or lead generation team adds risk. Sales has incentive to drive sales, and they often end up trying to force prospects into sales qualified leads too quickly, skipping the important nurturing process. Marketers not trained in Marketing Automation may turn an expensive and powerful Marketing Automation platform into a glorified Email Marketing tool, because they don’t have the time to train on how best to use these tools. Worse, when the responsibility of managing Marketing Automation is shared between busy teams, the result is often it gets pushed off and ultimately becomes no one’s responsibility.
The Case for Marketing Automation Consultants
A Marketing Automation consultant is much like that General Contractor. They have the experience and expertise for the big projects (a Marketing Automation implementation or overhaul) as well as consultation and projects within the home (email marketing ops, funnel optimization, lead scoring), but limit the overhead cost of a full time employee. Consultants like us can ensure the existing teams can continue to do what they do best, Demand Gen can drive leads, Marketing can create interesting and relevant content, and Sales can close qualified leads – but the Marketing Automation consultant can ensure that process happens as efficiently as possible, without being another full time mouth to feed and add risk to your company’s bottom line.
Is it time to consider bringing in Marketing Automation Consultants for your business?