That’s why it’s important to take the time to research the alternatives available. When choosing your Marketing Automation Partner, it’s essential to consider the capabilities that are important to your agency – as well as the diverse needs of your clients.
Let’s take a look at some of the core competencies, key considerations, and “must haves” that agencies looking for a Marketing Automation solution should keep in mind:
Step 1: Identify the core competencies you have and which ones you want to achieve
Before you begin the process of evaluating potential vendors, look at your own organization and your existing marketing and business processes. What do you want to do better? More? Less? What gambling data usa new capabilities do you want to develop? What Marketing Automation tool are you using right now that you would replace? Will that change save you money?
Then go through your own list of clients. Identify the goals of each client. Would Marketing Automation help you get/keep/sell new products to them? Would your clients improve their existing processes? Would it help make your current job easier or save you a lot of time? Would such a tool allow you to increase/improve the value your clients offer to their customers? Could you offer greater value to your customers with your new capabilities?
Figure out what your resources and budget are, including the staffing you may need in your evaluation process or later in possible integration and ongoing maintenance or management of the tool.
Once you have followed these basic initial steps, you are ready to begin the process of evaluating potential Marketing Automation solutions. It can be a laborious process to carry out this comparison.
Marketing Automation FundamentalsFREE EBOOK: CREATE LEAD ENGAGEMENT. LIVE HELP TOOL
There are some basic features you'll want to make sure are covered. Some may be capabilities you don't use or plan to use in your own marketing, but they're must-haves that your customers will likely expect from your offering. Even though some of those basics will be functionality you don't use right now, you may need it in the future. It's important to work with a solution that can grow with your needs and your customers' expectations.
The Marketing Automation solution you are looking for must cover:
– Lead generation, Lead scoring and Lead management.
– Automation for lead nurturing programs, trigger email campaigns, etc.
– Tracking and following up on leads from the moment they visit your website, allowing you to take lead behavior into account in your campaigns.
– Easy campaign measurement, analysis and reporting that is relevant to your Agency and your clients.
– Integration with other tools such as CRMs, social media management platforms, webinar platforms, etc.
– Easy design and one-click creation, management and scheduling of campaigns.
– Creating elements such as email messages, landing pages and online forms.
Continue evaluating the different possible providers by checking the ongoing training and support services offered to your agency as a partner. Find out which clients or other Partners work with the providers to get an idea of their leadership. Review their success stories and what has worked for other agencies or companies.
