The Most Important Question to Ask About Marketing Automation
It’s very simple. Is it working?
We could discuss and spew data, quotes, and trending influences about the pros and cons of marketing automation and nurturing until the cows come home. As with anything in life there are both good and bad.
And we could talk about the effectiveness of marketing automation; is it returning an ROI, are you getting better leads, are your leads more qualified and interested?
But there is a very simple step you need to know to determine if it’s working.
Is it plugged in?
Again, not here to discuss trends or approaches, philosophies or content quality. The question is that simple, is it actually turned on?
Automation is not a set it and forget it type technology. For all the points referenced above you need to stay on top of it as a marketer, to make sure you clients get what they are looking for. But you also need to make sure they’re actually getting SOMETHING.
I’ve seen it happen too often. It is marketing’s responsibility to make sure the automation workflows are actually functioning, from a literal standpoint.
It could be it never worked in the first place (shame on you for not testing!) or that is simply got “knocked off” by mistake. It could be that a different step in the workflow was changed, inadvertently negating the criteria for the automation process.
You Have To Keep Testing!
If you rely on, heck, if you use marketing automation at all, maintenance checks are critical to success. If your processes aren’t working, your marketing isn’t either.