Finding the Right Marketing Technology Fit

Digital marketing and marketing automation are hot topics for businesses these days.  As a certified marketing automation consultant, I meet with business owners and marketing managers on a weekly basis to help them determine which digital marketing tool will work best for them.  Many find it daunting to weed through hundreds of tools to find one that will meet their sales and marketing goals.

When we take price and software integration out of the equation, there are some basic questions I ask to determine if their needs can be fulfilled by an email marketing tool, like Constant Contact, or if they need a more robust marketing automation tool, like Pardot.

Below are the questions that help me determine which categories of tools we should consider:

1. Are you currently using an email marketing tool successfully?
2. Do you want to identify who has been on your website, e.g., company, contact, page visits?
3. Do you have customer service, sales or marketing communications you would like to automate?
4. Do you need help sharing leads and marketing data with your sales team?
5. Do you want to track the ROI on your marketing campaigns?

If you answer “yes” to most of the questions above, it might be time to start looking at a digital marketing automation tool.  Both Constant Contact and MailChimp tout automation, but it is limited when compared to the automation capabilities of tools like Pardot or ClickDimensions.  Beyond that, neither Constant Contact nor MailChimp can provide website intelligence.

If you have had success with your email campaigns in MailChimp or Constant Contact, you should consider a digital marketing automation tool to capture the full digital footprint of your customers and prospects.  Digital marketing automation tools allow you to see not only their email clicks, but also their page views before and after your email.

If you are ready to explore your options and start building digital profiles, contact us to discuss your options.  We can help you quickly determine the right digital marketing tools to fit your needs.