- A critical segment of CRM

by J B

Every business defines a marketing system, either manual or automated. Some emerge as
giants, while others, either give up on business or constantly struggle to keep their
heads above the water. So, what are the variables that make or mar the success of an
organization?

The successful enterprises have the capacity to address the market needs by using right
marketing automation tools and analytics, which enact as time and money saving
mechanisms and help in making good business decisions.

Marketing automation, an integral component of customer relationship management (CRM)
involves using a software application to automate marketing processes such as customer
segmentation, customer data integration (CDI) and campaign management. Marketing
automation allows manual processes to be performed much more efficiently and conceiving
some new ones.

::It’s Functions::

Most companies have taken to marketing automation tools in order to tune their customer
marketing efforts to acquiring and retaining customers and generating new sources of
revenue. Marketing-automation application allows you to: -

1.Perform critical, real-time market analysis that lets businesses gauge the
effectiveness of marketing initiatives.
2.Build, execute and measure their marketing campaigns.
3.Update information on customer segments and profiles based on the constant input of
new data. This information can come from click stream analysis of customer behavior on a
Web site or from response patterns across multiple campaigns such as direct mail,
conferences and training initiatives.
4.Collect, analyze, disseminate and act on a wide range of data, with greater speed
without greasing your elbows.

The core of this technology lets you streamline your data as per categories such as -
which information goes where, which messages are sent to whom and likewise. From the
very first step, marketing automation allows you to carefully segment your in-house
list. Accordingly, no entry can be made without being classified. Thereon, every single
action taken by an individual, from every clickable link to slightest piece of
information, all gets recorded under one central database. Whether you’re sending out
your first email or fifteenth, every person’s record is updated instantly.

::Knowing the Answers::

By analyzing the volume of data (open rates, clickthroughs, form completions, expressed
and implied preferences…) accumulated by your data marketing automation system, you as
a marketer, can find answers to some of your most persistent queries such as:

1.By the designated category, which prospects are the most and least active responders?
2.What has been your response rate over the past 6 months for one email type
communication versus another?
3.What number of prospects responded to the current month’s product promotion compared
to the one executed 2 months ago?

::Knowing your Prospects::

You can better understand your prospects by letting them choose the type and level of
communications they do / don’t want to receive from your end. Such communications might
include:

1.Product announcements
2.Corporate press releases
3.Event announcements
4.Broad informational resources

Once your prospects have expressed their preferences, the information gets stored in the
centralized database, supported by your marketing automation, which further lets you
capture your prospect/s professional interests.

::Advantages::

With marketing automation application, you enjoy a number of benefits:

1.You spend more time on the tasks that you like to do, which usually are those that got
you into the business in the first place.
2.Instead of you having to chase clients, they come to you already knowing about your
products / services.
3.While you are occupied entertaining existing clients, you’re still getting the word
out about your services allowing you make informed decisions about your company’
4.You get the leverage to accelerate your business growth.

Most marketing-automation applications let users design, schedule, execute and evaluate
multi-channel marketing campaigns. Major components to be considered under
marketing-automation are: -

1.::Marketing analytics:: is important for companies that do not have a sophisticated
data-management infrastructure. Companies that are new to data analytics might want a
marketing-automation tool that can generate data models.
2.::Campaign management:: is another key piece of marketing automation that supports
campaign design, scheduling and execution capabilities across multiple channels,
including direct mail, E-mail, Web, phone, fax and events.
3.::Real-time decision support:: helps marketing managers track campaigns and make
tweaks on the fly in response to customer activities.
4.::Learning algorithms:: track and predict customer behavior.
5.Finally, ::response management:: and ::reporting:: lets business managers review the
results of their campaigns.

Any major marketing automation project must be initiated with a strategy and process
evaluation. Many companies attempt to redesign processes in the middle of an automation
effort. This is can significantly increase costs and induce delays. Strategy, process
and automation - in that order - deliver the best and most predictable results.

Selecting the best product is often a matter of aligning with a company’s CRM
infrastructure or selecting the most viable software vendor. While functionality is
important, products should offer maximum support for most marketing processes. A number
of CRM vendors offer marketing automation as part of larger offerings that may include
sales-force automation or customer-service capabilities.

::Get winning results with Salesforce.com::

As a global leader in on-demand customer relationship management (CRM), Salesforce.com
provides closed-loop marketing automation application. Understanding the importance of
integrated sales and marketing, Salesforce Marketing Automation helps you advocate
multi-channel campaigns. Real-time analytics and reporting tools help marketers to
evaluate campaign results and make necessary tweaks to enhance their performance.

Salesforce.com’s comprehensive on-demand marketing automation offers you: -
Integrated marketing and sales application with automated lead conversion. Real-time
analytics to measure and optimize campaigns for positive results. Multi-channel campaign
management and analysis. Simple-to-use and rapid deployment encouraging better and
faster user experience.

Want to get quality results? Choose Salesforce.com for award-winning functionality,
proven integration, point-and-click customization, global capabilities and more. ::Free
Trial & Demo:: - Apply Today!

::About the Author::

For more information contact us at: Sales Force

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