He was pretty fast and you could tell he was going to be a great athlete when he got older.  Of course, us older kids beat him up pretty good under the hoop.   Robert was fast, but he could only go to his right.   After a while, we figured out that if we pressed him left, he couldn’t do anything, thereby neutralizing his speed.  One day, Robert was out goofing around with some of his friends and broke his right arm.  For two weeks, we didn’t see Robert at all.  Then one day, his Mom dragged him down to the court and told him she was tired of him hanging around the house.  ”Please get out here and play with your friends.”  

Robert was tenuous for the next week, just sitting on the sideline and moping.  Finally, he couldn’t resist getting in the game.  Now, he only had a left hand.  At first, we took it easy on him, because we knew he was right-handed.  We would usually wrap up around 8:30-9, but Robert was still there, shooting.  The next day we came back and he was always there first.  Robert was determined to strengthen his left hand, something he never used.  After about a month, Robert could move left pretty well.  After another 2 weeks, he was shooting better with his left hand then he ever did with his right.  Then the cast came off.  

Now, Robert was dangerous.  He could move left or right with equal speed and power.  He developed a sweet cross-over dribble that left you hanging onto your shorts.  In time, Robert was starting for the school basketball team and ended up being one of the best athletes the school had ever seen.

The average Marketing Automation System runs about $60,000 per year. Companies can run these platforms internally and typically allocate 1/2 to 3 FTE to use the technology as part of their lead generation efforts. An average marketing technologist will make about $75,000 loaded. Other companies choose to outsource their demand generation efforts, and these fees can range from $5,000 to $25,000+ per month depending upon the services and scope required. So let’s say, internal will run approximately $135,000 per year and external will run approximately $120,000 per year. Where do you get this money, and what kind of return should you expect?

1. Reallocate your PR budget. The average B2B company is spending $10,000 per month on retainer, and usually gets 1-2 speaking engagements, a by-line article, and a press release. Shift 50% of that and you just about have the software paid for. In return, you will be able to run unlimited outbound and nurturing campaigns, score and profile your leads, integrate with your CRM, and see a 3X increase on average in lead production. Assuming you have a 30 to 1 lead to close ratio at an average sale of $50,000, and you sell 1 new person per month, marketing automation will get you an additional $1,200,000 per year against the same spend you have now. That’s a 10 to 1 return on investment for no additional budget.

2. Do one less tradeshow. The average tradeshow costs $30,000, and you are lucky if you get 2-3 good leads. You will have to run 3-4 tradeshows to get one customer, costing you $120,000 to gain $50,000. Hardly a worthwhile investment. $30,000 is 1/2 a year of a license. Using the math in step one, you will have produced $600,000 in the first 6 months with additional revenue, giving you more than enough to pay for the rest of the year and beyond.

3. Eliminate one direct mail campaign. Assuming you send out 10,000 pieces at a total cost of $1.50/piece, including design, print and postage, then you can save $15,000 and pay for 3 months of marketing automation. That 3 months will net you $150,000 and pay for the license for 2 years.

4. Reduce Google Adwords Spending. The average B2B company is spending at least $30,000 per month on pay per click. Trimming just $5,000 per month will pay for the license, generate an additional $1,200,000 in sales and allow you to double your Google Adwords Budget next year.

5. Reduce your Agency spending. A typical Agency gets at least $10,000 per month on retainer for creative services, but typically is not helping you with demand generation. Refocus that money on marketing automation. These platforms will repurpose existing content, drive additional traffic and convert more leads to sales. Shift your content strategy from agency created to user generated. This is much more cost effective and significantly more valuable in conversion.

There are probably a number of ways you can shift your budget around, but these 5 will be more than enough to get you started.

1. The rise of social media and a new generation. Today’s under 25 crowd uses Text and IM long before they use email; they get information more organically – Twitter, Facebook, Chat; information is more interactive and conversation based. As my friend Aaron Kahlow likes to say – email is like the telegraph and social media is the telephone; how do you think your firm can have a more meaningful conversation?

2. List quality and permission; the average list turns over 25% per year and very few organizations have routing data cleansing and enrichment programs in place. Additionally, the majority of marketers still use an opt-out strategy vs. opt-in or double opt-in. The end result is that marketers have huge lists that are inaccurate, not segmented, and not built on permission. This leads to poor return on investment.

3. Noise and Filters; the average executive today receives over 150 emails per day. In addition to ISP and corporate spam filters, many executives have additional filters on their inbox and they also engage in polite ‘unsubscribe’ – meaning they just delete your email upon receipt instead of actually unsubscribing. The result – your emails are getting lost in a sea of noise and screening mechanisms. Instead of trying to figure out how to differentiate, marketers just send more hoping that will cure the problem.

Email can still be a viable tool in your arsenal, but to make it more effective, take the following steps:

1. Implement a subscription management system that allows your users to determine what they receive, how they receive it and when they receive it

2. Implement routine data cleansing and enrichment programs. The best marketers constantly refine their lists. It is not the size of your list but the quality.

3. Make your emails more relevant – subject matter and content along with a targeted list will always yield a better result

4. Use multiple channels – don’t rely on email only. Use social media and offline tactics to build a demand generation ecosystem

Follow the above steps and you can start to gain more effectiveness from your email programs.

For sustainable revenue growth, marketers need to build an integrated plan that aligns sales, marketing and technology with multiple channels and clear metrics on what constitutes success.  SEO and Social Media are great, but they are only part of the picture.

This helps the marketing organization deliver relevant and personalized messages in a highly scalable fashion.  There are many vendors and things to evaluate when considering a Marketing Automation Platform.  Below are 5 major things to consider.

1.  Business Objectives – What are your main goals?  Do you want to send out more email effectively?  Do you want to integrate disparate systems?  Is resource and budgetary planning important?  How many channels do you plan to use?  Are you trying to drive more leads … more qualified leads?  Do you need more help in cross-sell/up-sell?  Whatever it is, make sure that you clarify with your team what you are looking for not just for today, but in the next 24 months.  Fortunately, most vendors out there are on demand and have flexible contracts – but once you seriously commit to a platform, it does get harder to switch over time.

2. Cost – Most marketing organizations are not familiar with buying technology, but they are very familiar with buying services.  This will be a new type of purchase for many, and your budget will play a big role in determining what you can implement.    Like most things, you get what you pay for.  Solutions are available from under $1,000 to over $10,000 per month.  Depth of functionality increases as you move up the food chain.  Depending upon what you are looking for, you can find the right vendor at the right price.  Software licenses are not the only price consideration.  Evaluate start-up costs such as deployment, implementation, training, integration and system migration.  There can also be ongoing costs for customer support, training, and additional modules.  Again, consider all of these variables in your budgetary process.

3. Vendor Rating – There are at least 15 vendors in this space, with more jumping in every month.  Some vendors have been around a long time, and have hundreds of customers in their stable and are financially secure.  Other vendors are exciting and new, but unproven.  Your appetite for risk will play a big part in your decision.  Also look at the vendors support network.  Do they have partners and affiliates that can help you with best practices and value-added services?  Are there regular user groups and online forums where you can network and share with other customers?  Is the vendor accessible?  Are they continuously updating and refining their product to meet the demands of the market?  What do the analysts think about them?  Ask yourself these questions when making your purchase decision.

4. Usability – How easy is it to implement and use the product?  As marketers, we are constantly on the move and seriously multi-tasking.  We need systems that can support the way we work, not for us to support the software.  You should be able to try before you buy and decide for yourself whether or not you can use it in your daily work routine.

5. Results – Ultimately, it comes down to financial results, and the KPI’s you choose to evaluate the success of your decision.  A marketing automation system should help you get a better lead to customer conversion rate, higher transaction price, shorter sales cycle, and an increased opportunity to close rate.    The vendor you choose should have demonstrated success in this area with multiple customers, especially in your industry.  If they have a hard time demonstrating value, then you will too, so tread carefully.

There are many other things to consider when making a technology purchase, but the 5 criteria above should get you well on your way to making an informed decision.