6 Steps to get your Marketing Automation Implementation Ready!

Marketing automation (MA) tools are not a whole new concept, and today many businesses include them in their digital marketing strategy. They work hand-in-hand with social media, websites, blogs, among many others. So, if you are a marketer or if you have any interest in technology and marketing, I bet the world of MA tools is not all brand new to you, right? But do you actually know what benefits of marketing automation implementation are? I will tell you right away!

Why betting on Marketing Automation Implementation?

Good things will come after you bet on the marketing automation technology. You will certainly generate more leads, better nurture both existing clients and new leads, effectively measure ROI across your Marketing Campaigns, and… the all-time end goal, you will surely close more deals.

Now, hold on… Before you can enjoy all these advantages, you need to pass through the implementation process. That’s why I am are here today: to give you some tips on how to prepare for your marketing automation implementation process and successfully get you to cross the finish line.

Preparing for the Marketing Automation Implementation 101

1. Define and share info about timelines

First things first. To prepare for a Marketing Automation implementation process you need to understand that this new platform will change the way your employees work, so they should be engaged in the process and have visibility about calendars and timelines. This is the first thing that you need to pay attention to – timeline definition and sharing.

In fact, as you will not probably implement a marketing automation software on your own, thus planning a timeline is important not only to be aligned with the consulting company that is working with you but also to get your team prepared in advance for the change that will come. This way, you, your company, your team, the consultancy firm, and any other key stakeholder are on the same boat and may bear in mind the date of the switch from one system to the other.

2. Audit your team

Getting your team involved will allow you to analyze all the important components with time to adjust and prepare in advance little things. So, before your marketing automation implementation, audit all the software, integrations, platforms, etc. that may be considered in the project. A good way to do it is by talking with your team and make a detailed assessment of all the tools they use on a daily basis, such as social media, webinar platforms, Google Ads, among so many others. Afterward, analyze witch tools can and must be integrated with the new marketing automation platform.

3. Brainstorm the new processes

When you install a new marketing automation platform, you will undoubtedly end up creating new processes and flows, which will make your business more efficient and automated. So, it’s key for the wellness of your implementation project that all the new processes, concepts, flows, among others, are thought and approved.

Therefore, getting the right people involved (not just marketers, but also other stakeholders) in the process is an important step to guarantee the success of your project because during the implementation you will define many things that will influence not only the marketing team but also other teams, such as Sales. Don’t believe it? Check the two examples below that will prove you wrong!

So, what I need you to understand is that before your marketing automation implementation you need to gather together with key stakeholders to predefine some processes and flows. Surely these processes may be sharpened along the way, and you can always make small changes to improve them after you hear the consultants’ opinion. Yet, don’t let these key definitions to the last minute. Predefine the flows in advance and brainstorm them with key players, such as:

• The representatives of your marketing and sales teams, whose importance I have already explained above;
• The IT team, which you will need to involve as they know better about your systems, domain setup and email setup, for instance;
• The end-users of the platform, whose feedback you will need to consider before and during the implementation process, to ensure you are aligning the marketing automation implementation to your company’s culture and way of working;
• And, the project manager. Yes, a marketing automation implementation project manager will be required, with availability to ensure quick response times. So, before it starts, assign a project manager or even a whole project team, so as to create a faster and more effective communication bridge between your company and the consulting company that is working with you in this process.

4. Organize your data

Another thing you will need to consider before your marketing automation implementation is the organization of your database. Every project of this nature has a data loading phase. How complex and time consuming this phase is will depend a lot on how well organized your data is. Therefore, you must consider how large your database is, how clean it is, if you are following best practices, and whether or not it is ready to import.

Besides, keep in mind that every marketing automation tool has its limitations. So, the first step is to analyze the limits of your new marketing automation platform and, if necessary, talk with your account manager or consultancy team to understand the possibilities of getting more data space.

5. Create safety backups

If you are changing from one platform to another, it is important to make a safety backup for everything, such as your marketing assets (including emails, landing pages, forms, etc.), your database, the historical interactions of your contacts and leads, among others. So, just analyze all the flows you have created and see how you will recreate or improve them into the new marketing automation platform. Meanwhile, don’t forget to point out all the files that are stored in your actual platform and that will need to be stored in the new one. This way, nothing is left behind during the migration!

6. Define KPIs

The last step on how to prepare for your marketing automation implementation is the definition of KPIs that will allow you to measure your success along the way and will help you to adjust and optimize all the process to improve your success and achieve higher results across time. So, just think about which goals you have for this new marketing automation tool, what you want to see fulfilled, and align these aims with strategic KPIs! And we finish the way we started, with timelines. So, finally, define a timeline to start and to finish measuring them.

Ready for your marketing automation implementation? Us too! Stellaxius is ready to help you on that journey!

Stellaxius can help you with your Marketing Automation Implementation!

As you have seen above, there are a lot of steps to take before you actually start implementing your marketing automation tool. And by no means do I advise you to start that journey by yourself. So, my recommendation is for you to implement a new marketing automation platform with the help of a trusted consultancy firm, such as Stellaxius. At Stellaxius we are experts on implementing Pardot, the B2B Marketing automation tool by Salesforce. So, you may work with us to successfully install Pardot and boost your business’ productivity! We will always be clear and honest about our work methods, and we will make sure these align to meet your highest goals. At the end of the day, the true recipe for the success of a project of any kind is to build a team that shares goals and fosters collaboration and trust.

I hope you have enjoyed this post and are now more enthusiastic and prepared for your marketing automation implementation! Subscribe to our blog, Knowledge Center, to know more about marketing automation, namely Pardot! 🙂