According to a recent study , more than 60% of all German companies have already implemented marketing automation software or are actively planning (Source: Cloudbridge). But without the right link with existing systems, the full benefits of automated marketing can not be realized.

A marketing dashboard for optimized lead management

Use marketing automation correctly

A marketing automation tool without the link to a CRM tool and integrated lead management is more like Amazon would not use its customer data to make individual offers to each customer. So you could still search for products and shop comfortably, but there are no product recommendations, no special offers and no "customers who looked at this product also looked at the following products." In short, Amazon would be compared to shopping do not offer much added value in stationary shops.

A marketing automation tool helps you to make marketing strategies, and especially email marketing, easier and more customer-centric. However, in order not to simply schedule and start email chain reactions that are "unleashed" on all customers, automation should also be used to customize communication based on data, such as optimizing lead or existing customer care the sales team also benefited from it. In other words, you can send your leads dozens of automated e-mails, but if the leads do not evolve, for example, to be taken over by sales, then the best technology is of no use.

A fool with a tool is still a fool.
Marketing and sales must work together

In a study by Salesfusion, 700 B2B marketers were asked about their marketing automation strategies (Source: via Marketwired ). Among those who linked their marketing automation software to the CRM system and also set up a service level agreement between marketing and sales, 60% said that communication between marketing and sales was excellent. By comparison, only 20% of companies said they used a marketing automation tool without a CRM link.
And in our summary of the Hubspot State of Inbound Report 2017 We've found that companies that can establish good communication between marketing and sales can generate more leads through marketing than through sales.

By the way, you can read more about better cooperation through service level agreements here .
Synchronization with CRM system optimizes lead management

If you combine marketing automation and CRM, you can, for example, synchronize the leads gained through automated marketing measures directly with the CRM database. It does not come to data silos and from the beginning of lead generation there is not the "marketing lead" and the "sales lead", but only the "lead", who oversees marketing, sales and service according to his buying phase and behavior becomes.
The advantages of such a link are obvious:
Marketing and Sales (and ideally the service) access a common record for each lead and customer. As a result, everyone is at the same level of information.
Particularly attractive leads can be viewed immediately by the sales department and contacted directly. Sales does not always have to wait for the marketing and the lead handover.
Updates to a contact can be instantly documented so that, for example, it can be taken out of a running lead campaign automatically after signing or selling.
Marketing Dashboard: Evaluate data correctly

One of the foundations for linking the systems is a marketing dashboard. Behind the buzzword is a world of possibilities that - as with so many buzzwords - is full of misunderstandings. Basically, a dashboard is a visual view of selected data and metrics that can be customized. For example, Google Analytics is presented as a dashboard at a glance without the need to be an Analytics expert. And, as with Google Analytics, it depends on how you compile and interpret that data.

A dashboard that links marketing automation and CRM data can not only represent the punctual performance of the marketing measures, but also which leads have become customers or jumped off, for example.

Other possibilities of a dashboard:
Which leads were won by which channels?
Which channels are the most Sales Accepted Leads?
After which measures (e-mail, download, sales contact) do most conversions come about?
During which periods are most leads won?

Also, data from marketing automation and CRM can be mixed, processed and converted into forecasts or offerings. Using analytics and visualization, the lead can also be directly classified and evaluated using statistical methods. Good leads can be easily and clearly distinguished from bad leads.

You want to get an idea of ​​Marketing Automation? In our white paper, you'll learn about the benefits of automated marketing emails and why you can communicate more individually with leads and customers.