Marketing automation is a widely available category of business software that manages leads and campaigns across multiple channels. Companies have used marketing automation software like HubSpot Marketing Hub to completely streamline the sales funnel. Common capabilities include:  

• Capturing leads with webforms, pop-ups, and landing pages  
• Nurturing leads with email automation; omnichannel marketing; and targeted, personalized outreach  
• Qualifying leads with lead scoring, artificial intelligence, and conversion points across your site   

In essence, marketing automation tools help your team spend less time organizing data and more time analyzing and acting on it to create a free-flowing sales funnel with high-quality leads.  

According to HubSpot, 76% of all businesses use at least one marketing automation tool. It’s clear that technology is playing an increasingly crucial role in how companies assign tasks to prioritize growth. Read on to learn about the most frequently cited benefits of marketing automation.  

Improve Lead Generation and Nurture

• Generate better leads 
• Nurture leads more effectively 
• Keep lead data organized  

The most effective lead generation and qualification strategies depend on a deep understanding of buyer personas and consumer behavior. Marketing automation software eliminates guesswork to give your team a better understanding of who you’re marketing to and what the most effective strategies will be.  

Industry leaders in the marketing automation space, including HubSpot and Salesforce, emphasize the importance of using technology to save time. When this technology can gather and keep track of lead data from multiple sources—the ‘who,’ ‘what,’ and ‘where’—team members can focus on the ‘why’ and ‘how.’  

For example, an integration between Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales and HubSpot Marketing Hub can ensure lead data is complete and updated in real-time between both systems. One global tech company with this software structure was able to organize accounts based on certain categories, such as region, to ensure “communications are specific and personalized.”  

Save Time for Strategizing and Creating Value

• Automate redundant tasks 
• Create flexibility for your team 
• Embrace opportunities for creativity 

What company wouldn’t want more time for creating and constructing creative campaigns?   

When too much time is spent on legwork—organizing data, researching personas, and going back and forth about the best direction for specific accounts—teams find there aren’t enough hours in the day to try new and exciting strategies.   

According to growth marketing company Act-On, “successful campaigns rely on highly targeted marketing.” Marketing automation software handles the repetitive and menial tasks that eat up your team’s time, such as posting on social media, tracking leads, and auditing current strategies. With hours saved each week, teams have more flexibility to analyze data and come up with new key strategies to attract and qualify leads.  

American Crane & Equipment Corporation (ACECO), a leading manufacturer of cranes, hoists, and other material handling equipment, invested in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales so they could focus on creating marketing nurture campaigns and following up with leads more effectively. ACECO uses their sales CRM in conjunction with ClickDimensions marketing automation software, integrating it all with their database for global projects. This makes it easier than ever to target companies actively searching for products and services that ACECO can supply.  

Maintain One Platform for Cross-Team Visibility

• Break down silos between departments 
• Consolidate data in one easy-to-access place 
• Prevent sales funnel clogs to keep leads moving 

Silos between sales, marketing, and related departments can create a clunky sales funnel. Internal collaboration is essential for a smooth experience, both for your team and your customers. When data is properly stored and organized, team members can access it whenever necessary. Marketing automation adds this and other benefits to improve communication and keep leads moving through the sales funnel.  

Community First Fund, a non-profit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) in Pennsylvania, uses a combination of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales and Marketing plus ClickDimensions to streamline the sales and marketing process. The organization’s project manager, Memie Siwiec, emphasized how these solutions combined to transform how the sales and marketing teams operated.  

According to John Scott, Vice President of Community Lending at Community First Fund, “Before Dynamics 365 CRM, we were dependent on using Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, shared folders, and Outlook to record and share interactions. Not all information was conveniently available to everyone when they needed it.” 

What Marketing Tasks Can Your Team Automate?

If you’re looking for marketing automation software that fits into your current software environment, we’re here to help! The Cargas team has experience with marketing automation tools like HubSpot Marketing Hub that sync with ERP, CRM, and accounting solutions from Salesforce, Microsoft, and Sage. Book a meeting to learn more!