How to Do B2B Marketing Automation?

Find out how to take advantage of B2B marketing automation techniques and software to simplify promotion and make your campaigns efficient on different online channels.

Suppose you are considering embarking on automating the marketing processes of your business. In that case, first understand the advantages and then identify the tools to implement them. Indeed, this automated system has an evident impact on lead generation and the facilitated management of qualified contacts in the sales or conversion funnel.

Let’s proceed step by step to understand how this is achieved.

CRM and Marketing Automation: Definitions and Differences

You will often find CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and marketing automation associated with each other. You can often integrate the two systems, but they are not the same. 

• CRM definition: CRM is a system that allows companies to simplify the management of data associated with customers/leads. This contact information is stored in a single database that is accessible in real time to the business people involved in the process, allowing them to focus on relationships and sales.
• MA definition: Marketing automation is a set of technological tools that allow companies to automate marketing activities, improve operational efficiency, and increase commercial revenue. 

To make the relationship between CRM and marketing automation more evident, we can refer to a hypothetical sales funnel. The MA is mainly used in the middle part of the funnel (MOFU = Middle Of the Funnel), where you try to interact with users to keep them active. On the other hand, CRM is particularly useful in the final part of the funnel (BOFU = Bottom Of the Funnel) when looking for a conversion.

How to Create a B2B Marketing Automation Goal Plan

Many B2B companies that use marketing automation do so in a piecemeal way, resulting in dissatisfaction with the results and the software they use. The reason for this frustration is identified upstream: in all probability, marketing plans have not been planned in line with the sales objectives.

To prevent this problem, we must plan and track user behaviour during the buyer journey: Prospect > Lead > Client. To do this, we must use the full potential of MA, which supports us in achieving fundamental and intermediate objectives. 

Marketing Automation for Lead Scoring

Using marketing automation software for B2B makes it much easier to track the behaviour and establish the interests of potential customers (leads), allowing us to leverage these insights to align the marketing plan with the sales plan. With lead scoring, for example, a score is assigned to each action a user takes, and a threshold can be set above which the lead is considered ready for direct contact. 

Example of lead scoring: Among the contacts browsing the e-commerce site, a high score could be reserved for users who have reached the display of the price page or who have added the product to the cart.

Marketing Automation for Campaign Optimization

MA software is becoming more user-friendly; in other words, its interfaces and integrated models can be customised to meet specific needs without requiring special technical skills. All of this translates into saving time and money when creating promotional campaigns.

In addition, the platforms provide indicators for key metrics that allow you to track performance and manage your multichannel marketing spend (based on ROI).

All the marketing automation platforms presented below enable marketers to analyse campaign performance and optimise their subsequent actions. 

Marketing Automation for Customer Loyalty

The MA benefits do not cease once the first results appear. Even after making the purchase, the customer will still need further information or post-sales care. Therefore, it is not enough to transform the prospect into a client: you need to implement a loyalty plan. Automation supports us in retaining customers and in making cross-selling and up-selling efficient.

Which Software to Use for B2B Marketing Automation?

To avoid covering too many products, below we provide a brief overview of the key features of the leading marketing automation software, selected based on the market share it controls.

Some of the leading marketing automation platforms include:

• HubSpot
• Adobe Marketing Cloud
• Pardot
• Marketo
• Eloqua

HubSpot for Marketing Automation

Let’s start with HubSpot, a widely used marketing automation platform. The main strength for those who use this software for marketing automation is the intuitive interface designed to facilitate the design of landing pages and effective forms, as well as the creation and formatting of content.

HubSpot’s marketing funnel is customisable without losing effectiveness, and users have quick access to statistics and insights. These lead reports are one of the most functional tools for improving sales performance.

B2B Marketing Automation with Adobe Marketing Cloud

Adobe Marketing Cloud is a tool designed for integrated digital marketing: in a single dashboard, it is possible to monitor and manage the various marketing actions, such as email marketing or promotional announcements, by activating the marketing automation functionality.

Accurate time synchronisation and automatic updating, along with complete transparency on campaign performance, are two additional advantages we attribute to this platform.

B2B Marketing Automation with Pardot

B2B companies should consider Pardot when deciding to activate marketing automation. This is particularly true if you use Salesforce, of which Pardot is a part. This is particularly true if you use Salesforce, of which Pardot is a part. 

In particular, from a marketing automation perspective, B2B Pardot is a valuable ally alongside the sales department. From a marketing automation perspective, Pardot is a valuable tool alongside the sales department. It can improve the efficiency of CRM and other marketing tools in generating profiled and high-quality leads, for example, through the personalisation of targeted emails. 

Once we have activated the actions defined in our plan, we can intervene throughout the sales process (lead generation > lead qualification > sales opportunity > closing the deal) and then calculate our ROI or return on investment. 

Pardot’s weak point?  The social side is clearly a weak point. The management of social media does not seem as strong as the other features.

Marketing Automation with Marketo

While the market share is not as significant as HubSpot or Adobe Marketing Cloud, Marketo plays a vital role in the B2B marketing automation software industry. The platform satisfies the various aspects of corporate digital marketing, thanks to the reliable lead generation system. Among the advantages of Marketo:

• Ease of use which makes it suitable for SMEs
• Social features are also available for email; however, they should be tested before sending. 
• Design of original landing pages with practical data acquisition modules
• Complete integration with the main CRMs
• Customizable metrics based on your needs and goals

Eloqua: The Origins of Marketing Automation

Before closing this quick review of specialised platforms, let’s take a moment to mention Eloqua, which was launched in 1999 and later acquired by Oracle in 2012. Integration with Oracle Business Intelligence optimises the most advanced analytics and allows you to keep track of every single data point highlighted along the sales funnel path.

Among the positive aspects of Eloqua are the following: 

• Ease of audience segmentation: the software combines different data from multiple channels. It synthesises them into various segmented profiles that identify the target audience best suited to generate revenue for the business.
• Conversion optimisation: It supports personalised campaigns that can help improve conversion rates. This goal is achievable both with the simplification in the design and setting of campaigns, even the most complex ones, and with the mapping of user flows profiled for each channel used. All without requiring IT knowledge. 

On the other hand, simplification of use does not correspond to equal ease of installation. On the contrary! Eloqua requires time and the use of specialised figures for its correct configuration; without them, you risk losing all the advantages listed above.

How to Choose a B2B Marketing Automation Platform

Choosing a marketing automation strategy for your business is a strategic decision that requires a commitment of resources. A preventive plan and correct process mapping are essential to avoid wasting time and money.

The budget plan also includes the choice of the best B2B marketing automation platform for your company. This decision requires you to have a clear vision of your business objectives and needs. To this end, it may be helpful to create a list of problems that you intend to solve with marketing automation to find a platform that meets your requirements and has the features needed to achieve the desired improvements.