2009 was the year in which Marketing Automation really took off. Several new vendors appeared on the market, many existing vendors experienced rapid growth, and Marketing Automation as a term gained popularity among B2B marketers. In this post I want to focus on the trends in Marketing Automation for 2010. Integration of Social Media, Inbound Marketing and Marketing Automation. The need for new analytical skills. Sales & marketing alignment. Chris Frank , Director of Marketing, TreeHouse Interactive. MORE >>

Marketing Automation Buyers Guide to Lead Nurturing September 21st, 2010 by Roy Russo Lead Nurturing is the corner-stone of today’s marketing automation and automated email marketing processes. With it, marketers are able to lower their costs of new customer acquisition, build interest and awareness for their product and services, and help retain existing customers; all in an automated fashion requiring little effort from marketing staff. CRM Integration: This is an absolute must. MORE >>

But this time I was able to answer right away because I’ve just finished a white paper on the future of B2B marketing automation, sponsored by Leadformix and available here for free download. The question answered by the paper is “What will marketing automation vendors do next?” This is different from the perhaps-more-important question of “What will marketers do next?” Like everyone else, I’m seeing greater use of social, mobile, and video; more cross-channel campaigns; closer cooperation between marketing and sales; and expanded use of analytics. MORE >>

Whether you’re a B2B or B2C company, it’s advantageous to manage your customers and prospects in one of the many customer relationship management (CRM) systems. This obviously allows you to match your customers with sales transactions, but more importantly for marketers it allows you the option of layering on a marketing automation system that can deliver targeted messages at the right time without continuous management by additional personnel. Marketing automation, what is it? Turn your marketing into a 24/7 sales generating machine. MORE >>

Marketing automation technology can help. If you’re new to our blog, read on; if you’ve been around a while, consider checking out one of our more advanced posts such as The ROI of Marketing Automation. Marketing Automation Enables Modern Business Processes. Marketing has changed significantly over the past few years, and you have to do a lot more with less. Marketing automation helps you achieve success in 4 key ways: 1. You’re able to nurture relationships with customers who are not ready to buy. And how do you get there? MORE >>