A new report from Forrester Consulting, commissioned by marketing automation provider Silverpop , offers little in the way of groundbreaking insights, but does provide plenty of data confirming what most already know: that many companies are failing to realize the true potential from their investments in marketing automation. In the report, “ Automation: Redefining Marketing’s Game Plan ,” Forrester details the results of their surveying 155 US-based senior marketing professionals on their use of, results from, and attitudes towards marketing automation. MORE >>

salesforce.com, Microsoft Dynamics CRM), so why do I need marketing automation ”? Salesforce recently rebranded their social marketing application as the Marketing Cloud, and their website says you can use their solutions to “optimize campaigns from lead to close, on every channel”. Similarly, Architecture of Marketing Automation versus CRM. CRM systems are designed and optimized for a very different purpose, which is what creates the whitespace for marketing automation vendors (like Marketo). Marketing Automation. Marketing Automation. Business Goal. MORE >>

B2B marketing automation, if done right, is an efficient and cost-effective tactic for engaging your prospects and helping them move forward in their buying process; ultimately generating more of the qualified, sales-ready leads that your salespeople and channel partners need to meet your company’s sales, revenue and growth goals. The bad news is that when it comes it comes to implementing marketing automation for generating, nurturing and qualifying leads, many B2B marketers are daunted by the perceived complexity. WALK: Integrate Campaigning. B2B marketing automation MORE >>

by Dayna Rothman What is the difference between email marketing and marketing automation? We all know how powerful and important email marketing is to your marketing toolbox, but implementing marketing automation can dramatically increase the effectiveness of the email marketing strategy you already have in place. There are many differences between an email marketing and a marketing automation application. With marketing automation you can start to take out the manual work of crafting individual emails. Is Marketing Automation Right for your Organization? MORE >>

Multiple touches. Proverbial marketing wisdom says at least seven touches are needed in order to convert a cold lead into a sale.  Whether or not this is the correct number, the principle conveys an element of truth: every marketer knows it takes multiple touches to create a customer.  This fact makes it difficult to allocate revenue to any specific touch. Single Attribution (First Touch / Last Touch). First Touch. Allocate all the value to the FIRST program that touched the deal.  Last Touch. of the resulting deal to each touch. MORE >>