I released the 2012 edition of our B2B Marketing Automation Vendor Selection Tool (VEST) report today, an event that deserves more hoopla that I’ve given it. The VEST provides by far the most detailed, objective information available on industry vendors. It includes nearly 200 data points on 21 products, thumbnail sketches of each vendor’s strengths and weaknesses, and three industry quadrants showing leaders in different market segments. There was some speculation last year that the micro-business vendors were growing the fastest. Myth busted. MORE >>

by Jon Miller Marketing automation is a technology that streamlines and automates marketing tasks so companies can increase operational efficiency and grow revenue faster. In other words, companies don’t buy marketing automation to automate their marketing. Measure and prove marketing ROI. Save time and money in marketing. But while some companies achieve amazing ROI (100%+ improvements) from marketing automation, others achieve more modest gains, and a few fail to get value at all. Marketing Automation MORE >>

Let me start by saying that the 50% revenue increase I’m projecting for B2B marketing automation in 2013 is a very healthy one. But still, as I noted last week, the growth rate is slowing – and for some vendors seems to have fallen considerably in the second half of 2012. Figures for other vendors are not publicly available but I've seen hints that several have slowed as well. What really got me thinking about this was prepping for a Webinar I’ll be giving next Wednesday on the future of marketing automation ( register here ). million vs. 39.6 million). MORE >>

The Marketing Automation industry is evolving continuously. Many digital marketers are using marketing automation tools to automate lead nurturing. And that’s where Inbound Marketing comes in. “Isn’t that Search Marketing?&#. Yes, I feel that Inbound Marketing is sort-of a rebranding of Search Marketing. But Inbound Marketing focuses primarily on organic search, not pay-per-click (like AdWords). Inbound Marketing is more than just SEO. Inbound Marketing Automation. Conclusion. MORE >>

Summary: The first of three posts describing my new scoring system for B2B marketing automation vendors. ve finally had time to work up the vendor scores based on the 150+ RFP questions I distributed back in September. have never liked those charts because so many buyers consider only the handful of anointed “leaders”, even though one of the less popular vendors might actually be a better fit. vendor strength , which assesses a vendor’s current and future business position. Vendor strength will be scored on a separate dimension. MORE >>