More from my interview with Jim Burns, CEO of Avitage. In this question, I ask Jim for examples of how marketing automation can be improved with strong content. After a great story, Jim summarizes:
JB: We think the technology’s going to solve the problem and it isn’t. It requires a process, it requires a program, and that I think of marketing automation and fishing with a hook, but the content is the bait. And that’s the key. Without the content, you’re not going to get people clicking on your various links to give you the information you need.
JO: Yeah, I think you’re absolutely right. Paul Dunay, who writes Buzz Marketing for Technology told me that we live in a war around content today. Whoever has the best thought leadership content wins. And I think Paul’s right and it goes right to your point, is that the more you can have great content, it’s the bait on the hook. One of the analogies I always like to use is I can go to Sears and spend, you know, $3,000 on crafts and tools, doesn’t make me able to build a mansion. You know, automation is just a tool.
JB: Well, I think that one of the things — again, I mentioned epiphanies earlier — years ago, it required pretty good dollars for the marketing automation technologies and then bodies to implement it. I think one of the changes in the last couple of years that we’ve seen is you can implement very capable systems for not a lot of dollars a month, $1,000, $1,500, $2,000 a month.
You still need the activity behind it to build out the content and to manage those programs, but now this is very practical for even small and midsized businesses to take advantage of. So two things that we’re seeing.
One is if you don’t have marketing automation implemented in the next, you know, 12 to 18 months you really are going to be at a competitive disadvantage. However, if you implement it, but you don’t put the right program behind it with an active content development and then active campaigning plan you’ve got a vehicle, but you’ve got no gas in it; you’re not going to go anywhere.
So on the one hand you’ve got to do it in our view, on the other hand you got to do it right in order to really — and Paul’s right, content’s what’s going to differentiate all of us. And not just differentiate — more important is why are we doing this?
- We’re doing this to add value to our customers even before they become customers.
- We’re doing it to impact our brand, we’re doing it to be discovered by people who are new to the industry.
- We’re doing it to discover people that we should be engaged in conversations with so that we can determine how to apply our salespeople more efficiently than spending 30, 40, 50, 60% of their time banging the phones, you know, blindly just trying to go out and find people to talk with.
Jeff Ogden, the Fearless Competitor, is President of Fun and Find New Customers “Lead Generation Made Simple” Check out the online show every Friday at 11am ET, “Laugh and Learn with the Fearless Competitor.”
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Jeff Ogden
I think Jim Burns is right on when he explained that up until a few years ago, marketing automation technologies were very expensive. However, when he says “you can implement very capable systems for not a lot of dollars a month, $1,000, $1,500, $2,000 a month,” I’m going to have to disagree… $1000-$2000/month can be a large sum for smaller businesses. Still, there are quality marketing automation tools out there (like the one my company offers at Net-Results) that can start as low as $99/month. Now that is truly “not a lot of dollars a month”!