MarketingAutomation.net

There’s endless buzz these days about social media and how it’s going to change the course of marketing as we know it. B2B marketers are scrambling to keep up with this trend by mastering the intricacies of social media outlets such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. There’s no question that these applications can be powerful tools for marketers who want to spread their message to potential customers. But consider social media from a different perspective. What sort of value can marketers get from these tools when using them to craft relevant messaging that will optimize their lead nurturing efforts?

As it turns out, social media outlets offer a wealth of valuable prospect data that’s there for the taking. Social media profiles typically contain obvious items that you might already have in your prospect records, such as job title and company name. Oftentimes you can see past distinctions, employment history, and other information that marketers typically find helpful. But don’t dismiss the rest of that profile data as unimportant. You can still get plenty of value out of it! Knowing more about your prospects can only make things easier for your marketing and sales teams. Small tidbits such as knowing a prospect’s alma mater, favorite sports team, or weekend hobbies can help establish and build the kind of friendly rapport and ongoing relationships that lead nurturing requires in today’s extended sales cycle.

Since you’re making use of what is essentially freely available public information, you shouldn’t feel like a virtual stalker for collecting prospect data in this way. But there is a very fine line between tailoring your message to appeal to prospects and making them feel like you’re some creepy marketer watching their every move. Put yourself in your prospect’s shoes. Even though they’ve made this information public, it would still intimidating for your prospects to be contacted by some eerily omniscient salesperson with a zenlike ability to somehow sense their every like and dislike. So make sure that your team knows how to use this valuable information appropriately.

Here are some examples of how a salesperson might use, and abuse, prospect data collected through social media channels.

Prospect Y has been tweeting increasingly often about her dissatisfaction with your competitor.

Prospect Z’s LinkedIn profile lists an undergraduate degree obtained at ABC University.

Marketing automation software allows you to track a prospect’s online interactions, including links clicked, how long they spent on each page on your site, which forms they filled out – and which they abandoned (you can even capture that abandoned data) and which emails they opened. This information all comes together to help the sales team form a powerful pitch that is perfectly tailored to the prospect’s needs. Were they interested in widget A or widget B? Which white papers did they download and what does that tell you about the unique challenges they are seeking a solution for?

In addition to this tracking information, users are also getting email alerts when their prospects take action, reports detailing unidentified visitors in the past 24 hours and using new advancements like desktop alerts and mobile applications to keep tabs on their prospects 24-7. All of this data at your fingertips means you know much more about your prospect than they probably know about you. This puts you in a powerful position – one you’re going to use to your advantage during the sales process.

It is important to use this information wisely. Though most people are aware of the ability to track activities online, some people may still be adverse to the idea of being tracked. The first time you call a prospect within a few minutes of them visiting your website, they may brush it off as a coincidence. If you call them within a few minutes every single time they visit your website, they may be a little bit intimidated. It is important to make sure you and your sales team are on the same page about how much is too much.

The exception to this, of course, is when someone requests immediate follow-up, as with a support form or a contact form. In these cases, a fast response time can been seen as impressive. For those moments, marketing automation give you a leg-up by sending you alerts. Some marketing automation systems even incorporate web-to-phone technology that can instantly connect sales and service representatives to incoming prospects by phone as soon as a request is submitted.

As a general rule, simply keep in mind that when calling on prospects you should use your insider knowledge to wow them with a personalized pitch, not scare them by coming on too strong.

Because marketing automation is a relatively new technology, our team often encounters people who are prime candidates to benefit from this type of tool, but don’t fully understand what it is. Often people mistakenly believe that they if they already use a CRM, such as salesforce.com, then there is nothing they need in a marketing automation system. In reality, marketing automation is designed to aggregate data and enhance, not replace, other sales tools, like a CRM or a paid search platform.

How is marketing automation different from a CRM?

Marketing automation is a database of your prospects, much like a CRM. However, it also offers an entire suite of marketing tools to help manage these prospects. While some CRM systems offer similar tools, most of them don’t do so with the ease and sophistication of a marketing automation system. Examples of these features include the following: large-scale email management, drip nurturing programs, lead scoring and grading, micro-level activity tracking of both anonymous and identified visitors, ROI reporting, database deduplication, file hosting and simple form and landing page builders.

Through bi-directional syncing, the systems work together to keep all data up-to-date, and even provide a single sign-on to make the collaboration a breeze for sales users. Using the systems together allows the strong points of each one to shine, making the marketer’s life easier.

So, wait, do I need a CRM to use marketing automation?

No, a marketing automation system is a stand-alone tool. While it nicely compliments a CRM system for higher-volume users, it can also be used independently to manage a prospect database.

When calling on a prospect, the more you know about the person you’re calling, the better. Understanding what type of company you’re calling on, what product (or aspect of your product) they are interested in and their role within the organization all go a long way toward helping you frame a conversation. A good marketing automation tool can help you collect this information and leverage it effectively.

Building a Prospect Profile
If you’re focused on inbound marketing, its likely that your new leads come in through some type of web form, allowing you to collect useful information like job title or company name. Effective landing pages use thank you content to nudge people along, encouraging them to download additional materials. This not only shows intent, but it also gives you the opportunity to collect additional data points on your prospects. Advanced form technology called progressive profiling allows you to ask different questions on each form, based on your existing database, to slowly and painlessly develop a robust prospect profile.

Using the Prospect Profile
Once you’ve built a profile on your prospect, look for a few key pieces of information to help frame the conversation and touch on the right pain points. The basics include the prospects score (how active they were on your site) and grade (are they a good fit for your product?). You’ll also want to take a look at their activities. Which white paper did they download? Which data sheets did they view? What pages did they spend the most time on? Are there any search terms present, either terms that brought them to you or keywords searched for on your actual site? All of this information is at your fingertips before you even pick up the phone to call.

Connecting with Outside Resources
Connectors with tools like LinkedIn and Jigsaw make it easy to query an individual or a company to learn even more about the call you’re about to make. Not only can they help you fill in gaps in the profile, they can give you deeper insight into both the person’s role in the company and their other business interests. Many people use LinkedIn to showcase their blogs, talk about their specialties and area of focus. All of this information can help you strike up a meaningful conversation with someone who was previously just another name on your call list.

Many people think that marketing automation take the human touch out of the sales process, but really it is exactly the opposite. The information at hand allows you to get to know your prospects before the call, ensuring a that you approach them in a way that is tailored to their needs, rather than with a blanket sales pitch.