by Sarah Kelleher 
The age of the ‘batch-and-blast’ is over, but the age of smart email marketing is most certainly not. Marketing automation is making marketers, especially in the B2B space, smarter, more targeted and more effective.
But how many companies are actually seeing the benefits from these tools? A common mistake in many businesses implementing marketing automation is thinking it’s a silver bullet. It does require proper planning to see results.
As the stat below shows, 59% of companies aren’t using their systems to their fullest and, having worked with hundreds of businesses, I can totally believe that.
So how can you become one of the 10% of marketers who feel they are able to fully execute mature marketing automation strategies? Perhaps most importantly is picking the right tools. Then, once you have marketing automation, take time to plan your programs, make sure all your teams are trained up and constantly look for opportunities to learn from your campaigns and improve your marketing.
59% of companies do not fully use the technology they have available.
We are all guilty of this one. Before you purchase new technology, it is a good idea to audit your current technology and your company’s use of it. If it is not utilized, fully or at all, try to understand why. Marketing automation tools can help, but not if you don’t use them. Knowing what happen last time can help you avoid those same issues.