Let me get this out of the way: I’m a technology geek and a marketing aficionado. I adore working with
marketing automation to drive business. The bright thrill of success bubbles over when various marketing technologies are stacked together to improve the user experience and boost engagement that results in sales.
Nothing is better than building the digital pathway. For example, consider a lead who visits a well-designed Drupal web page and submits a form. Data runs directly to a marketing automation tool like Eloqua. Eloqua then engages with the lead through a variety of processes and sends pertinent information to Salesforce. Using Salesforce, the sales team can see who they should contact to close the sale.
My affinity for marketing automation is validated. It’s the wave of the future. In fact, it continues to be one of the fastest-growing technologies in the marketing stack, according to Aberdeen Group.
And it works. A June 2016 survey highlighted that email — one of the core uses for marketing automation — had a median ROI of 122 percent, more than four times higher than other marketing formats examined.
But alas, marketing automation is not the only component of a marketing mix that effectively generates and converts leads to buyers. There are other non-digital options that, to a marketing automation disciple, are frightening.
Two shining stars that are on the rise for marketing effectiveness are direct mail and in-person events. Both techniques have greater longevity than marketing automation, and they have both evolved in order to remain valuable.
But how can these “analog” tactics be effective in a world where digital usage is on the rise? Without technology to pave the way, how can lead engagements be managed?
Below is a brief description of these tactics — the how and why they produce successful results is included as a guidepost for digital junkies like me who want to begin taking advantage of these more tangible options in the marketing mix.
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