Marketing automation platforms reduce noise
Marketing and sales teams have greater access to information than ever before. With social media, data is coming from a larger number of sources. Although more information can improve sales and marketing operations, it can also add to distractions for salespeople. An effective online marketing system can cut down the number of unnecessary interruptions and help the sales team stay focused and productive.
As much as technology helps sales teams reach new goals, it can also generate more noise, which can detract from the amount of work representatives can accomplish each day. With the spread of “bring your own device” policies and social media as a source of Internet lead generation, sales teams need a way to filter out the unnecessary distractions.
Marketing automation helps sales teams focus on what matters
Between visiting prospects and following up on leads, sales reps have busy days. Marketing automation identifies the most relevant prospects so salespeople can spend their time more productively rather than calling cold leads. These platforms align marketing communications to the different stages of the buying cycle, according to Marketing Pilgrim. For more complex purchases, buyers will not be ready to commit right away, so marketing automation can help the sales team maintain regular communication with the prospect until he or she is ready to buy.
Marketing automation can also segment customers, which improves sales team procedures. Instead of leaving representatives to guess where their prospects are in the buying cycle, the platform can send out the right message at the appropriate time to help leads more quickly convert into sales. If salespeople are unsure of the most effective way to follow up with a particular individual, they could lose the deal.
Automation filters for relevancy
There is a large number of distractions that can prevent sales teams from meeting their quotas. When expecting phone calls from prospects, representatives may need to field calls from solicitors. Marketing automation can filter incoming calls so salespeople can take calls only from people who are interested in products or services.
In addition to decreasing irrelevant phone calls, marketing automation can verify website form data. The system can reject email addresses that aren’t attached to a company so leads generated from the form will be more relevant for B2B companies. This can weed out unqualified leads and increase the amount of correct information the team has. With fewer distractions, sales teams can use their time more productively by focusing on the most relevant prospects.
