In a recent study conducted by Econsultancy on behalf of Act-On Software, 48% of survey respondents said data issues have contributed to less than ideal deployments of their marketing automation programs, reports Fox Business.
In the same survey, 37% of respondents said they have had issues with linking marketing technology to legacy systems. The complexity of linking together different systems is a common problem. In a recent MarTechToday column, Anita Brearton, CEO of technology management firm CabinetM, writes that she met one CEO who had recently purchased a CRM system. After purchasing the system, the CEO learned that it couldn’t link to the company’s marketing automation technology and had to spend an additional $50,000 to have code written to address the problem.
CabinetM seeks to help companies avoid those issues, in part by utilizing its database that tracks more than 7,000 martech products. Brearton adds that some organizations that have recently made substantial technology purchases don’t even fully understand the full scope of the products that they have committed to.
In many instances, problems are a result of limitations within marketing teams. According to the Huffington Post, a survey by email marketing provider GetResponse found that 35% marketers reported that not having the knowledge to set up different types of marketing automation was an obstacle.
Marketers should consider adopting data warehouses that serve as central repositories for the collection of business data, reports CMSwire. By doing so, marketers can reduce the need for manually manipulating data and integrating data from disparate sources . Many vendors, meanwhile are touting that their technology can help link together various martech systems.
SharpSpring, Inc., which provides cloud-based marketing technologies, recently announced an in-app integration with PieSync, which is B2B cloud integration platform. The development allows SharpSpring customers to use a PieSync service that facilitates integration with more than 80 cloud based platforms, including Google Contacts, Recurly, Zendesk, Pipedrive and MicrosoftDynamics 365. Clients can complete the integrations without using developers. HubSpot, which provides inbound marketing technology and other services, also promotes that its various solutions are integrated.
In the process of evaluating vendors, marketers should ask appropriate questions to ensure that they select the best technology. Among other questions, marketers should ask if technology is scalable, if it provides lead scoring and if the technology’s vendor provides 24/7 tech support. Marketers should also assess which portions of marketing cycles the technology can be used for.
