We marketers may be many things, but few of us can be described as patient. We want results, and we want them now. And so when martech companies come along promising instant answers to all our marketing challenges, we’re all ears. We all want the quick fix, right?
Wish it were that easy. Listen, marketing technology is great, and in the right circumstances can make a big difference. But no company that I know of paved their way to marketing success solely by buying software. And too often, we’re seeing those same companies – particularly in the B2B tech space where our firm works – investing in martech in advance of, or in place of, getting some very fundamental issues addressed. Issues that, alas, take more work than writing a purchase order for new software.
Here are 3 problems you need to solve before investing in new marketing technology. They’re not easily solved without hard work and critical thinking. However, if you successfully address these issues, ANY subsequent investment in marketing technology will pay much bigger dividends.
1. Ineffective Lead Response.
It’s alarming to see how many companies still rely exclusively on telemarketing to follow up on new leads. Moreover, in most cases those BDRs are often chartered with only identifying sales-ready leads (those ready to engage with the account team immediately) and then discard the rest. The result is gross inefficiency and a waste of demand generation dollars. An effective lead response process at the very top of the lead funnel – a process that combines telemarketing AND automated email response – can improve conversion rates, and demand generation ROI, significantly.
2. Poor Messaging.
You can throw all the technology in the world at your target market, and if your message doesn’t resonate with that audience, it’s all for naught. How compelling is your USP (Unique Selling Proposition)? Have you identified key buying personas, and the specific concerns, pain points, and solution benefits for each of those personas? Have you tested key selling points in A/B fashion to determine which actually resonates with target buyers?
3. Poor Content.
Content is hard work. But good content is the lifeblood of effective demand generation. By “good content” I mean information of value that speaks to your audience’s pain, problems, and challenges and not content that simply sings the praises of your product. Good content sparks engagement and dialogue. It generates leads from prospects feeling the pain that you can solve. It builds credibility and moves prospects along the sales cycle. Conversely, poor content – content with little value – will fail to spark engagement and could even damage your brand. And no amount of technology will make a difference.
Is there real ROI to be had from investments in marketing technology? Certainly. But there also more fundamental, and, dare I say: cheaper, steps that a company can take to improve return on marketing dollars. Solving these issues may not be new or trendy or even easy, but they’re the building blocks to a successful and effective demand generation engine.