Marketing Automation: The Human Factor

Most Australian businesses don’t have the luxury of large marketing teams. Even large organisations run pretty lean ships. So an important factor to consider when assessing your marketing automation options is, of course, how you are going to staff it and maintain it in the long term.

When choosing a solution consider the impact on human resources as it will impact heavily on the success of your marketing budget.

How much will onboarding cost?

It takes time to learn a new piece of software. The faster you can master it the sooner you will be able to reap the benefits. But with many marketing automation platforms offering training for a fee, costs can quickly add up so these need to be factored into your overall cost calculations including the salaries of the team.

Onboarding training can take a few hours to a few days and the more complex the offering the more time you will need for onboarding. And while online self serve video courses are useful there is no beating face to face or live, interactive webinars for really getting to grips with things fast and retaining the information.

Will you need to employ extra staff to run the program?

Once you implement a solution will your existing team be able to actually operate it? I have witnessed situations where a solution has been selected but the skills to operate were lacking. The customer is often then faced with three expensive and unplanned for options – upskill existing staff, bring on new skilled staff or outsource. A lack of resources is the main reason 85% companies cite for not fully utilising a marketing automation platform.

What is the cost of ongoing training and support?

Take a careful look at your vendor’s support levels and coverage details. Are there costs for using support? How many users are covered? What will you do if support responses are slow? How will your support issues be prioritised over the vendor’s larger clients?

How will you ensure continuity?

What happens when one of the team ups-stakes and move on? The vital skills needed to run your marketing platform can quickly disappear. Consider the cost of retraining in your total cost of ownership calculations and also consider what contingency options are available when assessing various solutions. For example, does the vendor offer professional services you can call on if the need arises? Ideally a solution provider will appoint a central point of contact as an account manager who will understand your business and marketing goals to help maintain continuity during periods of change.

Most of all, when you are assessing your options, remember that success is not about the technology. It’s about the strategy and the message.

Any solution you choose should be an enabler that supports your strategy – not a burden. Explore how Swift Digital can help you create a professional and creative marketing automation strategy to make your next campaign series a success! To find out how your organisation can get the best out of Swift Digital’s platform, contact our Sales Team today on 1300 878 289.