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Should more companies look to outsource the operation of their marketing automation solution?
With many companies stating they are not getting the full value from their marketing automation systems, should more be looking to outsource the operation of these systems in the hopes of improving the return?
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7 Answers
Carlos,
As always, a timely and poignant question. We are both in the business of helping companies outsource these services - and clearly know their are ramifications to such a decision.
I am fearful that many companies may think they already use marketing automation to the full extent - when in fact they remain, "batch an blast" email marketers with lead scoring. Maybe they have a lead nurturing program that when analyzed is an automatically scheduled "blast". How many times do we see the primary metrics as opens, click throughs and assets downloaded?
Without a full set of processses in place where marketing automation can point people (usually sales or inside sales), in the right direction, at the right time, so they can make a relevant personal connection, marketing automation in itself will always remain just technology. Quite frankly, that scenario may drive it the way of CRM - great technology, limited adoption, difficult to prove return.
Perhaps we need to a define what the full value of a marketing automation system is in a different discussion.
Both of our companies promote the importance of obtaining value from this technology investment by establishing strategy, improving the marketing AND sales operative procecesses and upping the skill sets of both the marketing and sales teams.
That is where the opportunity for this type of outsourcing lies - by hiring an agency that is already proficient at building the strategies, the marketing automation campaigns, and executing the processes that fully leverage marketing automation technology. An agency that can quickly demonstrate success and prove return.
The hiring company can, simultaneously, learn from their partnering agency and build proficiency. If they strongly believe in moving the function in house, ramp the people's skill sets to accommodate a future transfer in operational ownership.
Companies considering such a move would be well advised to consider a stringent Service Level Agreement. In some cases even insist on a pay for performance clause in their contract.
As a general disclaimer, I do work for an agency that offers these services and have published a whitepaper, "The Rise of the Demand Generation Agency", on the topic. You can contact me directly or visit: http://bit.ly/dg-outsourcing (Registration required) for a copy.
As always, thank you for the opportunity to respond.
Good Luck and Great Selling!
Scott B.
Hi Carlos
As a disclaimer, I help medium to large sized companies figure out the content strategy associated with lead gen, which many times syncs up with a marketing automation platform. So, I have a bit of a bias here.
But, I'd tell you that more times than not, an in-house MA implementation usually resembles something between a 3 car pile up and complete train wreck. The only ones I have seen done well are when someone in-house has deep prior knowledge of running a platform.
It's easy to blame the software providers, but newsflash, they are all software companies looking to sell more software. They all have some version of the quick start or the smart start, but those programs are usually a kin to handing you the keys to the space shuttle and saying "good luck finding the grocery store!"
I am not sure it's necessary to permanently outsource this function, but companies should always incorporate an expert into the implementation and operation of the platform and associated program until they are in the "run" phase of "crawl, walk, run."
Cheers
This will be the topic of the next MOCCA East Coast Chapter meeting (November, I think).
Ultimately, companies need to have these skills in-house. But very few do. As an interim step, and to get up and running quickly, I highly recommend outsourcing to my clients. But, with a vendor that is committed to knowledge transfer to the client.
Good question Carlos.
I see a huge need for marketing automation consulting companies especially for small and mid-sized companies. The out-sourced services should revolve around around two core areas: technical expertise and strategic campaign/program development.
If you think about it, there are many companies that provide consulting and technical hand holding for much simpler, on-off marketing tasks such as email marketing.
Yes, I can see how more companies should consider outsourcing. I have worked for two large companies that could afford the seven-figure price tag for installing their own in-house MA system, but this is well beyond the capacity for the SMB market. Outsourcing could be a viable option for smaller firms.
Greg
p.s. If anyone is interested in starting such a consulting firm, let's talk
I agree with Matt Givens' comment that most in-house attempts "resemble a 3 car pileup". I'd suggest B2B companies start with the assumption that they will outsource this function - then try to convince themselves otherwise. I think most will quickly conclude there is only one viable decision if they want it done well and on-time.
In the modern world, with manufacturing outsourced, the most important asset for any company is their relationship with their customers. Seth Godin's Tribes is becoming reality, with customers clustered round companies they believe have valuable answers.
As we look beyond marketing automation we see it as an early experiment in applying technology to business generation. But it was hampered by old fashioned thinking. One of those thoughts was that a sale starts with an appointment with a salesperson. Another was to see the internet as a broadcasting medium for talking to customers and prospects, not conversing with them.
Future prospecting products will build relationships differently. They will build an interactive relationship through participation by both vendor and prospect. Participation will be the measure of engagement. This relationship won't involve a handover to sales - sales and marketing will be a single discipline working together from the start to open a conversation, facilitate the buying decision and grow the partnership until it reaches a level where collaboration between the two companies is inevitable.
That's hard to subcontract.
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