Marketing automation has rapidly become a best practice for acquiring agency new business.

However, you may be surprised by just how many agencies don’t have any automation set up for email and marketing campaigns, not to mention, how many don’t even have a dedicated marketing department. 

If you are in charge of business development for an agency that isn’t yet convinced of the profitability of marketing automation, here are 25 stats to help you make the case.

25 Statistics on Marketing Automation Usage & Value

1. 79% of top-performing companies have been using marketing automation for two or more years. (Source: Pardot)

2. Marketers using automation solutions have experienced a 34% increase in sales revenue on average. (Source: Pardot)

3. On average, nurtured leads produce a 20% increase in sales opportunities versus non-nurtured leads. (Source: DemandGen Report)

4. Companies that use marketing automation generate twice as many leads as those just using email software. (Source: Autopilot)

5. Marketing automation drives a 14.5% increase in sales productivity and a 12.2% reduction in marketing overhead. (Source: Nucleus Research)

6. Businesses that use marketing automation to nurture prospects see a 451% increase in qualified leads. (Source: The Annuitas Group)

7. 63% of the companies outgrowing their competitors use some kind of marketing automation. (Source: The Lenskold and Pedowitz Groups)

8. B2B marketers who implement marketing automation solutions increase their sales pipeline contribution by 10% on average. (Source: Forrester Research)

9. 75% of companies that implement automated marketing campaigns see ROI in just 12 months. (Source: Focus Research)

10. The most important features of marketing automation for users are lead nurturing (57%), analytics & reporting (52%), and list segmentation (39%). (Source: Marketo)

11. Relevant emails delivered through automated campaigns drive 18x more revenue than generic email blasts. (Source: Jupiter Research)

12. Marketers who have adopted marketing automation suggest that the biggest benefits are:

• Taking repetitive tasks out of marketers hands, so they can work on other projects (36%)
• Better targeting their prospects and existing customers (30%)
• Improving customer experience (10%)
• Better email marketing (9%)
• Reduction of human error (8%)
• Lead management (4%)
• Multichannel marketing (3%)
  (Source: Redeye and TFM&A Insights)

13. Sales and marketing teams that use marketing automation software have more than 650,000 contacts in their database, which is 30% more than non-automation users. (Source: Autopilot)

14. Triggered emails – those sent in response to a specific user action on a website – have a 70.5% higher open rate. (Source: Gleanster)

 15. The average length of the sales cycle has increased 22% in the past 5 years as more decision makers are involved in the buying process. (Source: SiriusDecisions)

16. By 2020, customers will manage 85% of their buying journey without talking to a human. (Source: Gartner Research)

17. Businesses that use marketing automation average 4,200 leads per month. (Source: Autopilot)

18.  Marketers who send out communications to prospects every two to four weeks generate 2x the leads. (Source: Autopilot)

19. 35% of marketers using marketing automation solutions consistently capture intelligence for the sales team, compared to 19% without marketing automation systems. (Source: The Lenskold and Pedowitz Groups)

20. Only 30% of agencies aren’t using marketing automation to distribute content, prove inbound marketing ROI, and improve inbound effectiveness with personalized targeting. (Source: SharpSpring)

21. Gartner estimates a 15% savings on creative production when businesses use a marketing automation system. (Source: HubSpot)

 

Social media remains one of the more challenging parts of the modern marketing campaign: Sure, you can use social media to help improve brand recognition and etc., but can it be used to create new business and find new leads?

The answer is yes…that is, if you invest enough time in social activities. Here are a few tips on basic social media management and how it can help bring in new customers.

Always Audit

Start by doing a basic audit of your social networks.

1. What social profiles do you have?
2. Are they all using the same marketing materials?
3. What links do you want people to visit?
4. How do people get there?
5. What is your end goal for lead generation?
6. Who is in charge of scheduling posts and ads?

You have to ask and answer these questions before you are ready to start creating new business on your accounts. Organization is a vital step: Don’t fall into chaos before you begin.

Get Involved in B2B Discussions

If you are a B2B seller, pay special attention to blogs, LinkedIn discussions and other places online where conversations are taking place.

You want to prove that you are an authority in the community and an expert in your field. Sites like LinkedIn even monitor your discussion presence as a way of charting your sales acumen. This commenting and industry leadership model works best for B2B selling, but can also be effective when selling to consumers.

Social Media Targeted Advertising

Social media is not just about posts – there are plenty of opportunities for creating social ads. Facebook has one of the most complete targeted online ad creators out there, allowing you to create and target ads to specific groups of users, then track their progress.

There are also options for mobile app advertisement for sites like Facebook. Use a combination of online social ads to bring in new business, but don’t stretch your net too wide!

Twitter Ads

Twitter also has several options for advertisement, but one of the most effective is the Promoted Tweet, which allows you to skyrocket tweets to the front pages of followers and searchers where it can be seen.

You can also promote your account or your campaign if you prefer. Link to a product page, a customer info form, or something else that will generate a real lead.

Hashtag Interest

Now that hashtags are supported across a number of social sites, you can use them very effectively to chart how well a campaign is going.

Who is sharing or mentioning your keyword hashtags? How many people have picked up on it? Smart hashtag use can attract the attention of people searching hashtags for particular suppliers, products or services, and it can generate more business than you might think. Just avoid going too general and getting lost in the chatter.

Always Manage Your Links

As you have probably noted, most of these social tips depend on really excellent link work. You need to have the right links in the right places at the right times to generate qualified leads.

Always double-check your link management, and keep a watch for potential problems, such as poor conversions or redirect issues.

Proper analytics and tracking is key here, but you can save a lot of trouble by checking and updating your links before you launch new material.

Social media is just one of the many ways your agency can generate new business. Click here, to learn more about how Catapult New Business can help you grow a pipeline of prospects and grow your agency.

Let me guess, during your agency’s annual planning meeting the decision was made to increase your business development efforts? You all decided that this is the year that you grow 15 percent and win four new AOR clients.

Now, you are all going to chip in a certain percentage of your time every day to reach out to new prospects and begin working those networks. And for the first month there’s momentum. Conversations are had and then Jim from Account Management has a breakthrough with a college buddy who runs marketing for a big brand and they want you to pitch.

Awesome! All of your team’s focus switches to pitch-mode 100 percent of the time. You stop that new business momentum that you were beginning to build because you don’t have time to pitch, manage clients and try to win new business. Clients take precedent.

Two months later, that momentum for new business still hasn’t caught back up because all your time as has been focused on current clients. But it doesn’t have to be like that.

Marketing automation is a huge part of being able to create a repeatable process that keeps business development efforts running regardless of what’s going on within the agency.

Our goal with agencies we work with is to change the business development process from hills of high activity and valleys of low activity to a constant rising line of proactive business development.

So how does marketing automation ensure that constant activity in your business development process?

1. Automates time intensive processes

When you sit down to begin creating a process, immediately look for areas in your agency’s current process that are impersonal and take a large amount of time.

With a good automation system, things like introduction emails to large groups, social media posts and web visitor follow-up are items that you can still give a personal feel to, while doing mass outreach at the same time.

2. Creates a standard process

Having a true process that essentially runs itself allows multiple people to work on new business development at any given time. This means that even when the Biz Dev Director is out, the system can keep running and driving profitable conversations to your agency principals.

No matter who is posting or emailing, you can be sure that the agency’s preferred voice and message is consistently being delivered to your prospects.

3. Gives a clearer picture of a prospect’s total activity

When you are evaluating a prospect’s activity, marketing automation programs allow you to go beyond the typical “Did they open and click on an email?”

Instead, you can really dig in and start tracking all of their activity across multiple campaigns and on your website. This allows your program to intelligently customize what messaging prospects should be receiving, while saving you time throughout the process.

4. Allows you to broaden your reach to more prospects, while staying hyper-targeted

We often see agencies fall into the trap of trying to work off of ultra-targeted lists. This really reduces the pool of total prospects. It also reduces their ability to reach more prospects while increasing awareness for the agency.

Marketing automation allows you to retain these very targeted prospect lists and serve custom messaging, while still reaching out to a broader audience.

At the end of the day, your agency’s goal is to win more business. Marketing automation can help make your new business process more effective and efficient when it comes to reaching larger audiences.

This means that you can have more intelligent conversations with more prospects in order to win more!

After producing thousands of email campaigns for various agencies, we have seen the good, the bad and the ugly. Today we will explore those bad email campaigns and what mistakes we see most often.

 1. All you talk about is your agency

This is probably the mistake we see most often. Someone writes an email and spends four paragraphs explaining why they are the greatest social media agency ever.

The problem is, never once in those four paragraphs did they talk about prospect or a problem the prospect is looking to solve. So basically, the prospect just immediately tuned them out.

Solution: Open your emails with a startling stat or acknowledgement of a pain point that prospect is struggling with.

2. Your email is too good looking

We get it, you’re a creative shop with amazing design people. You want to create an email that looks amazing and really jumps off the page with fantastic images.

However, the problem is that all those images immediately tell a reader that this a marketing email and they are prone to delete it without ever even opening it up. Or, even worse, those images may not immediately download due to certain email settings and you just sent a blank email that they have to approve.

FACT: No brand has ever chosen to work with an agency because your email really really ridiculously good looking.

Solution: Keep it text only and simple. Your emails will feel more personal and less likely to get immediately deleted.

3. Your target list huge

It’s tough to narrow down and focus your prospect list when there are so many awesome companies out there to work with.

The last thing you want to do is overlook someone that could use your services, so you add everyone to one big list and send to them. The problem with this? It’s way too general, which makes it tough to really speak to any one prospect’s specific pain points.

4. Your target list is tiny

You don’t want to spam random people, so you make a list with one specific target per company, and then the list becomes really, really small. The problem here is that you don’t give yourself much room for error if a person has left the company or if the organization has multiple decision makers.

Solution: Channel your inner Goldilocks. We have our agency clients use a process called hyper targeting. This is basically where we can grab multiple people in similar roles within companies that we want to go after, while keeping lists separated by industry or company size.

For instance, List #1 is your primary target list of companies within Retail and Apparel with a very specific title. And List #2 is a secondary group where you target companies in other industries that you have less experience with and then expand job titles to anyone in marketing.

5. There’s no Call To Action

I’ve seen so many emails that spend so much time talking about how great the agency is, and then finish with something like “We would love to hear from you if you’re interested.” Ugh.

With every email there has to be a purpose to what you are doing; so make sure that every email lives up to that purpose with a CTA that asks them to do something.

Solution: Be aggressive. Not like crazy aggressive, but if you’re going to reach out to these folks, actually ask for something. You can ask for them to click a link to a case study, visit your website, or even just ask for the meeting outright, but be specific and clear. An email with no call to action will almost always ensure that no action is taken.

6. Your subject line is terrible

Subject lines are tricky and can immediately affect the open rates of the emails you send.

A lot of time we see agencies creating subject lines that are long and detailed so the reader knows exactly what is in the email. The trouble with this? The subject line becomes way too long and doesn’t feel natural.

Solution: Short and simple. Be straightforward and concise. You want this to grab a prospect’s attention. Think of it as a headline, and perhaps even throw in a dash of mystery with a word like “Opportunity” or “Idea.”

A/B test your subject lines and see what your particular audience responds to best. This isn’t a perfect science so do not be afraid to try new things.

7. Trying too hard to be witty or cheeky

There is nothing worse than reading an email that includes a mildly politically incorrect comment, and then 30 minutes later receiving an email from a CEO apologizing for their Marketing Director’s “innocent mistake.”

It’s never fun to read these emails – much less write them. Plus, it sends a bad message to your prospects about your organization.

Solution: Leave the social satire to Jon Stewart and John Oliver. You can always show your wit later in more one-to-one communications when you know the person, but for now, let’s attract them the old fashioned way…by talking about them and their problems.

Everyone who has ever done email marketing has found themselves “click watching.”

I define click watching as logging into your email system every five minutes to see how your most recent marketing email is doing in real time.

Watching the open percentage and click through rate (CTR) move up can be both rewarding and incredibly frustrating at the same time. But, at the end of the day, have you ever really thought about just how useful these two metrics are?

When I am evaluating an email program, my goal is to look beyond the individual email performance metrics and actually evaluate the overall effectiveness based on contact scoring.

The agencies we work with use a marketing automation program that allows them to track prospects’ website activity beyond email, which provides more actionable intelligence on who they should contact and when.

An intelligent scoring system gives points to a contact when they:

• Open an email
• Click a call-to-action (CTA)
• Fill out a form
• Visit the website
• Go to a landing page tied to larger goal measurements
• Have certain characteristics (ie, CMO)

Your system should also include a lead decay mechanism so that everything leads do is time sensitive. If someone visits your site 10 times in January, they should not still have that same score in June if they haven’t come back again. High scores mean they are high-activity users right now!

When evaluating a campaign, rather than simply looking at what the total open and click rates were for emails, take the time to evaluate how many prospects have increased their scores over a predetermined number.

We work with agencies to define a number (in this example 50), and then we set a specific goal – for instance, to have over 25 prospects scored over 50 points in a given month. This allows us to focus on driving web activity and increasing users’ exposure to our different content areas.

Obviously clicks and opens play a big part in a prospect’s score, but they just don’t tell the whole story. Using an intelligent scoring system allows you to prioritize which prospects truly deserve your attention.

As the CEO or co-founder of an agency, finding your unique selling proposition (USP) is an important step to long-term success. Your value proposition can go a long way in positioning your agency well in an already saturated market.

You could almost go as far as saying that your USP is what is going to make or break your business. However, it is also hard to define and showcase a USP for prospects when you are still laying the groundwork for your entire business model.

In an effort to help you and your agency, we’ve compiled five simple steps for creating a USP that not only positions your agency well, but also generates new business opportunities as you grow.

1. Hold a company brainstorming session

Come together as a group and throw all of your ideas on the table. Hold discussions on the company vision and the values your company culture is built on. Get feedback on what employees thinks the agency’s strengths and weaknesses are when it comes to client work or overall strategy.

2. Put together a SWOT analysis

Get with your leadership team to go through all of the feedback and ideas from the company brainstorm. While you and the team are sifting through all of these notes, categorize each point as a strength, weakness, opportunity or threat. 

Once you’ve gone through all of the initial feedback, talk with the team on a higher-level about your strengths, weaknesses and the kind of talent you can leverage within the company.

3. Take a walk down memory lane

We’re not talking about taking out old company photos. Think about what you have done for clients up to this point. What is it that clients consistently say that you do well? This can be anything from sales and marketing to operations and account management.

Think about the challenges you’ve overcome with previous campaign tactics and strategies. What lessons or useful tricks came out of those situations? If you can take a look at the good, the bad and the ugly, it will give you a clear sense of where your agency wins the most.

4. Study the competitive landscape within your market segment and industry

Once you have this information, do your research to identify the pain points of your target markets as well as gaps in coverage between competitors. Ideally, you want to find a market segment that the agency has the best opportunity to own and scale with. 

5. Define your comfort zone and where your best work as been done

It’s important to look at the work you have done and establish which projects you felt the most comfortable doing, and which ones were a little shaky. Analyze current challenges and establish how you can fill those in the future. Make sure you measure your performance; where have you done your best work?

Take note of who you were working with, what type of industry it was, and why you think you fit well with that particular job.

6. Thought leadership

Think about it as good karma – and a great way to get your USP in front of target audiences. Put content out that will help people solve problems, and in return, your agency will be at the forefront of conversations in your industry.

This is a great way for your agency to stand out against competitors while also building your brand. It is critical when it comes to generating new business opportunities. By showcasing your knowledge through syndicated content you build authority and trust while creating top of mind awareness with target audiences. 

7. Proof Points

This is where you use actual results (case studies, testimonials) to establish your value proposition in the marketplace. When it comes to nurturing a lead or pitching a new client, no amount of charm or smooth talking will ever go as far as proven results.How can you prove that the skills you have claimed are, in fact, your actual expertise? Take a look at all of your previous successes, and use them as case studies with current and future prospects.

Looking for advice tailored to your unique situation? We’re happy to provide tips and tricks that have been successful for our clients. Feel free to contact us anytime, or tweet  your question to @CatapultNewBiz 

Now in its 20^th year, Mary Meeker’s Internet Report continues to be a virtual gold mine of actionable intelligence for digital marketers.

As a VC and former Wall Street analyst, Meeker has become a leading authority on consumer research and global economic patterns. Her yearly report offers the kind of insight that makes global campaigns successful, and puts ad agencies in the position to generate new business opportunities with multi-national corporations.

With that, here are the key takeaways for digital marketers from Mary Meeker’s 2015 Internet Report.

There are currently 2.8B internet users around the world, accounting for 39% of the population. 

Takeaway: If you work with any globally relevant companies, especially those with key demographics in Asia, be sure that you are reaching high-usage audiences with digital marketing efforts. It’s an added bonus if you build an effective campaign that drives results and use it as sales collateral to bring in leads from other global brands. 

Internet users have more control over content – and content discovery channels – than ever before. 

Takeaway: To really move the needle with content marketing, your content promotion and social media strategies have to be on point if you are going to attract and engage different audience segments. Also, don’t be afraid to continuously showcase high performing evergreen content.

Advertising dollars are being used to create interactive experiences on social media and messaging apps like WhatsApp, LINE and Snapchat.  

 

Takeaway: Marketers who capitalize on this now will have an advantage in the U.S. market. This kind of forward-thinking strategy is beneficial for client retention, pitching new clients and attracting new business. We recommend focusing on messaging apps since six of the top 10 most used apps fell in this category. 

User-generated content and content aggregation platforms continue to grow in popularity. 

Takeaway: Strategies that consistently focus on user-generated content through reviews and social media channels will increase the effectiveness of brand awareness efforts and build authority/trust with target audiences.

Visual content is the most effective way to reach millennials, especially when it is optimized for mobile usage.    

Takeaway: As millennials continue to shape new advertising trends, effective marketing strategies will be defined by their adaptability and agility.   

If your agency can successfully integrate even just one of the strategies mentioned above, it will serve you well. Your clients will see dramatic results. And better yet, you will have a guaranteed value proposition with supporting material to use for pitching, prospecting and lead generation.

The field of marketing is always changing and for agencies of all sizes, it’s important to stay connected to – and in conversations about – emerging technologies and new topics in the marketplace.

A great way to stay up-to-date on industry news is to take advantage of social media tools like LinkedIn Pulse and lists on Twitter. These resources allow you categorize posts, people and organizations into buckets, which makes it easier to sort through all of the information you care about most.  

While Twitter lists can be a valuable resource, it takes time to build them and we understand the ambitious goals and time limitations that business development teams face at agencies. In an effort to help you quickly and easily find resources that interest you, we have put together a comprehensive list of top-rated blogs for agencies.

Business Development Strategy

1. Inc.
2. The Sales Lion
3. Seth Godin’s Blog
4. Entrepreneur
5. HubSpot Sales Blog
6. SalesHQ
7. Salesforce Blog
8. Business Growth Zone
9. General Assembly
10. Open Forum

Lead Generation

1. B2B Lead Roundtable
2. Hubspot Lead Generation Blog
3. Kissmetrics
4. WordStream
5. Marketo
6. ReachForce
7. ViewPoint
8. LeadGenius
9. Influence & Co.
10. Entrepreneurial Insights

Agency New Business Insights

1. Advertising Age
2. Fuel Lines | Michael Gass
3. DDB Blog
4. 4A’s
5. EyesOnSales
6. PinPoint
7. WARC
8. AgencySpy
9. AdFreak
10. NewsCred

Social Selling

1. Social Media B2B
2. The Social Selling Blog
3. Social Selling University
4. Business 2 Community
5. SocialtoSales
6. CIO
7. VentureBeat
8. SocialTimes
9. Small Business Trends
10. CMS Wire

Tell us about the blogs you follow by tweeting @CatapultNewBiz!