By John Lavey | Hammock President/COO
When talking to prospects and clients about their content marketing, we usually discuss various marketing automation platforms, such as Hubspot, Eloqua, Marketo, Pardot, Infusionsoft, etc. Companies often voice the following frustrations with these platforms:
- They lack staff resources to use them strategically. One expert at the company might be trained on how to use a platform, but not necessarily trained in how to connect its use to the service of larger marketing goals.
- Platforms aren’t being fed with good content. I recall when the first automation platforms were being rolled out. A marketing director at a healthcare company proudly told me, “I already have content taken care of because I have Hubspot.” I’m not sure that exact conversation would happen today, but too many companies are frustrated that they have the tool but don’t have the resources to feed it with great content.
- Platforms aren’t aligned with marketing goals. Platforms are exceptional at scaling your efforts. But those efforts first have to be in service of your marketing goals. Too often we spend time tending to the platform’s mechanics and pulling reports—ignoring whether those efforts push us toward success.
To move past these frustrations, consider three common denominators for success:
- Find an approach that puts content front and center. Targeting prospects with account-based marketing and determining how to use content to generate or maintain customers are some of the best approaches.
- Develop a plan before selecting a platform. Many marketing directors bought a marketing platform that connects to the company’s sales CRM platform before they had a clear idea of how they were going to create content in a meaningful way. Make a plan before making a purchase.
- Measure what matters. Have a clear rationale for why one metric really matters—and be willing to abandon metrics that don’t. Get an outside perspective on your analytics to help you determine which metrics would yield the most helpful results. Being able to attribute one action to a result may be causal or correlative, or it may be nothing.
Image: iStock.com
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