Today a great percentage of marketers and brand managers spend time, resources and budget to reach out to their target audience through the traditional marketing funnel, purchase cycle funnel and prospective behavior funnel, to name a few.

1. Enhance Marketing Funnel with Marketing Automation Software
Today a great percentage of marketers and brand managers spend time, resources and budget to reach out to
their target audience through the traditional marketing funnel, purchase cycle funnel and prospective behavior
funnel, to name a few. However, the fact of the matter is these funnels are actually of no use in today’s business
environment. Not only it generates few leads and even fewer actual customers but also the cost of generating is
very high. According to Corinne Munchbach, a Forrester analyst, “marketing funnel no longer applies to modern
marketing, with its fragmented paths to purchase and a strategic imperative to place the customer at the heart of
everything a business does.”
As per a recent report from Forrester research, 47% of B2B marketers said that they close less than 4% of all
marketing-generated leads and most companies attribute less than 25% of all revenue to marketing. Hence,
despite the fact that marketing plays a vital role in lead generation by creating awareness for a product or service
and bringing a lead to the site, the fact of the matter is it is the sales team that is responsible for revenue
generation. Hence, instead of depending on the traditional marketing funnel, enterprises must invest in best of the
breed marketing automation software that provides the ability to distinguish hot leads from cold or less engaged
leads, guide the leads using effective lead nurturing tactics and then advance them to the next stage.
Wikipedia defines marketing automation as “software platforms designed for marketing departments and
organizations to automate high-touch, repetitive and manual tasks and processes.” The sales and the marketing
team can keep the best of the breed marketing automation software as a conduit between marketing funnel
entrance and exit. Such a move helps them to differentiate cold leads from warm leads. Then through an effective
lead nurturing strategy, the marketing and the sales team can build long-term relationships with prospects through
a consistent and meaningful dialog between the marketer and the prospect throughouleadt the sales cycle. Thus
with a best of the breed marketing automation software, the sales and the marketing team can
Target specific customers using marketing initiated drip campaigns to ensure that the lead stays engaged
always
Filter out mismatches
Deliver appropriate marketing collaterals like whitepapers, research papers and case studies etc for
keeping the lead hooked to the brand until he/she is ready to buy
Nurture the best customers offering them more specialized products and services often at higher prices
Thus, with the sophisticated and advanced campaign management facilities of marketing automation software,
enterprises can easily and effortlessly align the marketing and the sales departments and thereby increase
marketing ROI.