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Why Marketing Automation Programs Fail, Part 2: Training and Guidance

Last week, I wrote a blog post about the fact that 3 out of 5 marketing automation implementations fail, and why I think that is happening. After writing the post, I was discussing this with Mark, and we realized that there was one other trend we were seeing that I neglected to mention in my previous post. While I do still believe that the reason a lot of MAT implementations are failing is due to misguided expectations of what the software is going to do for you versus what you still have to do manually, there is one other reason.

Marketing automation implementations fail because people don’t know how to use the software at their disposal. A client of ours, Kurt Kennedy of Kennedy Global Communications said it well in a recent discussion we had. He said that when you first get set up with marketing automation, it’s like having a chef’s kitchen full of fresh ingredients. You have all sorts of tools at your disposal. But, you don’t have a recipe. You don’t know how to use all of these utensils and ingredients or even what you are supposed to be making.

A lot of prospects we speak with either currently have or used to have marketing automation, but they don’t use it. Why don’t they use it? They simply don’t know how. They don’t know what they are supposed to do with it.

Sure, there are lots of great resources online that you could spend hours reading and learn about all the ways you can use marketing automation, but you don’t have time for that. You purchased MAT to save your valuable time, not as another thing to spend hours upon hours learning how to use.

This is exactly the reason why, at Newfangled, we don’t ever just sell our clients marketing automation. We don’t want to sell the tools and ingredients without a recipe for success. Instead, the cost of marketing automation with Newfangled includes monthly consulting calls to review your MAT implementation with you, helping you find customized ways to use MAT on your own site and in ways that are beneficial to your business. We know that having this sort of ongoing support is going to greatly increase your chance of success with MAT, as well as lengthen and strengthen your relationship with Newfangled.

So, when you’re weighing out your options for marketing automation, don’t just look at the buffet of features and the associated price tags. Instead, be sure to take into account the fact that you’re going to need a recipe to go along with those ingredients. Or, better yet, a master chef to guide you along the way.

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