By Bob Hebeisen

Part 2 of 7…Here are 7 ways Marketing Automation helps marketers multitask more effectively: #1. Setting up marketing campaigns for appropriate tracking #2. A/B testing #3. Integration with CRM #4. Lead nurturing for better lead quality #5. Doing the little things right, automatically #6. Reviewing results and applying your learning #7. Taking a moment to celebrate your successes

In the example I used earlier when discussing setting up a campaign with a poorly integrated CMS and CRM, the process was difficult and convoluted for setting up even a simple campaign.  Now, imagine you wanted to do something more interesting like:

• Track results by source (so you could determine the effectiveness of one list vs. another list)
• Test two different offers
• Test an email subject line variation
• Test a landing page headline variation
• Test a long lead capture form vs. a short form on the landing page
• Test different segmentation options on your lists…

Any of these variables might be an important factor for maximizing the ROI of your marketing effort.  But in an inefficient system like the one described earlier, employing testing discipline made a difficult campaign setup task explode with complexity.  It was so onerous to set up testing that we often just didn’t bother to do it.  We would just go with our “gut” instincts of what we thought would produce the most leads.  Lack of Marketing Automation absolutely contributed to a lack of optimization of our marketing efforts at that company.

Conversely, with Marketing Automation, A/B testing is simple to set up and measure.  See the screen shots for an example.

The banner at the bottom of the blog post pictured is called a “CTA” (“call to action”) in HubSpot. When you click the banner you go to a lead capture landing page. This CTA is set up to alternate two different banners, each one promoting a different offer. Half the site visitors see banner A, and the other half see banner B.

Here is HubSpot’s CTA dashboard showing the results of this A/B test. You can see that one banner is producing more clicks and more submissions.