Since the first day of my internship, I have heard marketing technology described as a landscape. A landscape which, 4 weeks ago, the complexities of which were largely uncharted for me. As I have begun to grow more familiar, some lessons stand out more prominently than others.
If in reading this, you are already well familiarized with the martech world, you may at least still find some enjoyment in the perspective of fresh eyes diving into your space for the first time.
Thus, from a 4 week old intern, here is a preliminary take on the 5 secrets to success for the newbie navigating the Mystical Land of Marketing Technology.
Learn the Foreign Language (That Is, the Secret Language of Mqlsalsql)
If you want to get involved with marketing technology, you better be ready to get cozy with some acronyms. You don’t have to love them, but you do need to respect them. Prior to this job, I didn’t know it was possible to communicate so much using so few vowels. But there you have it- getting familiar with the language used by your organization to categorize your prospects throughout various stages of your marketing and sales cycles is essential to communicating with your comrades. Which leads me to my next point…
Befriend Fellow Travelers (Align with Sales)
Sure, arriving in uncharted territory you can forge forward yourself, implementing your strategy and operating on your own terms. But you want to be successful? You need to make friends. Consider sales your comrades in the adventure. Communicate, synchronize, and be transparent about what your plans are with one another. In carrying out your plans, this coordination is not only foundational, but can be a huge competitive advantage against other… foreign foes.
If You Come Across a River, Build a Bridge (Connect Your MAS Tool with Salesforce to Avoid Data Gaps)
You can’t get to know your fellow travelers, let alone work with them, if you’re standing on opposite banks. In a day and age where technology is this advanced, there should be no reason your sales and marketing teams are operating on two platforms that do not digitally synchronize, and consequently leave room for large data gaps. The process of trying to extract data out of Salesforce and coordinate it with your MAS tool or other piece of software is messy and makes your data undependable. Should you come across this division of marketing data and sales data in your organization, Full Circle Insight’s solutions allow you to build the bridge to connect them.
Don’t Run From Perceived Enemies (Face Your Mistakes Using Campaign Attribution)
If success is the thing keeping you going, mistakes are the things keeping you improving. Mistakes are essential to growing as a business. But when it comes to companies operating on complex data, you have to first be able to identify where exactly you went wrong! You can’t make better decisions without the right historical data. Enter Campaign Attribution: your secret weapon to track down and analyze what marketing campaigns were successful in generating interest and translating into sales, as well as what tactics you may just want to abandon before using any more of your resources up on.
Do Chase Waterfalls (Utilize the SiriusDecisions Demand Waterfall to Understand and Implement Funnel Metrics)
Every foreign land has its destination hot spots. In the Mystic Land of Marketing Technology, the hot spot to be is the Waterfall of Demand, found in the province of SiriusDecisions. To fully enjoy the waterfall, one must stand at the Full Circle Insights viewing deck, which offers an unparalleled experience with this feature. From this platform, you can get up close and personal in viewing how many prospects come down the waterfall, how quickly they travel down it, and how many make it from one stage to the next. Talk about a feature worth your time and energy to explore.
If tackling a foreign language is more your thing, Hubspot provides a comprehensive marketer’s dictionary to get you acronym smooth-talking in no time: http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/marketing-acronym-glossary#sm.00001jgrdmfco8csmr21cvky1qwj6
Happy travels!
