email marketing versus

marketing automationWhat’s the difference and why should B2B marketers care?

You’re a B2B marketer in a company that’s been using

email marketing for some time now. You’ve heard about

marketing automation. You’re intrigued, because it seems

like it’s a tangible step forward in your organization’s

marketing efforts

But you’re not really sure how to really define the

difference between the two terms...which makes it pretty

hard for you to explain to management why you should

bother with marketing automation... Or maybe you’re

looking for answers on a personal note, out of curiosity.

Reading (or even skimming) this whitepaper will get you

two things:

You’ll be able to put your finger on the difference

on email marketing and marketing automation (to

the point where you’ll be able to explain it, too).

You’ll get practical tips on how to make the

transition from email marketing tomarketing

automation.

who is

this white paper for?

Hi, I’m Meredith, Manager of the Net-Results Customer Success Team! Thank you so

much for reading our whitepaper. If you have any questions, you can always reach

out to us on support@net-results.com or 303-771-2552. We’d love to talk to you!

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EMAIL MARKETING IS MARKETING AUTOMATION

Email Marketing and Marketing Automation are two terms that are often used interchangeably. However, they’re two very different things. Knowing - and grasping - the difference between these strategies is crucial if you want to be successful in modern B2B marketing.

NOTNOT

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Before we explain to you why it’s old

news, let’s first define what we mean

when we say "email marketing".

Despite its proclaimed "death," email marketing is still alive and

kicking. Every day, businesses of every kind send out millions of

emails to their contacts using email marketing tools.

Most of us in B2B marketing know this game in-and-out: create

a list of subscribers.Segment it down into chunks of contacts that

have something in common. Send out emails that contain relevant

messages. Test the response to your email by sending out two versions

of the same email to your list: an A segment and a B segment. Look at

the response rates, bounces and click-through rates to see well how

you’ve done.

(Lather. Rinse. Repeat.)

marketing is evolving...

keep up!

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Example: if you’ve been

sending out coupons to

existing customers, or you’ve

just been keeping customers

informed on product updates,

you’ve probably seen good

results. But if you’ve been trying

to generate leads through

simply sending emails alone,

chances are you’re not quite

as thrilled about what you’re

getting from email marketing

as you used to be.

Specifically, email marketing

isn’t quite as effective for

lead generation as it once

was. It used to be that just the

act of sending out messages

alone was enough to keep

people interested. But today,

at a time when we’re all used

to "on demand" and getting

what we want when we want

it, people aren’t going to sit

around for your message if

someone else is giving them

what they want right now.

Conventional email

marketing tactics fail to

take a very important factor

into account: behavior.

The way email marketing is

traditionally done relies on the

marketer’s timing, which is a

shot in the dark every time.

Modern marketing is about

giving the customers what

they want, when they want

it. And it’s timing that is the

core concept of marketing

automation.

This approach still works today. But not nearly as well as it used to.

And not for achieving the same goals, either.

Hey, AJ from the Customer Success team here. If you’re wondering: yes, you can

still ‘blast’ emails from your marketing automation platform if you want to. But, as

you can tell, there’s so much more you can do!

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enter marketing automation

Customers have become savvier and choosier about how they engage with

brands. Meanwhile, search tools have trained us to expect instant, personalized

results when we need information. Just hit "enter", right?

So, if you send out an email to your list, the timing might be right. The recipients

might respond. If you get your segmentation right and know your audience well,

it just might.

But you’re still sending out messages on your terms. By definition, it’s still less

effective than it used to be. How to fix it? You’ve got to flip the tables. What you

say to your prospects and customers has to be "on demand".

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The problem with email marketing is timing (or

lack thereof). Which is why marketing automation

is all about timing. And not your timing. Your

customer’s timing.

Marketing automation enables you to craft an

"on demand" purchasing experience. Instead of

having prospects see something when you decide

that it’s time, they can get it whenever they want.

This approach is often called "inbound marketing."

It’s about attracting the

customer to you (on their

terms). As opposed to

"outbound marketing,"

where you move towards

the customer (on your

terms).

But make no mistake:

your customer still needs information in order to

make a purchasing decision. They are out there,

right now, looking for it on the internet. They are

looking for answers to questions, like:

• "We need to do something, what’s wrong with

our situation?"

• "What’s out there that solves our problem?"

• "What kind of solution do we need exactly?"

• "Who are the suppliers of this solution and

what sets them apart?"

The B2B sales process is one that’s long and

complicated - for you, but also for your prospect!

If you can give that prospect the right information

when he requires it, you’ll beat the competition.

In summary, marketing automation helps you

create an inviting place to do business. You’re

making things easier for your prospects and

customers. Marketing automation helps you

recognize how someone prefers to engage with

you. Play into that preference and you’re able to

create a relationship

that’s based on trust

and added value - even

when a sale is still far

off.

On the business side

of things, marketing

automation allows

you to drive leads more effectively through lead

nurturing. It also helps you to retain customers

after the sale, since you can continue to engage

with them in ways that are relevant to them.

It’s not just about making people feel better and

generating warm, fuzzy feelings (though all of that

is great). Ultimately, marketing automation is

going to be moving the needle for your company’s

sales and retention efforts.

your customer still needs information in order to make a purchasing decision.

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HOW DOES MARKETING AUTOMATION WORK?

Okay, so marketing automation is better than email marketing. Cool... But how does it work, exactly?

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You should think of a marketing

automation platform as your "customer

hub." It’s the place where all your

customer information lives: email

addresses, website behavior, forms

they’ve submitted, or even interactions

with your sales team (through

interaction with your CRM software).

Email is still a big factor in marketing

automation when interacting with

prospects and customers. Simply put,

it’s still the most effective medium for

communication. Business decisions

are still made in email inboxes, not

on Facebook.

But marketing automation also allows you

to integrate and communicate through

other channels, like social or chat. It’s all about engaging with customers on their

preferred communication channel.

The most important thing to remember here is that marketing automation tools

are not list managers. Marketing automation tools are about managing all levels of

leads (not just lists) and then applying business rules, analytics, segmentation and

scientific data to manage prospects in your sales funnel.

Marketing automation software helps you to manage and reward individual prospect

interactions by providing specific marketing materials (and messages!) designed just

for them, at the right point in their sales process.

your customer

hub

Hi there, it’s Rachel from the CS team! Automation + multiple channels = talking

to your customers when they want, where they want. That’s the secret recipe. Still

have questions?

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CHAT WITH AN EXPERT

WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW MORE?

If this marketing automation thing’s got you intrigued, we have more great resources for you to sink your teeth in.

More marketing automation, please!

If you want to know more about the "why" behind marketing automation and all the great things you can do with it, check out this whitepaper:

MA101 will expand upon what you’ve just learned in this whitepaper. It will teach how to think about marketing automation in a way that will lead your organization to digital transformation and success.

Want to start implementing marketing automation?

If you’d like to know how you can implement marketing automation in your business effectively, the Net-Results Success Guide is where it’s at.

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DOWNLOAD MA 101

It contains the exact worksheets, examples and tips that we use when onboarding our customers. You can use it to implement a platform yourself or you can just read through to gain understanding of what an implementation could actually look like for your organization.

Get started with Net-Results right away

Finally, if you just want to jump in feet first, you can schedule a demo with one of our marketing automation experts.

Best part? If you sign up for a Net-Results 14-day trial, you’ll get an official onboarding by our industry-leading Customer Success team. Completely for free, of course, so you can figure out if Net-Results is right for you.

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