Lauren Carlson from Software Advice posted an interesting article regarding the momentum Marketing Automation firms are experiencing which I agree with. It wasn't that long ago that people weren't even sure what marketing automation was or how it functioned. Now, marketing teams are aggresively seeking out solutions that help them articulate their value. Why is this happening? The B2B sales environment has changed drastically due to technology and wiht the changing economy. Companies today are dealing with changing buying patterns and are focused on streamlining and justifying their expenditures. There are several specific trends that are driving the adoption of these changes, making measurement and automation an essential addition to any marketing organization. Lauren from Software Advice, a free online resource for software buyers, did a good job of outlining seven macro trends that they believe are pushing this growth.
- Buyers want valuable content.
- Buyers are hesitant to engage over the phone.
- Buyers require marketing accountability.
- A down economy results in longer sales cycles.
- Consumerization of B2B sales processes.
- Marketing channels have transformed.
- SaaS is the preferred deployment method.
Points three (3) and four (4) particularily resonate with me from an event perspective. Our customers are looking for solutions that help articulate their event spend from a revenue contribution perspective. Also, given the longer sales cycles, it is more important now than ever that activity driven to sales from events are relevant and timely. This helps companies increase revenue production through reduced lead decay, and also lower cost through more efficient post event followup activity. For more information on these trends, please visit the original blog post on Software Advice.
