The Future of Marketing Automation from 19 Key Thought Leaders

The Future of Marketing Automation from 19 Key Thought Leaders:by Ben Gaut
Want to know the thought innovators that are paving the way for the future of marketing in the B2B world, specifically the technology benefits that marketing automation brings to companies? We did. So, we compiled a list of some (not all) of the top thought leaders in the biz.  Some you will know, some you might not, but either way you can now track what they are saying about the potential of marketing automation in the marketplace. Both, good and bad.
Lisa Arthur – Chief Marketing Officer, Aprimo

• “Our research shows that among marketers, improving marketing operations is now a top strategic goal.” Source: Aprimo Blog[i]
• Twitter - @LisaArthur
• LinkedIn - Lisa Arthur
• Lisa Arthur on Marketing - Blog
• Lisa Arthur's blog on Aprimo

Zach Bailey – Senior Director of Engineering, Pardot

• “Sales and marketing executives, in order to hit their numbers, ‘need enriched campaigns, tolls that simplify campaign creation, and even more automated processes.’” Source: Newsle Blog[ii]
• Twitter - @ZNBailey
• LinkedIn - Zach Bailey
• Zach Bailey's blog on Pardot

Daniel Burstein – Director of Editorial Content, MarketingSherpa

• “All content and marketing is generally effective … for the right audience. The question is – are you delivering the right email to the right audience? [… a customer] was able to understand what his customers wanted by tracking their behavior, and then delivering relevant email marketing with automation and segmentation.” Source: Sherpa Blog[iii]
• Twitter - @DanielBurstein
• LinkedIn - Daniel Burstein
• Daniel Burstein's blog on Sherpa

Jay Famico – Research Analyst, Sirius Decisions

• “The increased inclusion of social media has provided MAPs with additional channels for engagement and interaction with customers and prospects. This includes the ability of some MAPs to schedule socials media postings within an automated workflow…” Source: Sirius Blog[iv]
• Twitter - @JayFamico
• LinkedIn - Jay Famico
• Jay Famico's blog on Sirius

Matt Filios – President, Net-Results

• Relating marketing automation to common interactions – “If you’re stumping at the Village in Florida, bring your mom and talk about Medicare […] If you are schmoozing Hollywood celebrities, talk about how you understand the artists’ need to give back […] Understanding the people you are talking with, and how you can add value to them is key.” Source: Net-Results[v]
• Twitter - @MattFilios
• LinkedIn - Matt Filios
• Net-Results Blog

Chris Fletcher – Research Director, Gartner Group

• On trends in marketing automation – “I […] see a growing level of maturity as marketing professionals learn what works for their company and their industry, and are able to evolve and change their lead management processes in near-time and provide better overall value to their firm.” Source: Marketing Automation Times[vi]
• Twitter - @ChrisFletcher
• LinkedIn - Chris Fletcher
• Chris Fletcher's blog on Gartner

Rahul Khosla – Partner, eDynamic

• “What if you could get the right content in front of the right person at the right time – how would it impact your customer acquisition process? This is what’s making this space exciting. The ability to serve up dynamic content based on user paths and profiles allows marketers to truly control the web environment.” Source: edynamic Blog[vii]
• Twitter - @Rahuledynamic
• LinkedIn - Rahul Khosla
• edynamic Blog

John McTigue – Executive Vice President & Co-Owner, KunoCreative

• “Marketing automation […] allow[s] you to manage your leads better. By carefully crafting your content, calls to action, landing pages and lead nurturing campaigns, you can learn more about your leads, pre-qualify them for sales and assess their sales-readiness at any time.” Source: KunoCreative Blog[viii]
• Twitter - @JMcTigue
• LinkedIn - John McTigue
• John McTigue's blog on KunoCreative

Heidi Melin – Chief Marketing Officer, Eloqua

• “It’s about more than automating; it’s about optimizing marketing to better understand the revenue impact. […] Companies are realizing, for example, that optimizing marketing spend is a key lever which can increase revenue growth.” Source: Demand Gen Report[ix]
• Twitter - @HeidiMelin
• LinkedIn - Heidi Melin
• Eloqua Blog

Jim Meyer – Vice President and General Manager, eTrigue

• “Marketing automation is very good at giving us […] a very clear picture of who [our leads] are, what their needs are, and what they are currently using […], and armed with this knowledge, we can make sure our communications with these valued customers are just right.” Source: eTrigue[x]
• Twitter - @eTrigue
• LinkedIn - Jim Meyer
• eTrigue Blog

Ian Michiels – Principal & Managing Director, Gleanster Research

• “A decade of research proves that top performing organizations are, in fact, getting superior results from their marketing automation investments.” Source: Gleanster Blog[xi]
• Twitter - @InsightFanatic
• LinkedIn - Ian Michiels
• Ian Michiels's blog on Gleanster

Jon Miller – VP of Marketing and Co-Founder, Marketo

• “Time and money are the lifeblood of a business, and with marketing automation, you can save both.” Source: Marketo Blog[xii]
• Twitter - @JonMiller
• LinkedIn - Jon Miller
• Jon Miller's blog on Marketo

Joe Payne – Chief Executive Officer, Eloqua

• “Marketing automation adds intelligence and decision-making to the marketing and sales cycle.” Source: DM News[xiii]
• Twitter - @PayneJoe
• LinkedIn - Joe Payne
• Eloqua Blog

Robert Pease – Chief Executive Officer, LoopFuse

• Marketing Automation is “no longer just for the largest companies with the biggest budgets, marketing automation is accessible and affordable for businesses of any size.” Source: Loopfuse Blog[xiv]
• Twitter - @ReplytoAll
• LinkedIn - Robert Pease
• Loopfuse Blog

Don Peppers – Founding Partner, Peppers and Rogers Group

• “What can be automated and what should be automated are two different things. Routine decisions and tasks are now automated by all best-in-class companies. As a result, it is the non-routine, unpredictable customer situations that will increasingly generate your business problems and issues.” Source: 1 to 1 Media[xv]
• Twitter - @DonPeppers
• LinkedIn - Don Peppers
• Don Peppers's Blog on 1 to 1 Media (archives)
• Don Peppers's Blog on LinkedIn

Dayna Rothman – Content Marketing Manager, Marketo

• “With modern business changing the marketing profession so rapidly, marketing automation has come to the forefront as a solution to help plan, execute, scale, and measure marketing transactions with more precision.” Source: Marketo Blog[xvi]
• Twitter - @DayRoth
• LinkedIn - Dayna Rothman
• Dayna Rothman's blog on Marketo

Ellen Valentine – Product Evangelist, Silverpop

• “Because buyers today are more than 50 percent through the buying cycle before they speak with a sales rep, marketing messages must be targeted and personalized to each buyer’s specific needs and interests.” Source: Silverpop Blog[xvii]
• Twitter - @EllenValentine
• LinkedIn - Ellen Valentine
• Silverpop Blog

Mike Volpe – Chief Marketing Officer, Hubspot

• While automation is incredibly helpful, he warns about the improper use of automation tools: “Every time you send SPAM-my, impersonal, irrelevant email to a lead or prospect, pretend that a kitten dies.” Source: HubSpot Blog[xviii]
• Twitter - @MVolpe
• LinkedIn - Mike Volpe
• MikeVolpe.com

Steve Woods – Chief Technical Officer, Eloqua

• On the future of marketing automation – “Expect to see marketers stop thinking that just having a Facebook presence, LinkedIn Group, recurring webinars and in-person events as sufficient. Marketers will transfer the data collected out of the various silos to approach the question: did this effort drive revenue for my business?” Source: Socialnomics[xix]
• Twitter - @SteveWoods
• LinkedIn - Steve Woods
• Eloqua Blog

There are positives and there are negatives in their statements, but these thought leaders seem united in one regard: marketing automation is the inevitable future of lead generation. Be careful to not treat it like a Ronco Product, though; MA isn’t a “Set it and Forget it” process. However, via proper implementation, marketing automation can save both “time and money,” which are “the lifeblood of a business,” (Jon Miller, Marketo blog). As Heidi Melin points out, leveraging your marketing budget through marketing automation is a key way to increase revenue growth.  We all know of Don Peppers famous, “One to One Marketing,” (a bible for marketers) with marketing automation, the technology actually can help make that one-to-one easier, with personalization, relevant segmentation, and accurate timing of messaging. Go forth!
Also, let us know anyone you think we should add to the list.

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[i] http://blog.aprimo.com/what-oracles-plan-to-acquire-eloqua-means-for-marketers

[ii] http://newsle.com/article/0/29847465/

[iii] http://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/email-marketing/top-three-steps-email-summit-2013/

[iv] http://www.siriusdecisions.com/blog/how-marketing-automation-has-evolved-in-the-last-12-months/

[v] http://blog.net-results.com/shaking-hands-kissing-babies-5-messaging-guidelines-connect-your-buyers-better/

[vi] http://marketingautomationtimes.com/2012/06/27/interview-with-gartners-chris-fletcher/

[vii] http://www.thinkedynamic.com/web-strategy-3/key-criteria-for-selecting-a-web-content-management-system

[viii] http://www.kunocreative.com/blog/bid/82423/Enterprise-Inbound-Marketing-Process-Marketing-Automation

[ix] http://www.demandgenreport.com/industry-topics/industry-news/1238-eloqua-appoints-heidi-melin-as-new-chief-marketing-officer.html#.UV8L4qKceSo

[x] http://www.etrigue.com/blog/index.php/2013/02/dont-forget-your-existing-customers/

[xi] http://blog.gleanster.com/2012/09/25/what-the-eloqua-ipo-means-for-marketing-automation/

[xii] http://blog.marketo.com/blog/2013/02/the-magic-behind-the-curtain-marketing-automation-will-make-it-all-happen.html

[xiii] http://www.dmnews.com/the-marriage-of-marketing-automation-and-email/article/265532/#

[xiv] http://www.loopfuse.com/blog/2013/01/22/move-beyond-basic-email-marketing-with-prospect-activity-information-and-automated-follow-up-emails/

[xv] http://www.1to1media.com/speaking/presentations.aspx#

[xvi] http://blog.marketo.com/blog/2013/02/the-dawn-of-marketing-automation-video.html

[xvii] http://www.silverpop.com/blogs/email-marketing/automation-to-get-organized.html

[xviii] http://www.hubspot.com/blog/bid/23922/HubSpot-Announces-Death-By-Marketing-Automation-Upgrade-Program-At-Dreamforce-DF11

[xix] http://www.socialnomics.net/2012/10/11/the-future-of-marketing-automation-steven-woods-eloqua-cto-and-co-founder-weighs-in/